Europe strengthens consumers against unfair online trade practices

17 April 2019

The European Parliament today adopted new rules to better protect consumers against unfair online trading practices. MEP Anneleen Van Bossuyt says: “It was essential to modernise the current rules, as a large proportion of them were lagging behind in terms of rapid digital developments.”

More and more people are buying products on eBay or bol.com or using websites that compare a large number of products. The reliability of reviews on such sites is crucial, but the mechanisms behind them are often unclear. That encourages abuse. Anneleen Van Bossuyt: “False reviews mislead the consumer. That will become a punishable offence. Websites must also provide more information about the order of the search results and whether they have paid to get a higher position in the ranking. This transparency will increase consumer protection and, above all, increase confidence in online shopping.”

Essential information

Websites will also need to provide more essential information before the purchase is completed. This includes, for example, the trader’s telephone number and email address. “Online platforms are often used for sales by both the platform itself and by third parties. As a result, consumers do not always know whom to turn to if something goes wrong. From now on, websites will have to indicate who is responsible for the sale and whether they are covered by European consumer legislation. This should provide more clarity and avoid disputes,” says MEP Van Bossuyt.

Shopping without borders

The new rules are especially strict for those who deliberately mislead consumers. Anyone who does so may be fined at least four per cent of their annual turnover. For example, from now on, discounts must state the lowest price that the product had up to at least a month before. Another example is the issue of festival tickets. It will no longer be possible to circumvent ticket limits by using certain software and then reselling the tickets at extortionate prices. “False discounts are all too common. It is a very cunning way to deceive customers, a subtle form of scam. It is a good thing that this is finally being curtailed at the European level. This is the only way to increase consumer confidence because online shopping knows no national borders,” concludes Anneleen Van Bossuyt.

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