Consumer & Advertising

Law 19,496 has been amended many times (the Pro Consumidor Act 21,398 and the Fintech Act 21,521 among them), significantly widening what companies owe consumers. We advise on implementing the framework end to end: reviewing standard-form contracts and general terms, removing unfair clauses, meeting the duty to give truthful and timely information in advertising and labelling, and honouring consumer rights (withdrawal, the six-month statutory warranty, after-sales service, refunds).

We also cover the professional duty of care that Law 21,398 places on companies, liability for moral damages arising from the breach alone, and the specific duties that apply to e-commerce (product information, a visible returns policy, electronic contracting). We design compliance programmes to mitigate the risk of class actions, which in Chile are increasingly frequent and costly.

The terms and conditions of an e-commerce site are the main contract with your customer and the first document SERNAC and the courts will read if there is a dispute. We draft terms that meet current standards: clear identification of the supplier (tax ID, address, contact details), a description of the product and the total price including all surcharges, the shipping policy (times, costs, areas), and the returns, exchange and withdrawal policy (with the statutory 10-day withdrawal period for distance sales).

We also include the statutory and commercial warranty, a data protection policy updated for Law 21,719, a complaints and resolution mechanism, and the governing law and jurisdiction. On top of that we prepare privacy policies, cookie notices, FAQs and legal notices that reduce exposure before SERNAC and build consumer confidence.

Advertising in Chile is governed by the Consumer Protection Act, Law 20,606 on food labelling, Law 19,733 on freedom of expression, sector-specific rules (financial services, health, alcohol, tobacco) and CONAR self-regulation. We review campaigns before launch to avoid misleading or improper comparative advertising, absolute claims that cannot be substantiated, unsupported promises of results, offers with inadequate small print, prize promotions without clear rules, and regulated advertising directed at children.

We support responses to SERNAC inspections and formal complaints before CONAR. For influencer campaigns we draft contracts with transparency clauses (the duty to identify paid content), a prohibition on false claims and joint liability of the advertiser. Reviewing beforehand is always cheaper than reacting afterwards.

SERNAC actions (mediations, inspections, complaints) and above all class actions are among the most significant exposures for B2C companies in Chile. We advise on the immediate response to information requests and SERNAC's voluntary collective procedures, weighing whether mediation or a contested defence is the better route.

For class and collective actions we mount the full procedural defence: the answer, opposition to admissibility, defence on the merits with documentary and expert evidence, oral argument at hearings, and any settlement negotiations. The amounts at stake in class actions can be substantial —hundreds of millions to billions of pesos depending on the affected group— so the strategy has to weigh financial exposure, reputational impact and the precedent it sets for future cases. Settling early and well can be more efficient than litigating to judgment.

A consumer crisis handled badly can turn within hours into a class action, a social media pile-on, a SERNAC inspection and serious reputational harm. We advise on the full crisis response: a protocol for handling the individual case (response, compensation, a confidentiality agreement where appropriate), an analysis of mass exposure (how many consumers face the same situation?), public communications (the duty to inform against minimising exposure), the response to any inspection that follows, and the design of voluntary collective procedures to reduce litigation risk.

We factor in data protection, intellectual property (use of the customer's brand on social media) and any prior litigation. Prevention through a robust customer service protocol is always cheaper than reacting after the fact.