EU | Campaign for Consumer Choice

The Consumer Choice Blog

Archive for the 'EU' Category

Last chance for online sales review

Posted by guy clapperton, 11.03.10

There are now just days to go before a decision on the EU ‘Vertical Restraints’ Regulation. If approved in its current draft form, this legislation would allow brand manufacturers to impose restrictions on sellers who do not have a physical, ‘brick and mortar’ shop.

This blog believes that online-only outlets can offer a professional, high quality and economically sound way to shop and should not be put at an unfair disadvantage against high street buildings.

We urge people to contact the European Commission’s competition section and their Member of the European Parliament to protest against the proposed discriminatory change.

1 Comment Share

How a bottle of perfume could cost EU citizens their consumer rights

Posted by simon, 30.11.09

Lock and secure
[Disclosure: the Campaign for Consumer Choice is supported by eBay]

You may have seen the news today that an injunction issued by the French Commercial Court of Paris has fined eBay €1.7 million saying eBay had failed to comply with an injunction issued last year, which prevented eBay’s French users from buying and selling authentic Christian Dior, Kenzo, Givenchy and Guerlain perfume products on any eBay site in the world.

eBay’s official statement said that it had complied with the injunction and filtered out listings of authentic LVMH products. They went on to state that today’s ruling strikes a blow against consumer rights for citizens across the EU and represents the thin edge of the wedge for consumer choice across all of online.

The results of the case worryingly reveals that, in France at least, if you buy perfume brands from Louis Vuitton then you don’t actually buy the right to re-sell those perfumes. Even worse is that the case highlights a flaw in the founding idea of the Internal Market: free trade and the ability of people to buy and sell goods across European borders.

Tamebay’s Chris Dawson puts it succinctly when he writes

“…what’s important is that French eBay users who own a bottle of perfume don’t have the right to sell it. French users are blocked from buying perfume from any eBay site world wide, not just from eBay France. French consumers are being discriminated against and have lost the freedom to purchase perfumes from other EU countries. For the French the EU Single Market no longer exists”.

A statement from eBay’s General Manager in France, Alex von Schirmeister suggests that the ruling will impact directly on consumers and is likely to be over-turned in the “higher courts”. A full transcript can be found below and the full statement from eBay can be found online here:

“Today’s outcome hurts consumers by preventing them from buying and selling authentic items online. The injunction is an abuse of ‘selective distribution’. It effectively enforces restrictive distribution contracts, which is anti-competitive.
“We believe that the higher courts will overturn this ruling and ensure that eCommerce companies such as eBay will continue to provide a platform for buyers and sellers to trade authentic goods.”

Mr von Schirmeister added, “The fine itself is disproportionate given that eBay complied with the Injunction. It is out of step with our legal victories in France, UK, Germany, Belgium and the US.” The fine itself is disproportionate given that eBay complied with the Injunction. It is out of step with our legal victories in France, UK, Germany, Belgium and the US.”

eBay plans to appeal against LVMH’s original injunction and hearings are scheduled for Spring 2010. The Campaign for Consumer Choice will provide more information on these cases as we get it and update you as to what the implications will be for consumers who buy and sell goods online.

1 Comment Share

A European blueprint for consumer choice

Posted by simon, 18.11.09

Meglena Kuneva, European Commissioner for consumer affairs who recently revealed the results of mystery shopping exercise carried out across Europe has just published her blueprint for Consumer Policy in Europe.

The blueprint is Kuneva’s vision for how trade should look across the EU in the future and focuses specifically on using technology and increasing consumer trust to achieve its aims.

Echoing our Consumer Choice campaign’s call for fairer online trade practices that offers consumers the greatest choice and value, Kuneva’s calls for an integrated European market that maximizes the opportunities presented by the internet, such as innovative payment systems.

She also wants to see a clamp down on artificial barriers that prevent cross-border competition and encourage anti-consumer trading practices, for example, confusing pricing and hidden fees.

Kuneva also believes that consumer policy must “fight protectionist instincts” which can include both national protectionism as well as commercial protectionism we have witnessed by some brands who want to keep their prices high artificially for online retailers.

As a result, Kuneva hopes that this will improve customer’s experience but believes the EU Commission must support this approach:

“The European Commission must strive to develop a vibrant and innovative market in which citizens are keen to participate. This market must be grounded on a regulatory system that promotes trust and it must build on new technologies.”

