(Final report of 2015)
(Prague, March 11, 2015) E-commerce belonged among the most frequently monitored inspection fields in 2015, not only due to the high number of existing e-shops but also to numerous consumers’ submissions. Consumers most frequently complained about deceitful commercial practices, unfair and in some cases even fraudulent vendors’ conducts. The Czech Trade Inspection Authority inspected 1,194 e-shops offering goods and services and found breaches of legal obligations in 990 cases (82.9%). During the year, 825 fines amounting to more than CZK 4 million were lawfully imposed. Incorrect or incomplete consumer information were the most frequently detected flaws. “The high ratio of e-shops with flaws cannot be considered as the real picture of internet trade in the Czech Republic because stems from monitoring and subsequent inspections of those traders who fail formal obligations determined by applicable legal regulations. Some vendors for example haven’t implemented the changes that were brought in by the new Civil Code. Hundreds of investigated consumer submissions relating to e-commerce prove that a number of sellers are not willing to fulfil their obligations relating to the responsibility for defective performance and claims procedures. Especially, investigations of e-shops operated by foreign subjects based out of the European Union were problematic. Therefore I recommend consumers to check who they want to buy from before concluding a contract and to consider the hazard rate connected with an online purchase. Inspections of e-shops will belong to the priorities of the inspection activities in 2016 as well,” said Mojmír Bezecný, the Director General of the Czech Trade Inspection Authority.
The complete press release is available in the attachment.
Celá zpráva zde:
2016-03-11-eshops-2015.doc (, 58.50 KB)