Is it unfair?

How to tell when a commercial practice is unfair

The burning question for consumers will undoubtedly be: "How can I tell when a particular commercial practice is unfair?"

• The Black List: practices that are ALWAYS prohibited
• Misleading with false information
• Misleading by leaving out information
• Aggressive marketing
• Other cases

Misleading by leaving out information

Consumers need information to make informed choices. A trader can mislead by leaving out information that the average consumer needs. The information that the consumer needs is defined in a uniform manner in the EU by the consumer protection authorities and courts on a case-by-case basis.

It is misleading to:

• omit material information that the average consumer needs, according to the context, to take an informed transactional decision
• hide or provide information in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner
• fail to identify the commercial intent of the commercial practice if it's not already apparent from the context.

When assessing whether a practice misleads by leaving out information, the following aspects are taken into consideration:

• The effect of the commercial practice in its entirety, including the presentation;
• information must be displayed clearly: obscure presentation is tantamount to failing to inform.

In the case of commercial communication (advertising, website of the trader) including the description of the product or the service and its price, the trader must provide information on:

• the main characteristics of the product;
• its geographical address and identity;
• the price inclusive of taxes and all additional charges (freight, delivery, post etc.);
• the arrangements for payment, delivery, performance and the complaint handling policy if they depart from the requirements of professional diligence;
• when there is a right of withdrawal, the existence of such a right.