Consumer's Telegram June 2024

Insert of n. 45 - Editorial office: Centro Europeo Consumatori (European Consumer Centre Italy - Bolzano office)

EU

Fight Against Greenwashing

The new EU Directive 2024/825 was recently published in the Official Journal of the EU. Its aim is to provide consumers with greater protection against unfair commercial practices and to promote the green transition through better information.
The 'black list' of conducts to be considered as prohibited in all circumstances will therefore soon expand to include, among others, the labelling of products with a sustainability label that is not based on official certification schemes or that has not been established by public authorities; the use of generic environmental claims (e.g. 'eco-friendly', 'green', 'sustainable') for which traders are unable to provide evidence; the claim that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive impact on the environment in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, when in reality the greenhouse gas emissions are simply offset.
The rules, once transposed at national level, will be applied from 27/09/2026. To find out what else the new directive provides for, consult the website of the European Consumer Centre (ECC).

CAR RENTAL

Fines of More than 18 Million to Six Car Rental Companies

Six car rental companies operating on the Italian market were recently fined by the Italian Competition and Market Authority (AGCM) for unfair terms in consumer contracts. The terms found to be unfair required car hirers to pay a fee for operational costs in the event of fines imposed for traffic violations, failure to pay parking fees or tolls during the rental period. The AGCM considered the amount of the fees to be unjustified, since the only service required of the car rental company in such an eventuality is to communicate the identification data of the customer who was holding the vehicle at the time of the offence to the authorities. In addition to the payment of an administrative fine, the car rental companies were ordered to remove the terms from the contractual documentation. For more information.

EU

E-Commerce Giant Shein is Considered a VLOP

The European Commission has classified the online retailer Shein, which has more than 45 million users in the EU, as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) under the Digital Services Act. The company will have to comply with the stricter provisions of the Digital Services Act within four months of the notification (that is by the end of August 2024), and will then be required to take specific measures to empower and protect online users, including minors, and to adequately assess and mitigate any systemic risks arising from its services. For further information.

CASE OF THE MONTH
An Italian consumer ordered two tickets from a German company for what he believed to be a concert by a well-known American singer to take place in Germany in December 2023 at a price of EUR 60.45 per ticket. The consumer and his partner were very disappointed when at the concert, instead of the artist himself, they found themselves in front of a cover band performing the singer's greatest hits. Since neither the description of the concert nor the ticket information or ticket layout mentioned that it was a concert of a cover band, the consumer contacted the German company to file a complaint. The company however did not accept to refund because, according to the description of the concert, it was a show about the hits of the famous singer. Dissatisfied with the response, the consumer contacted the European Consumer Centre (ECC) Italy. We forwarded the complaint to our German colleagues and the intervention of ECC Germany was successful: the company refunded the price of both tickets.