Competition and Consumer Protection Commission Publishes Consumer Protection List (July– December 2014)

January 28, 2015

 

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (the Commission), the statutory body responsible for the enforcement of competition and consumer protection law, today published its Consumer Protection List for the period July to December 2014. The Consumer Protection List records the enforcement actions taken by the Commission  under the Consumer Protection Act 2007 and other consumer legislation.

In the last six months of 2014 the Commission secured:

  • One conviction against VK Motors Ltd (formerly trading at 258 Harold’s Cross Road, Harold’s Cross, Dublin) for engaging in a misleading commercial practice by providing false information in relation to a vehicle’s mileage.
  • One conviction against Mr. Brian Fassnidge, (formerly operating at Motorcity Naas Road, 15 Naas Road, Dublin) for four breaches of the Consumer Protection Act 2007, by engaging in misleading commercial practices thereby misleading consumers in relation to the sale of crashed cars. Mr. Fassnidge was also convicted of supplying a dangerous product, in breach of the General Product Safety Directive.
  • 25 Enforcement Actions against traders in relation to misleading pricing and breaches of price display legislation (i.e. charging consumers more than the price displayed, failing to display product prices). This included 10 compliance notices issued to retailers nationwide by the Commission for charging more for consumer goods than the price displayed. Furthermore, 15 Fixed Payment Notices (‘on the spot’ fines) were issued to traders for failing to display product prices. These enforcement actions arose from visits to traders by the Commission’s authorised officers.

 

Speaking about the latest enforcement actions Ms Isolde Goggin, Chair of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission said, “The Commission’s mission is to make markets work well for consumers and businesses. An important part of our work involves protecting consumers from unfair business practices, which not only benefits consumers, but also ensures that businesses operating outside of consumer law do not gain an unfair advantage over their competitors.

The Commission undertook a strong level of enforcement activity in the last six months of 2014.The latest Consumer Protection List shows we have tackled breaches of consumer law in a number of retail sectors and we remain committed to ensuring that consumers are protected and businesses held to account when there are breaches of consumer law.”

Speaking about the Commission’s successful convictions against car dealers, Ms Goggin said, “Consumers being misled in the sale of second-hand cars is an offence which is taken very seriously by the Commission due to the high level of potential detriment or loss which may be suffered by consumers. This loss can be financial which is significant but the potential safety implications can be even more serious. As a result the Commission will continue to focus resources on investigating this area.”

Ms Goggin concluded by explaining the important contribution consumers make in highlighting breaches of consumer law to the Commission, “The contacts we receive from consumers are crucial in helping the Commission to shine a light on areas where traders are engaging in unfair commercial practices and we welcome contacts from consumers through our helpline (1890 432 432), Facebook page and website, consumerhelp.ie.”

Details of the Consumer Protection List July– December 2014 are published here.

 

Note to Editor:

Competition and Consumer Protection Commission
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission was formed on 31 October 2014 following the amalgamation of the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency. On that day the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 came in to force. The Commission has a new dual mandate to enforce competition and consumer protection law and we will build on the work of the legacy organisations to: protect and strengthen competition, empower consumers to make informed decisions and protect them from harmful business practices.

 

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