Consumer's Telegram October 2022
Insert of n. 77 - Editorial office: Centro Europeo Consumatori (European Consumer Centre Italy - Bolzano office)E-COMMERCE
Is the Era of Free Returns Over?
Together with the steady growth of online shopping, the numbers of returns, i.e. those who make use of the so-called right of withdrawal, have gone up. Some large companies, however, especially in the clothing sector, in some European countries have started to let their customers pay for returning the products, while until now this was almost always offered free of charge. For consumers, especially young consumers, who may be used to shopping for clothes online, taking advantage of the possibility of free returns, this change of strategy in e-commerce may result in an immediate economic disadvantage. But it can also represent an excellent opportunity to rethink one's online shopping habits, buying more consciously, thinking about the good of one's wallet but also that of the environment. Read more...CAR RENTAL
55% of Brokerage Portals do not Respect Consumer Rights
Consumer protection authorities in ten Member States and Norway carried out a series of sweeps on 78 car rental brokerage websites, including generic booking portals and airline websites. Only 45% of these websites were found to be compliant with EU consumer protection legislation.In fact, one third of the websites surveyed did not provide clear information on who consumers could contact in case of questions or complaints: the intermediary or the car rental company? Moreover, half did not provide clear information on what was and what was not included in the insurance. Furthermore, 27% of the websites did not clearly state the name of the intermediary service, 32% did not clearly indicate which party was bound by the rental terms and conditions, the intermediary or the car rental company, and finally, on 21% of the websites optional paid services had been pre-selected. Click here for more information.
UNFAIR BUSINESS PRACTICES
Amazon Prime Makes it Easier to Unsubscribe
The European Commission announced that Amazon has agreed to change its cancellation policy to make it compliant with EU consumer protection rules, in particular those on unfair commercial practices. In future, it will only take two clicks to cancel an Amazon Prime membership via an easy-to-find and clear 'Cancel' button. Until now, consumers were often lost on the website amid complicated navigation menus, unclear wording, confusing choices and 'nudging' techniques (strategies used to influence consumer choice).CASE OF THE MONTH
When, at the beginning of 2020, a consumer living in Austria had booked a stay to spend a few days in a hotel in Jesolo between May and June, she could not have imagined that there would soon be a lockdown and a travel ban that would continue for several more weeks, making it impossible to reach the resort. The consumer therefore had to cancel her booking and received, instead of a monetary refund, a voucher valid for one year, as was foreseen by the emergency regulation at the time. The Covid emergency, as we all know, did not end even in 2021, and the consumer was not able to use the voucher by the original deadline. When the time came to book her 2022 summer holiday, the consumer contacted the facility in Jesolo again, but was denied use of the voucher because, according to the facility, it had expired. The European Consumer Centre Austria forwarded the consumer's complaint to ECC Italy, which, in turn, contacted the facility, explaining that the validity of Covid vouchers has been extended by law several times: first to 18 months, then to 24 and finally to 30 months, after which the amount needs to be reimbursed within a further 14 days. The facility could therefore not have refused the voucher for a new booking. Following the intervention of the European Consumer Centre, the accommodation admitted the mistake and preferred to refund the voucher in full to the consumer's satisfaction.