Here at the Campaign for Consumer Choice, we know consumers are keen to participate in this “vibrant and innovative market’. Not only that, they are participating and want greater support to do so.

It’s now time for the Commission to listen to its Commissioner and the 750,000 European Citizens who signed our petition to request the EU’s vertical restraint laws be modified to support the kind of consumer society Kuneva wants to see become a reality.

1 Comment Share

6 out of 10 European shoppers are blocked from purchasing their favourite products abroad

Posted by simon, 9.11.09

Kuneva_EU
A new report by the EU Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, Meglena Kuneva, sheds light on the difficulties of cross-border shopping.

A vast mystery shopping exercise was carried out across Europe: shoppers tried to purchase a range of 100 popular products and the results were revealing. The research found that:

• 60% of cross border transactions could not be completed by consumers because the trader did not ship the product to their country or did not offer adequate means for cross border payment.
• In 13 countries out of 27 and for at least half of all product searches, consumers were able to find an offer in another EU country which was at least 10% cheaper than the best domestic offer.
• Shoppers in 13 EU countries could not find domestic online offers for at least 50% of the products which they searched for, but found them in another EU country.

Meglena Kuneva, Commission for Consumer Affairs notes in a recent speech that:

“As we stand today, we cannot shop cross-border online within the EU. There is no European retail market online, but instead 27 inefficient mini-markets. We have the technology for a big market but not the trade. And this is generating a lot of frustration among European citizens who expect and deserve better”

In short, the report shows that cross border internet trade is often the only way consumers can buy the products they want at the prices they want. But too often cross border trade is hampered by the patchwork of different laws that exist across the EU and other online trade barriers.

It’s now time for the EU to tackle some of the problems highlighted by Kuneva’s report and encourage both online businesses and consumers to call for fairer online retailing by adopting a set of EU-wide consumer protection rules and taking action against online trade barriers.

This is exactly what we’re calling for, and 750,000 Europeans have already supported our call for free trade on the Internet. If you want a better, fairer deal for consumers, why don’t you sign up to join our Consumer Choice campaign?

4 Comments Share

The campaign for Consumer Choice in Strasbourg

Posted by simon, 23.10.09

When we launched the Consumer Choice campaign at the EU Parliament in Strasbourg last month we spent some time talking with a number of people who attended.

This included Alex von Schirmeister, director general of eBay, British MEPs backing the campaign Mary Honeyball and Roger Helmer as well as a range of small business owners from the UK, France and Germany who sell via eBay and have suffered from online restrictions from brand owners.

We’ve collected these interviews into a film that illustrates some of the problems faced by online retailers under the EU’s current legislation and reinforces the importance of our campaign.

As Alex von Schirmeister, director general of eBay, puts it:

“EU policymakers are in the process of reviewing the selective distribution laws which have to be revised by next year. What we’re hoping is to actually influence law making. We think that the current framework needs to be revised, needs to be updated and we’re hoping that policy makers today that hear this message will take this into account when they draft the law”

We hope that this video will further contribute towards increasing awareness of the significance of free Internet trade which we believe benefits not only businesses and consumers but society in general.

You can watch the film over at the Consumer Choice YouTube channel along with our other campaign films. Some of the content is also in French and German, but regardless of the language, the bottom line is always the same: Internet trade should not be restricted because it hurts consumers and small businesses.

No Comments Share

Have you signed up for lower prices online?

Posted by simon, 15.10.09

So far 750,000 people from across the EU have signed our petition saying ‘yes’ to lower prices for goods online, including 251,712 – over a quarter of a million – from the UK alone.

But we don’t want to stop here. The EU commission is still considering the European Vertical Restraints Regulation and Guidelines and we want as many people as possible to send a clear message to policy-makers that British consumers support fairer trade and increased consumer choice online.

We need you to help defend your right to buy your favourite authentic goods online and support free trade online. Add your name to our petition by visiting www.ebaycampaigns.com

As part of this process, eBay is calling for support for cross-border internet sales, increasing consumer choice and treating online and offline channels equally.

251,712 Brits signed the eBay petition. All of the petitions on Twitition total just 132,255 with the largest having15,455. eBay’s petition addresses a relatively obscure piece of competition law so three quarters of a million signatures shows just how important the issue is for consumers and online sellers.

No Comments Share

The EU’s an open market. Make the most of it.

Posted by simon, 7.10.09

Blogger and eBay seller, Chris Dawson, attended the launch event in Strasbourg where we presented a petition signed by 750,000 eBayers to the European Parliament.

