“The draft law is as relevant as ever, as we are going through a time of precision and energy crisis,” said Deputy Minister of Development & Investment Nikos Papathanasis, referring to the provisions for consumer protection. The Deputy Minister underlined that fairness and transparency in transactions are strengthened, the interests of consumers are protected, misleading marketing and sales practices are eliminated.
Mr. Papathanasis, referring to the inspections carried out by DIMEA, the fuel market chain but also the retail market in general, and the fines that have been imposed, underlined that “Minister Adonis Georgiadis himself, in his presence “Everywhere, and in the refineries, it sends the message that we will not tolerate anything and whoever tries, in the midst of this crisis, to speculate or to follow a harmonized practice, will find the state in front of him.”
“The bill imposes additional obligations on online markets, extends consumer protection to digital services and tightens sanctions,” said Nikos Papathanasis, noting in particular that:
– the consumer is protected from artificially inflated prices,
– is protected from fictitious discounts and severe penalties are provided for,
– companies are obliged to provide sufficient information so that the consumer knows the services and goods he will buy,
– consumers are protected from false product evaluations, as online platforms give false evaluations in order to promote products – DIMEA will be able to control these evaluations,
– gives consumers strong rights in the event of an unfair practice that may require a reduction in price,
– identifies a base ranking mechanism, because products, based on their classification, are more or less in demand by consumers,
– obliges online services to fully inform what they offer and with a reminder of the legal guarantee,
– the withdrawal period is extended from 15 to 30 days so that the consumer, in case of change of mind, can return the product,
– the obligations of the supplier and the consumer, in case of withdrawal of the latter, are defined, and
– the amount of fines imposed is increased and the ministry is obliged to post fines over 50,000 euros.
Commenting on the criticism of the official opposition, the Deputy Minister responded with what… did not happen, during SYRIZA.
“During the SYRIZA government, the concept of speculation was never defined. The ND and this government, for the first time, brought the concept of speculation into the legal order. This happened at the beginning of the pandemic. So we could have a mechanism to control to impose fines, as well as to carry out seizures “, said the Deputy Minister of Development and continued:
“During the SYRIZA government, stocks were never recorded. It was never known what exists in the Greek market, in order to be able to check if there is an artificial shortage. This is the first time this mechanism exists and we can know what and how many products there are. to check if a company is trying to create an artificial shortage. the market”.
Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
Source: Capital
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