The Consumers’ Association this morning lambasted the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority for its statement yesterday warning people about internet shopping.

In a statement yesterday, the authority said people thinking of buying online during the Christmas season should ensure that the products they purchased complied with the applicable EU directives as failure to do so could result in the products being withheld.

The association said this morning that the MCCAA’s statement was an attempt to curb consumer rights and to discourage people from buying online.

It said that while the government was doing its utmost to reduce bureaucracy, the MCCAA seemed to want to increase it.

The authority, the association said, had structures to ensure that dangerous objects did not enter Malta but these should not be used against consumers but against abusive importers.

The association said that the international market had evolved and consumers no longer needed a licence for everything they wanted to buy from abroad.

In a reply today, the MCCAA  expressed surprise at the association's reaction and said consumers were unable to physically handle and inspect goods offered for sale online and so could not assess sturdiness, safety and labels before buying.

It said both the authority and the association had the common goal of furthering consumers' welfare. Its statement, the authority said, was not intended to dissuade online purchases as these made up for healthy competition which was beneficial to both traders and consumers.

"However MCCAA, like authorities in other countries, felt obliged to advise both traders and consumers to take the necessary precautions when purchasing products online to ensure that such purchases did not pose any risk to their clients in the case of traders and in the case of the consumer to himself and relatives, including children."