| Moscow judges refuse to change metro rules Customers of the capital's metro failed to contribute to the protection of the rights of consumers of subway services. The Meshchansky Court of Moscow yesterday refused to cancel the fixed validity period of travel tickets, considering the claim of passenger-lawyer Alexander Simanchev to be unfounded. The judges came to the conclusion that the State Unitary Enterprise "Moscow Metro" operates in full compliance with current regulations, including the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
Let us recall that in December 2003, Alexander Simanchev sued the metro management, accusing it of violating consumer rights. “In accordance with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, unilateral refusal to fulfill obligations under the contract is not allowed,” the lawyer’s statement of claim says. -- Meanwhile, travel on the metro is paid for using travel tickets of various denominations, which indicate the period of use of the ticket. After this period, paid but unused trips are not provided to the passenger. Thus, if the travel ticket expires, the State Unitary Enterprise “Moscow Metro” unilaterally terminates its obligations to the passenger.” Mr. Simanchev explained that he does not mean “single” on the metro, but tickets for 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 trips, which are limited not only by quantity, but also by the period of use.
However, the metro's defenders managed to convince the judges that the subway's activities are regulated not only by the Civil Code, but also by regulations of the Moscow government. And thereby drop the charges. “At the time the plaintiff applied to the court, fares for travel and the cost of urgent tickets, as well as the validity periods of these tickets, were established by government decree,” notes the text of the objections, which were ultimately listened to in court.
Despite the defeat in the first instance, Mr. Simanchev intends to continue the fight. Yesterday he said that he was going to appeal the verdict in the Moscow City Court. “We pay one hundred percent of the services, and we must also receive one hundred percent of the services. And the current situation in simple words sounds like this: after 30 days we don’t owe you anything. The money is not just rotten, it means they are simply confiscating it from us,” explained the fighter for the rights of passengers. Kirill VASILENKO |
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