The sweep of 314 retailers found that of the cosmetics, fashion, furniture and electrical goods retailers online tested, 30pc “referenced discounts incorrectly” during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.
The damning verdict comes after a sweep of 314 retailers from 23 EU countries, as well as Iceland and Norway.
The authorities found that of all the cosmetics, fashion, furniture and electrical goods retailers online tested, 30pc “referenced discounts incorrectly” during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.
The revelation comes after recent prosecutions against Brown Thomas Arnotts, Boots and DID Electrical.
In the case of Brown Thomas Arnotts, instead of reducing prices, the retailer had actually raised them on several products for Black Friday, including a 55-inch Sony Bravia television where the price was adjusted upwards by €600 but tagged as a Black Friday sales reduction.
Brown Thomas Arnotts accepted the transgression and said that it “regretted any confusion” over the incident, paying €1,000 to charity as a fine.
Under the Price Indications Directive, when a business announces a discount, the price of reference must be the lowest price applied in the past 30 days.
According to today’s joint investigation results, 36pc of online traders attempted to add optional items to consumers’ baskets. Of those, four in ten did so without requesting consent. 18pc used pressure-selling techniques, such as claiming a product is running out or using countdown timers. 10pc used ‘drip pricing’, where extra fees are added late in the purchasing process, such as shipping or service fees.
“Businesses should know that we are monitoring and have successfully taken traders to court for fake discounts,” said Helen Martin, a member of the CCPC.
“Consumers have a legal right to clear pricing information and businesses must not mislead consumers into thinking they’re getting a better deal than they really are,”
Michael McGrath, Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, said: “This sweep gives us a comprehensive view of the market, helping us identify where further action is needed to keep it fair, transparent and competitive.”
Earlier this year, the chairperson of the CCPC, Brian McHugh, told the Irish Independent that the law is currently too weak to make companies think twice about misleading customers and such companies are getting away with relatively tiny fines when they should be paying millions for cheating consumers
“It’s not a deterrent,” he said.
”It does not meet the harm that we see in terms of what consumers suffer. And why do companies not comply? I think one of the factors is that the punishment is a €1,000 contribution to a charity in Ireland… which may even be tax deductible.”
McHugh was commenting after the CCPC’s successful prosecution against Brown Thomas Arnotts for misleading its customers on Black Friday sales discounts, which resulted in a financial penalty of €1,000 charitable donation plus the CCPC’s legal costs.
McHugh said that the CCPC would like to see new financial penalties that could be based on a percentage of the offending firm’s revenue.
“Percentage of turnover is a starting point,” he said.
”One would expect the potential for millions in fines… It would certainly be something that you would want to make the decision makers at the corporate level take notice of. If you cause significant harm to consumers, then the punishment should fit the crime. And it is really hard to see under the current system how that applies.”
McHugh says that he is “hopeful” that changes to the law might begin their journey through the Oireachtas this year.
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