The National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC) is currently carrying out an action to check shopping sites and apps that operate as an online marketplace, Temu and Shein, ANPC informs in a press release.
“The action focuses on possible unfair commercial practices of merchants, in relation to consumers, likely to distort, essentially, their economic behavior, namely potential violations of horizontal legislation on product safety and consumer protection (unauthentic discounts) and aggressive practices – manipulative interfaces (dark patterns), pressure-selling, rewarding the involvement of a person with a product or service with a prize (gamification), but also other aspects (for example, related to product safety),” the institution’s statement reads.
In this context, the ANPC advises consumers who buy online from these sites to carefully inform themselves, before purchasing a product, about its characteristics, prices displayed, delivery costs, information about the trader or the available payment methods.
Before concluding the purchase, consumers should check whether the trader’s website provides correct and complete information on: his identification details (name, postal and e-mail address, telephone number, company registration number, tax registration number, etc.); the essential characteristics of the product; the price including all taxes; delivery charges, if applicable; payment and delivery terms; the period of validity of the offer or price; the existence and the exercise of the right of unilateral termination of the contract.
“The ANPC recommends that if you encounter a problem when shopping online, you should try to resolve it directly with the economic operator by amicable means. If this does not work, you can contact the Alternative Dispute Resolution Directorate of the ANPC https://anpc.ro/ce-este-sal/, in the case of economic operators with registered offices in Romania. If the economic operator has its head office in another European country, you can contact the European Consumer Centre in Romania https://eccromania.ro/, which helps you free of charge when you have a consumer protection problem with a product or service purchased in another European country, informs you free of charge about your rights when travelling in another European country and offers you free support if you have a complaint against your economic operator in order to resolve the problem. If no other means of redress is possible, you can submit a complaint by going to https://sesizari.anpc.ro/, in the case of economic operators with registered offices in Romania”, the Consumer Protection press release points out.
