DG Health and Consumers has issued today the results of an EU-wide investigation involving 26 Member States and Norway and Iceland into misleading advertising and unfair practices on websites selling consumer electronic goods.

The value of online retail sales of consumer electronic goods in Europe is ca. € 6.8 billion (2007), and about one in four EU consumers who ever bought anything online bought an electronic product (including cameras). More than a third of complaints regarding online sales handled by the European Consumer Centre Network in 2007, concerned the purchase of electronic equipment.

In May 2009, national enforcers (co-ordinated by the European Commission) checked websites selling electronic goods for compliance with three crucial EU consumer laws: the Distance Selling Directive, the e-Commerce Directive, and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive.

Thus, the DG Consumer of the European Union has coordinated the clampdown of 369 websites selling six of the most popular electronic goods to consumers in the EU - digital cameras, mobile phones, personal music players, DVD players, computer equipment and game consoles. It covered 200 of the biggest websites selling electronic equipment in the EU as well as more than 100 websites which were targeted on the basis of consumer complaints.

The sweep investigation focused on 3 key areas:

1. Contact information for the trader: there must be complete information about the name, geographical address and email address of the trader.
2. Clear information about the offer: the online traders must provide clear information about the characteristics of the product, as well as the total cost (including taxes), all extra delivery costs and payment arrangements. The final price to pay must be the same as stated in the information provided before the purchase.
3. Clear information about consumer rights:  consumers must be provided with information about their EU "right to return" i. e. a good bought at a distance can be returned within a minimum of 7 days without giving a reason. The investigation also checked the accuracy of additional information provided about consumer rights e.g. warrantees, refunds.

The report remarks that 55% of the 369 checked websites showed irregularities which are being investigated further. 13 % of the problematic sites will require cross border co-operation between national authorities.

Traders will be contacted by the national authorities and asked to clarify their position or correct the problems identified. Failure to bring a website in line with the law can result in legal action leading to fines or websites being closed. The EU wide enforcement results will be presented by mid-2010.