Brussels, 01/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - According to the results from the 'sweep' investigation focusing on commercial guarantees in the online sales of electronic goods, 82% of websites selling electronic goods such as digital cameras, Walkman devices and mobile phones, now respect EU legislation on consumer rights. Thanks to the joint action carried out by member states and the European Commission, 155 websites out of 235 identified as failing to respect legislation (out of a total of 437 websites examined) have subsequently improved their performance in this respect.
On Monday 1 June, the Commission presented these results to the European Consumers' Forum in Brussels (1-2 June). Vera Jourova, the European commissioner for justice, consumers and gender equality, welcomed these results at the beginning of the meeting, which brought together representatives from the public authorities and consumer associations. This year the forum is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the European Consumer Centres Network, which serves as a way to inform EU consumers about their rights.
“Mobile phones, computers, cameras and TVs are some of the popular products bought online. We can expect competitive cross-border goods constantly increase in the single market. This is the reason why I want consumers to be confident and well-informed about the rights concerning the EU's commercial guarantee”. Commissioner Jourova was delighted that the coordinated efforts by member states and the Commission had created real results. On this occasion, she highlighted the benefits they hoped to obtain from the future digital market for which the Commission proposed a framework on 6 May last (see EUROPE 11318).
She stated: “This initiative should bring the best possible deal for consumers in a more and more digital society. They should be able to make choices whilst benefiting from protection. They should be empowered to engage confidently in the Digital Single Market”.
The sweep investigation launched in the autumn of 2014 was jointly carried out by the authorities in charge of ensuring the appropriate application of the law in member states and was coordinated by the Commission.
It revealed that 235 websites out of the 437 inspected did not provide sufficient information to consumers about the rights they enjoyed under EU legislation to obtain free repairs or replacement of defective goods in the two years following their purchase. The websites were selected on the basis of their popularity and the complaints made by consumers. The authorities checked whether the sites informed consumers about free and commercial guarantees, whether they provided an email address to which possible questions and complaints could be addressed and whether the terms and conditions were available before purchase.
The most frequent shortcomings observed involved the absence of a reminder that a legal guarantee existed (174 sites) and a presentation of commercial guarantees that were likely to mislead the consumer about the duration, scope of territorial application and the name and address of the body responsible for the guarantee (out of 87 sites). The authorities contacted the companies that did not respect European law and were successful with 155 of them. 80 of them still face proceedings. (Aminata Niang)