Consumer's Telegram January 2025
Insert of n. 6 - Editorial office: Centro Europeo Consumatori (European Consumer Centre Italy - Bolzano office)BEWARE OF THE TRAP!
Fraudsters posing as representatives of the European Consumer Centres Network
The European Consumer Centre Italy warns consumers about a hoax: fraudsters, posing as representatives of the European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net), are contacting victims with the false promise of recovering lost money. The recipients of the scam are in fact consumers who have unfortunately already been involved in financial scams in the past. In the course of the communication, these self-styled representatives of our Network inform the victims that the money lost in the scams they have been involved in has been traced. In particular, they claim that the funds are held in an account at a Swiss bank in London, ready to be transferred to the victim's account. None of this is true! Read on the website of the European Consumer Centre (ECC) how the scam works and how to recognise it.E-COMMERCE
Fake-shops, dropshipping & co. What to watch out for?
In recent years, fake shops, i.e. deceptive websites pretending to be real shops, have become quite common. These sites lure consumers with irresistible offers, but often turn out to be a scam: the product purchased will never arrive, will be different from that advertised or, worse, may be a counterfeit item. Dropshipping, on the other hand, is an online sales practice in which the seller does not physically own the products, but orders them from third-party (often non-EU) suppliers only after receiving the customer's order. This method can lead to significant delays and difficulties in exercising your rights as a consumer. Read more about this topic here.GEOBLOCKING
The European Commission and the CPC Network reprimand Apple
The Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network and the European Commission have identified several potentially prohibited geoblocking practices in connection with media services provided by Apple. For the Apple Media Services App Store, Apple Arcade, Music, iTunes Store, Books and Podcasts, it was found that Apple Media Services have different interfaces for different countries and that in the app version, only the interface set for the country in which the Apple account was registered can be accessed. When making purchases via Apple Media Services, only payment methods (such as credit/debit cards) issued in the country in which the Apple account was registered can be used. Since the App Store only allows purchases in one's own country, it is not possible to download applications offered in other countries. However, consumers should be able to download apps offered in other EU/EEA countries, if they are travelling or temporarily staying in that country.CASE OF THE MONTH
Paying tolls is not always easy and straightforward, and unpleasant surprises can occur sometimes at the toll booth.
An Italian consumer, travelling in France, experienced an example of this. Once she arrived at the toll station, she was unable to pay the toll with either her credit or debit card. The consumer was only given a receipt, which stated that it was possible to pay within 15 days without surcharges, with an indication of the website through which she could make the payment.
The consumer then proceeded to log on to make the payment online, only to find another nasty surprise. By entering the code she had been given on the website, the amount to be paid - instead of the foreseen €12.30 - had risen to €90! The consumer then tried to resolve the matter with the customer service, but to no avail. Paradoxically, the amount apparently due had even increased to €120.00, even though the 15-day deadline had not even passed!
The consumer therefore asked the European Consumer Centre (ECC) Italy for help, which in turn immediately contacted their colleagues at ECC France. Thanks to this intervention, the consumer was finally allowed to correctly pay only the amount of the toll, without any surcharge.