EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva announced the results of an investigation of 15 EU national authorities as well as
The results of the inquiry show that over 50% of all websites showed irregularities, in particular relating to price indications, contract terms and clarity of proposed conditions.
A total eight websites from
In the week of September 24-28, in the first ever EU joint enforcement action on consumer rights (co-ordinated by the European Commission), national enforcement authorities in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and also Norway scrutinised over 400 web sites to check their compliance with EU consumer law. This sweep check is followed by an enforcement phase when companies are contacted by authorities and asked to correct websites or clarify their position.
Commissioner Kuneva warned that she is giving companies four months to respond. As well as facing possible legal action, she will not hesitate to name and shame companies who fail to take action to bring sites in line with EU law once that deadline expires.
“Whether you are in
“We discovered that about 50% of airline ticket selling websites are currently letting
“Today I am issuing the strongest possible warning to companies to take swift action to put their house in order. Once the January deadline expires I will not hesitate to go further and name and shame companies which are still breaking the law,” she added.
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— How does the “Sweep†work?
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During the same week at the end of September, participating national authorities used a common methodology and pre-defined search terms such as “air-ticket, cheap flight, travel, last minute, air miles, fly cheap” to identify and investigate web sites selling air tickets, targeting consumers in their countries. Hundreds of sites were scanned by national officials to identify those which appear to be in breach of EU law on misleading advertising and unfair terms in consumer contracts.
The sweep investigation focused on three key practices:
-      Clear Pricing: A clear indication of the total price should be given in the headline price first advertised on a website i.e additional charges such as taxes, booking or credit card fees should be clearly indicated from the start rather than added at a later stage of the booking;
-      Availability: Any conditions to the offer, particularly limitations on the availability of an offer, should be clearly indicated. Prices and special offers are often used to lure consumers into the process of booking a flight – in reality there are only a very limited number of seats available under the advertised offer;
-      Fair Contract Terms: General Contract Terms must be clearly indicated, easily accessible and fair. Unfair practices include, mandatory insurance attached to an offer, or where consumers have to explicitly opt-out of an insurance clause, rather than opt-in. Contract terms and conditions must be available in the language of the consumer.
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— What happens next?
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After the sweep, companies will be contacted by authorities and asked to provide clarification or change their practices. Those who fail to do so could face legal action leading to fines or closure of their websites. In practice, national authorities will investigate and take enforcement actions for national cases. For cross border cases they will request assistance from colleagues in other EU authorities via the CPC (e.g. where the trader operates from another country).
