Misleading commercial practices
A commercial practice is misleading and thus prohibited
- if it contains false information,
- if material information is true per se but may mislead the consumer given the circumstances and context in which it was used; “material information” includes, for example, the name, price and nature of the financial service, its labelling and special rules of use and the options for making a complaint,
- if a trader omits to give material information that can justly be required from him, taking account of all circumstances (for example, the available advertising room or time); it shall also be regarded as an omission when material information is provided in an unintelligible or unclear manner,
- if the manner of presentation leads to confusion with other products or traders,
- if the services are offered in a manner contravening intellectual property rights,
- if a trader fails to comply with a firm commitment contained in a code of conduct by which the trader has undertaken to be bound.
Examples of a misleading commercial practice: A company offers a product/service as exclusive when in reality it is widely available and standard. A trader claims that his product/service is approved or authorised even though it is not or it is not compliant with the approval or authorisation conditions. |