EU 'sweep' nets five 'Maltese' internet sites

Five internet sites with a Maltese connection which sell online tickets for cultural and sporting events have been found to be deceiving clients and not adhering to consumer protection laws, an EU-wide survey has concluded.

The sites are now being further investigated by both the EU and Maltese authorities.

Addressing a press conference in Brussels, European Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner John Dalli did not name the sites involved. However, it was revealed that two of the five sites being investigated sell products on the domestic market.

One of the sites is based in Malta while the others target Maltese consumers but are based in other EU member states.

Mr Dalli said the defaulting sites were being given some time to regularise their position or face sanctions under Maltese laws.

The so-called Sweep exercise, introduced by the Commission two years ago, involves coordinated actions by the national consumer authorities of the 27 member states, which simultaneously check a particular market for practices breaching EU laws. Out of the 414 sites checked across the EU, 40 per cent were found to be compliant and the others were flagged for further investigation.

Among the irregularities found were missing and misleading information about the final price to be paid, unfair terms and conditions and incomplete information about the trader.

In a similar exercise last year, seven Maltese websites were found to be problematic, including three that are still under investigation but have not complied with consumer laws yet. They were not named either.

In Malta, the Commission’s exercise is coordinated by the Consumers and Competition Division.