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Consumer's Telegramm / Consumer's telegram January 2008

Consumer's Telegramm European Edition

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Consumer's Telegram January 2008

Insert of n. 4 - Editorial office: Centro Europeo Consumatori (European Consumer Centre, Bolzano - Italy)

Air Travel I

Report about Passengers' Rights 2006 Published

n the 6th of December 2007 the report about passengers' rights referring to the year 2006 worked out by the ECC-Net (network of 27 European Consumer Centres) was published in Brussels. The report shows that the number of complaints concerning flights in 2006 nearly doubled compared to the year before. This shows on the one hand that many airlines do still not fulfil their duties towards the passengers established by law, on the other hand that more and more consumers are aware of their rights an dare to claim them.
On the first place of the list of complaints (33%) we can find problems with the transport of luggage. 26% refer to the cancellation of flights, 16% refer to delays and 7% to the denial of transportation.
As much as 42% of the complaints settled by the European Consumer Centres resulted in a completely satisfying solution for the consumers, in 28% of the cases no solution could be found or it was just partly satisfying for the consumers. The survey shows that the airlines very often like to refer to the term 'unpredictable circumstances' (that could not have been foreseen), in order to be able to refuse the financial compensation in the case of cancellations. Especially bad weather conditions or sudden technical problems were often given as reasons for delays or cancellations. However, there is a big discussion going on what the term 'unpredictable circumstances' really means, even at trials on the European Supreme Court this question is being discussed.

Air Travel II

European Commission updates Black List again

On the 28th of November 2007 the European Commission has published an updated version of the Banning List of unsafe airlines.
The airlines mentioned there do not fulfil the European minimum safety standards; therefore they are not allowed to enter the European airspace.
However, the list is not just thought as a safety guarantee or a punishment for certain airlines. It should also be a motivation for them to bring their planes onto official safety standards. In fact, this time the ban for the Surinamese airline Blue Wing Airline and the limitation of authorisation of the Pakistan International Airline (PIA) could be omitted. Both airlines could remove their deficiencies successfully. The responsible offices could prove that they had examined the measures taken by the airlines and the former problems had been removed efficiently and are not likely to turn up again in the near future.

EU

New EU Rules on Misleading Advertising and Aggressive Sales Practices

On December, 12th 2007 a new EU directive 2005/29 EL concerning misleading advertising and aggressive selling practices came into force across EU.
The UCP Directive includes a general clause with a definition of unfair and therefore prohibited practices as well as a detailed list of misleading and aggressive commercial practices and guidelines in order to protect certain consumers (children, for instance). In addition to this, there is a Black List of 30 practices that are in all circumstances considered unfair.
The new EU standards explicitly prohibit luring the consumer into buying from a company by advertising a product at a very low price without having a reasonable stock available (the so-called bait advertising). It is also illegal to use direct exhortations to children to buy advertised products or to persuade their parents or other adults ("pester power") to buy advertised products for them, as well as to give false claims about curative capacity - from allergies to hair loss to weight loss.
The black list also includes the so called "Advertorials", which means using editorial content in the media to promote a product where a trader has paid for the promotion without making that clear and misleading the impression of consumers' rights, which means presenting rights given to consumers in law as a distinctive feature of the trader's.
There is also a ban of pyramid promotional schemes where compensation is derived primarily from the introduction of other consumers into the scheme rather than from the sale or consumption of products.
In Italy the new directive has already been implemented with the two decrees (no 145/2007 and no 146/2007) that have been in force since the 21st of September 2007.


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