Saturday 15 March is World Consumer Rights Day, and while we've been focusing on the imminent changes to the UK consumer law regime in recent weeks, it's worth considering the EU developments too, as any UK trader selling to consumers in the EU needs to be aware of them.
Last week, the European Commission published the results of a review of online traders selling second-hand goods, such as clothes, electronic equipment or toys. They found:
- 40% did not tell consumers about their cancellation rights clearly, such as the right to return the product within 14 days;
- 45% did not correctly tell consumers about their right to return faulty goods or goods that do not look or work as advertised;
- 57% did not respect the minimum period of one-year legal guarantee for second-hand goods;
- Out of 34% of traders that presented environmental claims on their website, 20% were not sufficiently substantiated and 28% were obviously false, deceptive, or likely to qualify as unfair commercial practices; and
- 5% did not provide information about their identity correctly, and 8% did not provide the total price of the product, including taxes.
National consumer authorities will now decide whether to take further action. Some traders think consumer law doesn't apply to second hand goods but it does!
This week, the Commission has also published its 2025 Consumer Conditions Scoreboard. Its findings were that:
- 70% of consumers agree that retailers and service providers respect consumer rights, while 61% of consumers trust public organisations to protect their rights.
- Cross-border e-commerce is on the rise, with 35% of consumers purchasing from another EU country and 27% buying from outside the EU in 2024.
- Online shoppers are over 60% more likely to experience problems with their purchases, compared to those shopping offline.
- 93% of online shoppers worry over online targeted advertising, including the collection of personal data, excessive advertising, and personalisation.
- 45% of consumers encountered online scams, and many experienced unfair practices, including fake reviews and misleading discounting.
- 38% of consumers expressed concern about their ability to pay their bills, and 35% about affording their preferred food.
- 74% of consumers noticed instances when packaged goods reduce in size, while 52% observed a decline in quality without a corresponding price drop.
- Environmental considerations in purchasing decisions fell 13% since 2022, due to considerations linked to the cost of sustainable products and services and mistrust of the reliability of environmental claims.
What is the EU doing about it?
The Commission points to the General Product Safety Regulation which came into force in December. It is also preparing a Digital Fairness Act to reinforce the protection of consumers against harmful practices online, although commentators have suggested that this may be delayed until 2026 and MEPs have called for fewer administrative burdens on businesses. Finally, it refers to the Right to Repair and Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directives, which are part of the EU's circular economy initiative.
So what?
We've previously discussed the EU's digital fitness check and the likelihood of new consumer laws. However, it also seems that, given new geopolitical realities as well as the desire to boost national economies, the impetus to impose further regulatory requirements on businesses in the consumer and wider arenas may be somewhat reduced.
