Pratiche sleali 2005/0029 EN

(a)

‘ consumer’ means any natural person who, in commercial practices covered by this Directive, is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession;

(b)

‘ trader’ means any natural or legal person who, in commercial practices covered by this Directive, is acting for purposes relating to his trade, business, craft or profession and anyone acting in the name of or on behalf of a trader;

(c)

‘ product’ means any goods or service including immovable property, rights and obligations;

(d)

‘business-to- consumer commercial practices’ (hereinafter also referred to as commercial practices) means any act, omission, course of conduct or representation, commercial communication including advertising and marketing, by a trader, directly connected with the promotion, sale or supply of a product to consumers;

(e)

‘to materially distort the economic behaviour of consumers’ means using a commercial practice to appreciably impair the consumer's ability to make an informed decision, thereby causing the consumer to take a transactional_decision that he would not have taken otherwise;

(f)

‘ code_of_conduct’ means an agreement or set of rules not imposed by law, regulation or administrative provision of a Member State which defines the behaviour of traders who undertake to be bound by the code in relation to one or more particular commercial practices or business sectors;

(g)

‘ code_owner’ means any entity, including a trader or group of traders, which is responsible for the formulation and revision of a code_of_conduct and/or for monitoring compliance with the code by those who have undertaken to be bound by it;

(h)

‘ professional_diligence’ means the standard of special skill and care which a trader may reasonably be expected to exercise towards consumers, commensurate with honest market practice and/or the general principle of good faith in the trader's field of activity;

(i)

‘ invitation_to_purchase’ means a commercial communication which indicates characteristics of the product and the price in a way appropriate to the means of the commercial communication used and thereby enables the consumer to make a purchase;

(j)

‘ undue_influence’ means exploiting a position of power in relation to the consumer so as to apply pressure, even without using or threatening to use physical force, in a way which significantly limits the consumer's ability to make an informed decision;

(k)

‘ transactional_decision’ means any decision taken by a consumer concerning whether, how and on what terms to purchase, make payment in whole or in part for, retain or dispose of a product or to exercise a contractual right in relation to the product, whether the consumer decides to act or to refrain from acting;

(l)

‘ regulated_profession’ means a professional activity or a group of professional activities, access to which or the pursuit of which, or one of the modes of pursuing which, is conditional, directly or indirectly, upon possession of specific professional qualifications, pursuant to laws, regulations or administrative provisions.

(a)

it is contrary to the requirements of professional_diligence,

and

(b)

it materially distorts or is likely to materially distort the economic behaviour with regard to the product of the average consumer whom it reaches or to whom it is addressed, or of the average member of the group when a commercial practice is directed to a particular group of consumers.

(a)

are misleading as set out in Articles 6 and 7,

or

(b)

are aggressive as set out in Articles 8 and 9.

(a)

the existence or nature of the product;

(b)

the main characteristics of the product, such as its availability, benefits, risks, execution, composition, accessories, after-sale customer assistance and complaint handling, method and date of manufacture or provision, delivery, fitness for purpose, usage, quantity, specification, geographical or commercial origin or the results to be expected from its use, or the results and material features of tests or checks carried out on the product;

(c)

the extent of the trader's commitments, the motives for the commercial practice and the nature of the sales process, any statement or symbol in relation to direct or indirect sponsorship or approval of the trader or the product;

(d)

the price or the manner in which the price is calculated, or the existence of a specific price advantage;

(e)

the need for a service, part, replacement or repair;

(f)

the nature, attributes and rights of the trader or his agent, such as his identity and assets, his qualifications, status, approval, affiliation or connection and ownership of industrial, commercial or intellectual property rights or his awards and distinctions;

(g)

the consumer's rights, including the right to replacement or reimbursement under Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999 on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees (8), or the risks he may face.

(a)

any marketing of a product, including comparative advertising, which creates confusion with any products, trade marks, trade names or other distinguishing marks of a competitor;

(b)

non-compliance by the trader with commitments contained in codes of conduct by which the trader has undertaken to be bound, where:

(a)

the main characteristics of the product, to an extent appropriate to the medium and the product;

(b)

the geographical address and the identity of the trader, such as his trading name and, where applicable, the geographical address and the identity of the trader on whose behalf he is acting;

(c)

the price inclusive of taxes, or where the nature of the product means that the price cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, the manner in which the price is calculated, as well as, where appropriate, all additional freight, delivery or postal charges or, where these charges cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, the fact that such additional charges may be payable;

(d)

the arrangements for payment, delivery, performance and the complaint handling policy, if they depart from the requirements of professional_diligence;

(e)

for products and transactions involving a right of withdrawal or cancellation, the existence of such a right.

(a)

its timing, location, nature or persistence;

(b)

the use of threatening or abusive language or behaviour;

(c)

the exploitation by the trader of any specific misfortune or circumstance of such gravity as to impair the consumer's judgement, of which the trader is aware, to influence the consumer's decision with regard to the product;

(d)

any onerous or disproportionate non-contractual barriers imposed by the trader where a consumer wishes to exercise rights under the contract, including rights to terminate a contract or to switch to another product or another trader;

(e)

any threat to take any action that cannot legally be taken.

(a)

take legal action against such unfair commercial practices;

and/or

(b)

bring such unfair commercial practices before an administrative authority competent either to decide on complaints or to initiate appropriate legal proceedings.

(a)

whether these legal facilities may be directed separately or jointly against a number of traders from the same economic sector;

and

(b)

whether these legal facilities may be directed against a code_owner where the relevant code promotes non-compliance with legal requirements.

(a)

to order the cessation of, or to institute appropriate legal proceedings for an order for the cessation of, unfair commercial practices;

or

(b)

if the unfair commercial practice has not yet been carried out but is imminent, to order the prohibition of the practice, or to institute appropriate legal proceedings for an order for the prohibition of the practice,

—

either with interim effect,

or

—

with definitive effect,

(a)

to require publication of that decision in full or in part and in such form as they deem adequate;

(b)

to require in addition the publication of a corrective statement.

(a)

be composed so as not to cast doubt on their impartiality;

(b)

have adequate powers, where they decide on complaints, to monitor and enforce the observance of their decisions effectively;

(c)

normally give reasons for their decisions.

2.

in Article 2:

3.

Article 3a shall be replaced by the following:

1.   By 12 June 2011 the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council a comprehensive report on the application of this Directive, in particular of Articles 3(9) and 4 and Annex I, on the scope for further harmonisation and simplification of Community law relating to consumer protection, and, having regard to Article 3(5), on any measures that need to be taken at Community level to ensure that appropriate levels of consumer protection are maintained. The report shall be accompanied, if necessary, by a proposal to revise this Directive or other relevant parts of Community law.

2.   The European Parliament and the Council shall endeavour to act, in accordance with the Treaty, within two years of the presentation by the Commission of any proposal submitted under paragraph 1.