Bulgaria's consumer protection commission (KZP) has fined a large retail chain €30,000 after a 4-year-old child fell from an indoor play structure in its store in Varna. KZP said today, 13 November, that this is the highest fine the law allows.

Another child fell from the same structure in January 2026, but the parents did not report it. KZP has pulled the structure from the market. It has not named the chain.

The child fell on 6 October. The parents complained to KZP on 12 October, and inspectors went into the store the next day, 13 October.

The structure is an enclosed, vertical play area on three levels. The first level has a panel and a bench for play. The second has rope obstacles, a rope ladder and a tunnel slide. Children move between crawl-through openings and play platforms.

Two reports from inspection bodies were presented during the check. They describe damaged ropes with metal strands sticking out. Part of the soft padding is also missing on the inside of the right-hand entrance. That left an unprotected opening, and the child fell through it.

The damage is not new. The missing padding at the right-hand entrance was already recorded in the safety report from the annual inspection of the play areas in February 2026. The chain did not fix it for more than six months.

KZP says the structure does not meet Ordinance No. 1 of 12 September 2009 on the rules for the layout and safety of playgrounds. It also believes the chain breached Regulation (EU) 2023/988, the "General Safety Requirement".

The commissioners gave three reasons for the maximum fine. A child was hurt in a fall. Another child had fallen at the same place before. And the damage was not repaired in time.

On 15 October 2026, KZP issued an order banning access to the structure in the store. The play area must be closed off with a physical barrier, and the ban must be clearly marked.

KZP also banned the sale and supply of the product itself, the three-level vertical children's play structure. It said the structure is tall and made for children, who are especially vulnerable consumers. If it is poorly maintained, it can cause serious harm that is hard or impossible to undo.

The chain can appeal against the penalty decision.

The Varna case follows another KZP check involving children. From mid-August to September, KZP inspected private kindergartens after complaints from parents. At the end of September, it brought a representative action to protect the collective interests of consumers over 63 unfair terms in the standard contracts and general terms of private kindergartens and schools.