TRADERS AND CONSUMERS
Grazyna Rokicka
Andrea Filippo Gagliardi
TRADER
Any natural person or any legal person, irrespective
of whether privately or publicly owned,
who is acting, including through any other person
acting in his name or on his behalf,
for purposes relating to his trade, business, craft or
profession in relation to consumer contracts.
Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights
CONSUMER
Any natural person,
who, in contracts with traders,
is acting for purposes which are outside
his trade, business, craft or profession.
Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights
HOW TO IDENTIFY CONSUMER
TRANSACTIONS
Traditionally: B-2-B or B-2-C transactions.
Examples of B-2-B: wholesale distribution, procurement
contracts, exchange between traders. B-2-B involves
both parties subject to VAT payment.
Examples of B-2-C: retail sales, internet selling (Ebay),
tele-selling, door-to-door selling.
Consumer law confers stronger protection to consumers
since they are generally perceived as having less
information about what they buy (information asymmetry)
RELATIONS BETWEEN
TRADER AND CONSUMER
 Before purchase – Pre contractual obligations to
make the consumer more informed about his choice
 During the purchase –
The modality of the
conclusion of the contract, i.e. the way the consensus
with the consumer has been obtained
 After purchase Complaint
mechanisms of redress such as
substitution of the product
or
other
restitution or
SCOPE OF CONSUMER LAW
CONTRACTS concluded by consumers:
sale of goods
sale of services
financial services (banking, insurance)
consumer credit (credit card transactions)
e-commerce
services of general interest (energy, water, telecomm.)
tourism, transport
public services (health, education)
PRE-CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION
to INFORM CONSUMER on:
The origin, nature, composition and use;
The quality, quantity, category and usual denomination;
The general legal and economic conditions of the sale
including complete information on the price including
VAT and other taxes;
Date of production and expiry date;
Instructions of use;
Procedure available to consumers to terminate the
contract
In consumer claims on the basis of infringement of this general
obligation the burden of the proof is on the trader.
PRICE INFORMATION :
1) The trader shall clearly, visibly and legibly state the retail price of
products, services he/she provides and spare parts he/she sells with
the service, and mark the price in local currency.
2) The retail price of a product or service, a retail price of a product
unit, manufacturing unit or a certain quantity of product shall be the
final price for the consumer.
3) A unit price is a price per one kilogram, one liter, one meter, one
square meter or one cubic meter of a product, or some other
quantity measure that is generally of usually used in the sale of
products.
4) For bulk products, only the unit price of the product shall be
stated at the selling point.
DIRECTIVE 98/6/EC on consumer protection in the indication of the prices of
products offered to consumers
TYPES OF CONTRACTS
• Traditional, in-store
• Away from business premises – door-to-door
• Distance selling
Information duty increases with distance or when the
consumer is hit “cold”, providing for the right of
withdrawal within a certain period of time (cooling off).
GENERAL TRADERS OBLIGATIONS
TRADER is obliged to give to consumer:
- all documents associated to goods/services as
required by the law, like: manuals, terms of contract;
- all accessories;
- guarantee document (if issued);
- sales receipt/bill/invoice (with the seller's name &
address, date of purchase, specification of goods, their
quantity and price)
- Information on mechanism of redress, including
where applicable the right of cancellation.
TRADER
must deliver goods
which are
in conformity with the contract of sale
Directive 1999/44/EC on certain aspects of the sale of consumer
goods and associated guarantees
MISLEADING OR AGGRESSIVE PRACTICES
Always prohibited:
• Including in marketing material an invoice or similar
document seeking payment which gives the consumer
the impression that he has already ordered the marketed
product when he has not.
• Making persistent and unwanted solicitations by
telephone, fax, e-mail or other remote media.
• Demanding immediate or deferred payment for or the
return or safekeeping of products supplied by the trader,
but not solicited by the consumer.
It is fundamental for traders to record the consensus obtained by the
consumer. Without this record, there cannot be a valid transaction.
AFTER PURCHASE
Consumers may act for breach of their rights. Here you
have two scenarios:
 Restore the status quo ante through reimbursement,
substitution or cancellation
 Additional penalties
AFTER PURCHASE
Consumer complaints are a great source of
information for traders of:
- Errors in characteristics of the product, including
quality, safety and intended use
- Defectiveness of products
- Consumers, their preferences, expectations and
characteristics
WHY TRADERS TAKE CARE OF THE
CONSUMERS:
- to achieve a competitive advantage towards other
traders – consumer feedback is key to success
- to avoid legal problems
- to build good, long-term relations with consumers
- not to violate rules of ethics
- because they are consumers, too
CONSUMER PROTECTION INSTITUTIONS
European Parliament – IMCO
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/hr/imco/home.html
European Commission – DG SANCO
http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/index_en.htm
European Consumer Association BEUC
www.beuc.eu
CONSUMER ACQUIS
Directive 99/44/EC on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods
and associated guarantees
Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights
Directive 2005/29/EC concerning unfair business-to-consumer
commercial practices
Directive 93/13/EEC on unfair terms in consumer contracts
Directive 98/6/EC on consumer protection in the indication of the
prices of products offered to consumers
Directive 2008/48/EC on credit agreements for consumers
GOOD BUSINESS PRACTICES
Alternative dispute resolutions schemes, ADR/ODR
CODES OF CONDUCTS
Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR
FAIR TRADE