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

The sites in question are now being further probed by both the EU and Maltese authorities.

Addressing a press conference in Brussels yesterday, 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 in Malta only sell products on the domestic market.

The investigation, launched by the Commission, looked into the operations of six sites and one of them was found to be in order. 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 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 have been flagged for further investigation.

According to the EU Executive, national authorities would now contact the traders in question and ask them to clarify their position. 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 Department at the Ministry of Finance.