The petition calls for amendments to EU competition law to stop brands from restricting the sale of their products online.

We interviewed Chris and a number of other sellers at the event (we’ll be putting some of this content on the site shortly) but one important point Chris makes is that the whole point of “being in the EU is that it’s an open market. So let’s make the most of it.”

We couldn’t agree more and our petition aims to make sure that the final decision the EU Commission makes on its European Vertical Restraints Regulation and Guidelines fully supports cross-border internet sales, increased consumer choice and treating online and offline channels equally.

As Chris writes on his blog:

“750,000 signatories is a huge number which the EU will find hard to ignore. To put it into context on the Downing Street website the combined total for the top five open petitions have just 195,459 signatures – 251,712 signed the eBay petition from the UK.

All of the petitions on Twitition total just 132,255 with the largest being 15,455. eBay’s petition addresses a relatively obscure piece of competition law so three quarters of a million signatures shows just how important the issue is for consumers and online sellers.”

Chris also took the opportunity to explain why our campaign is important when he appeared on BBC News 24 last month. You can catch Chris in this YouTube clip where he explains to the Great British public why it is vital to help protect millions of EU consumers and their rights to purchase fairly priced products.

No Comments Share

Mary Honeyball MEP speaks out for Consumer Choice

Posted by simon, 28.09.09

The British Labour MEP for London, Mary Honeyball, has written a blog post on the political website LabourList about our Campaign for Consumer Choice launch event at which she spoke. You can read her full article here.

In her post Mary sets out three clear arguments why policy-makers must amend current EU trading laws and why she supports our campaign.

Firstly, Mary argues that the internet allows consumers to purchase goods at a fair price which is especially important during tough economic times. She highlights the fact that the campaign isn’t just about companies protecting luxury or premium brands, it’s about stopping consumers making savings on everyday products.

Mary writes:

“High prices harm everyone. This is not just about expensive handbags and luxury products – it is about things bought by millions of consumers all over Europe. It’s also about new goods, not just second-hand – parents getting sporting goods, shoes, school bags and other equipment for their children and general consumers buying cycling helmets, ski equipment, mp3 players, computers and household appliances like washing machines.”

The second argument for amending EU trading laws is quite simply that they’re out-of-date! The current regulations were drawn up 10 years ago when the idea of buying and selling goods in a global online marketplace was but a twinkle in the internet’s eye.

Mary observes that “The internet redistributes power to the consumer in ways we could not have envisaged only a few years ago. The presentation of this unprecedented petition should be a wake up call to the Commission to think again about its review of these regulations.”

And last – but by no means least – removing restrictions on buying and selling goods online is good for the economy. Many businesses, that make money through online trading, are small to medium sized enterprises and the mainstay of most European countries.

Perhaps more significantly, the ability to run a small business by buying and selling goods online also allows people to run successful business from home while having the flexibility to spend more time with their families.

Mary ends by issuing a rallying call to consumers across Europe:

“The way things stand at present just makes everyone poorer. It hurts consumers. It costs jobs and damages businesses … The manufacturers and traditional retailers will be lobbying the Commission hard to protect themselves from having to compete with on fair basis with internet businesses. Those of us who want a fair deal for consumers must do the same.”

You can watch a video of her full speech at the EU Parliament on Mary’s YouTube page and read her full post over at LabourList.

No Comments Share

Welcome to the Campaign for Consumer Choice

Posted by simon, 28.09.09

Hi there and welcome to the home of the Consumer Choice campaign. We’ll be adding more to the site over the coming weeks, but in the meantime have a read about what we are campaigning for.

The campaign has been started by online marketplace, eBay, because we think it’s wrong that current EU law gives companies permission to stop people from buying and selling legitimate products online – whether they’re new or second-hand.

We asked people from across Europe whether they also thought this was unfair: more than 750,000 agreed with us by signing our online petition which we presented to the European Parliament at an event on Thursday 16th September.

The event sent a powerful message to EU politicians and policy-makers. Small businesses that sell through eBay spoke of the intimidating tactics adopted by certain brands to try to stop them earning a living. A number of MEPs attending the event joined our calls for the EU to update its laws so they are relevant for the internet age but so that consumers can always access greater choice and value by shopping online.

Please watch our film (embedded above) which tells you what the campaign is all about in 60 seconds.

We’ll be posting some video footage shot at the launch event over the coming days. In the meantime subscribe to our RSS feed for latest campaign news and updates.

1 Comment Share