An assessment of European online consumer electronics stores by the European Commission has failed half of the online retailers assessed, European Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kunewa has announced.
A review of 396 online electronics sales sites revealed numerous shortcomings. 66% of the sites assessed do not inform consumers about the right to return or cancel their purchases of cameras, mobile advertising data phones or computer equipment. In almost half of the cases, users only receive information about shipping costs shortly before making the payment. In addition, a third of online stores do not provide their contact details, such as email or postal address, even though this information is required by law.
The European Commissioner for Consumer Protection, Meglena Kunewa, clarifies that numerous consumer associations have received complaints about online electronics sales sites. Therefore, those responsible in each country must contact the e-commerce companies and demand that they remedy the deficiencies detected, under the risk of seeing their businesses closed or having to pay heavy fines if they do not comply with the demands.
The high number of shady online retailers could damage the reputation of the entire online retail sector and hinder the growth of this type of business. Some manufacturers have even spoken out to call irregular online retailers to order. Sony has requested provisional precautionary measures against an online retail site for promoting its televisions with a false warranty period.
Sony advises online shoppers to check that the online retailers they want to buy from have quality certificates or some form of official guarantee. Philips also advises not to look at price alone when choosing a site to buy online. Price is often the decisive factor when choosing an online retailer and price-based product search engines make it easier for consumers to access retailers that may not meet the requirements.