Living in a free market economy gives consumers the right to choose from a variety of products and services.
By shopping around and comparing products, we should be able to make an informed decision. However, very often, our freedom of choice is hindered by trading practices.
Trading practices that are either misleading and/or aggressive are illegal. The Unfair Commercial Practices Regulations ban all unfair and abusive practices across the European market. These set of rules make it clear which commercial practices are not allowed.
The general rule of these regulations is that if a trading practice is likely to impair our ability to make an informed choice, or leads us to a buying decision that otherwise we would not have made, such practice is considered unfair and thus prohibited.
These regulations also specify what makes a trading practice misleading and/or aggressive. If under previous legislations there were loopholes regarding unfair trading practices, these doubts have now been completely eradicated.
Any practice is considered misleading if it either contains false information or correct information that is likely to deceive the average consumer. Misleading omissions are also banned because consumers need information to make informed choices.
In other words, any information provided to the consumer needs to be clear, intelligible and unambiguous.
The regulations also list a number of practices that are misleading and hence prohibited. Among these we find false claims that a particular product or service is free when it is not; prize promotions where there is either no prize or consumers must pay to claim a prize; false claims that a trader is about to cease trading or move premises; false claims that products can cure illnesses or disabilities; giving the wrong impression that after-sales service is available in another EU member state; and also falsely creating the impression that the trader is not acting in the course of his trade but on behalf of a consumer.
Aggressive practices are also prohibited. A commercial practice is considered aggressive when it significantly impairs through harassment or coercion, including physical force, our freedom of choice. Such practices include sales tactics that try to intimidate or coerce consumers; the use of threatening or abusive behaviour; and also practices that try to take advantage of consumers.
The regulations also list specific practices that are banned out rightly. We find situations where the trader creates the impression that the consumer cannot leave the premises until a contract is signed; or the trader refuses to leave a consumer's home after being requested to do so.
It is also prohibited to take consumers somewhere and not giving them a lift back unless they sign the contract. Advertisements directly aimed at getting children to buy products or persuading adults to buy for them are also considered aggressive practices.
The application of these regulations makes it possible to penalise unfair practices. It also sets a standard against which all new practices will automatically be judged. The general prohibition of unfair trading eliminates the need to introduce specific regulations against new unfair practices as they emerge.
Hence, whatever rogue traders come up with to sell at all costs, these regulations are ready to protect us in the best possible way.
Ms Vella is senior information officer, Consumer and Competition Division.
customer@timesofmalta.com, odette.vella@gov.mt