EU clamps down on rogue traders
EU Competitiveness ministers reached political agreement in Brussels on 18 May on proposals to outlaw unfair commercial practices. The new directive would allow consumers to seek redress throughout the Union if they fall victim to rogue traders.
The text of the directive outlaws practices such as making false claims about products, persistent and unsolicited calls on consumers, whether in person or by telephone, and certain types of advertisements aimed at children.
The directive also obliges individual EU Member States to provide for appropriate sanctions against rogue traders who treat consumers unfairly by failing to comply with the agreed terms of the directive.
Several pan-European surveys confirmed that unfair commercial practices undermine consumer confidence if they are not addressed by effective consumer protection. And the European Advertising Standards Alliance concluded in its 2002 annual report that "cross-border complaints overwhelmingly concern the activities of 'rogue traders' and other fringe operators who deliberately set out to exploit the loopholes between national regulatory systems".
The text of the directive will now be presented to the European Parliament with a view to final adoption later this year.
Commercial practices which are in all circumstances considered unfair:
Misleading commercial practices that
(1) Claim to be a signatory to a code of conduct when the trader is not.
(1a) Display a trust mark, quality mark or equivalent without having obtained the necessary authorisation.
(2) Claim that a code of conduct has an endorsement from a public or other body which it does not have.
(2a) Claim that a product has been approved, endorsed or authorised by a public or private body when it has not or making such a claim without complying with the terms of the approval, endorsement or authorisation.
(3) Make an invitation to purchase products at a specified price without disclosing the existence of any reasonable grounds the trader may have for believing that he will not be able to offer for supply or to procure another trader to supply, those products or equivalent products at that price for a period that is, and in quantities that are reasonable having regard to the product, the scale of advertising of the product and the price offered (bait advertising).
(4) Make an invitation to purchase products at a specified price and then:
a) refuse to show the advertised item to consumers, or
b) refuse to take orders for it or deliver it within a reasonable time, or
c) or demonstrate a defective sample of it with the intention of promoting a different product (bait and switch).
Minutes(.pdf)
EU Competitiveness ministers reached political agreement in Brussels on 18 May on proposals to outlaw unfair commercial practices. The new directive would allow consumers to seek redress throughout the Union if they fall victim to rogue traders.
The text of the directive outlaws practices such as making false claims about products, persistent and unsolicited calls on consumers, whether in person or by telephone, and certain types of advertisements aimed at children.
The directive also obliges individual EU Member States to provide for appropriate sanctions against rogue traders who treat consumers unfairly by failing to comply with the agreed terms of the directive.
Several pan-European surveys confirmed that unfair commercial practices undermine consumer confidence if they are not addressed by effective consumer protection. And the European Advertising Standards Alliance concluded in its 2002 annual report that "cross-border complaints overwhelmingly concern the activities of 'rogue traders' and other fringe operators who deliberately set out to exploit the loopholes between national regulatory systems".
The text of the directive will now be presented to the European Parliament with a view to final adoption later this year.
Commercial practices which are in all circumstances considered unfair:
Misleading commercial practices that
(1) Claim to be a signatory to a code of conduct when the trader is not.
(1a) Display a trust mark, quality mark or equivalent without having obtained the necessary authorisation.
(2) Claim that a code of conduct has an endorsement from a public or other body which it does not have.
(2a) Claim that a product has been approved, endorsed or authorised by a public or private body when it has not or making such a claim without complying with the terms of the approval, endorsement or authorisation.
(3) Make an invitation to purchase products at a specified price without disclosing the existence of any reasonable grounds the trader may have for believing that he will not be able to offer for supply or to procure another trader to supply, those products or equivalent products at that price for a period that is, and in quantities that are reasonable having regard to the product, the scale of advertising of the product and the price offered (bait advertising).
(4) Make an invitation to purchase products at a specified price and then:
a) refuse to show the advertised item to consumers, or
b) refuse to take orders for it or deliver it within a reasonable time, or
c) or demonstrate a defective sample of it with the intention of promoting a different product (bait and switch).
Minutes(.pdf)
publicado por MP às 15:05
