Brussels, 25/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - An end to e-commerce scams that breach the rights of European consumers. That could be the slogan for the two proposals brought forward by the European Commission on Wednesday 25 May to increase consumer trust in cross-border online commerce and to allow consumers to enjoy the full benefits of this trade without fearing being ripped off by unscrupulous operators.
These are fears that are well founded because, while EU legislation seeks to ensure a high level of consumer protection, two thirds of complaints received by European Consumer Centres are about online purchases.
The first proposal is a draft regulation that seeks to strengthen application of consumer rights through improved cooperation among the national authorities responsible. The second, non-binding, consists of new guidelines to clarify what qualifies as unfair commercial practice in terms of European law (Directive 2005/29/EC) in the digital age.
These two initiatives complement proposals for regulations on banning geo-blocking and on transparency on parcel delivery services, adopted the same day by the College of Commissioners to boost e-commerce as part of the “third package” on the digital single market (see other article).
“Too many people in Europe are hesitant to purchase online because they don't know their rights or think they are hard to enforce. I want consumers to buy online as confidently as they would offline. We will give teeth to consumer protection authorities to better enforce consumer rights online and crack down on fraudulent practices”, said Justice and Consumers Commissioner Vera Jourova, presenting the initiatives to the European press. She said that the proposals, if adopted, would also bring “legal certainty to traders”.
Monitoring compliance with the law. The Commission is proposing revision of the 2007 consumer protection cooperation regulation (Regulation 2006/2004, known as the CPC regulation) to give the relevant national authorities new powers and to put in place a more effective coordination procedure, under the aegis of the Commission. This will allow national authorities to act more quickly and to take whatever steps are necessary on their national territory. Authorities could request information from domain registrars and banks to detect the identity of the responsible trader; order the immediate take-down of websites hosting scams, such as supposed free trials which, in fact, prove to be very costly or “invisible tickets” for sports or music events, exceeding the number of places available, as happened at the Olympic Games in London. “Misleading offers exist in nearly all member states. Cooperation among law enforcement authorities is the only solution”, observed Jourova.
The European Commission could launch coordinated action of national enforcers who will seek commitments from traders to change their practices and come into line with EU law when large numbers of consumers have been tricked by the same scam. This should make it easier for consumers to obtain compensation.
Unfair commercial practice. Updating the guidelines will make the 2005 directive apply to online platforms (bringing together traders established abroad or not), will clarify unfair commercial practice in the digital world and will contain interpretation of the legislation applied to purchases made on these online platforms. The role of these platforms has not, hitherto, come under any EU legislation. The Commission is proposing that the platforms must make it clear who is the final seller and whether this latter is a trader or a private individual. “We must prevent consumers from falling into traps and making purchases under conditions that they do not understand”¸ Jourova said, acknowledging that the Commission had initially planned to make a legislative proposal.
“Moving from one country to another cannot be a way out for shady dealers”, pointed out the Belgian European Consumer Centre.
BEUC, the European Consumer Organisation, welcomed the proposals but would like consumer organisations to be “recognised as partners in tackling unfair and illegal business practices which harm consumers as well as the EU's economy”, said the organisation's General Secretary Monique Goyens. (Original version on French by Aminata Niang)