Last month, we reported on the European Commission taking action to improve the enforcement of the Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices. A recent edition of Euronews presents some examples that illustrate the manner in which such practices, in particular misleading advertising, may be fought.
(As a side note to the article, I would add that in many European legal systems the acquisition of a warranty is not necessarily against consumer interests, insofar as it can provide consumers with additional rights in respect to the European rules on non-conformity. For example, a contractual warranty may relieve consumers of the burden of proof concerning the existence of a defect in the product at the time the contract was concluded, during the full time of the warranty's application. This does of course not mean that sellers are allowed to withhold information on the specific features of legislative guarantees and contractual warranties from consumers.)
