COMPETITION COUNCIL: ELECTRONIC TRADE OFFERS MISLEAD CONSUMERS

On 16 July, the Competition Council found that the ads of electronic products offered by Electronic Trade (further the Company) mislead consumers.

Having examined the ads of randomly selected products the Council‘s experts found that the displayed sale and reference prices reflected fake value of the offers and, thus, mislead consumers. In Council’s opinion, if consumers knew the true value of the offers, they would likely search for better price deals somewhere else. Having evaluated all the circumstances and the fact, that the breach lasted 6 years, the Council imposed on the Company a fine of 7,182 Eur.

„Online buyers cannot physically inspect the products before purchase; therefore price information often has a decisive influence when buying online. Hence, traders have to ensure that the ads are accurate and the reference prices reflect the real value of the products“– says Elonas Šatas, the Deputy Chairman of the Council.

The Council notes that consumers harmed by misleading advertising have the right to bring their case to court and claim damages.