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L. Boguševičius, Director of Deals On Wheels, shared a letter from SCRPA with the company on Facebook on Thursday. It claims the institution monitors unfair practices and found on May 3 that consumer comments posted online “are designed to create a positive image for the company while influencing consumers’ decision to enter into a transaction.”
By May 21, SCRPA will ask companies to provide proof of where and for how long the comments were released. It is also required to demonstrate that the comments are genuine and that these people are in fact customers of the company.
At the same time, explanations and proof are requested that users can leave negative comments on the website.
“Please clarify whether the company receives such feedback and, if so, provide at least some examples,” the letter said.
It is also written that if the company does not respond before this period, the SCRPA can initiate an infringement procedure against the Consumer Insurance Law for Unfair Commercial Practices.
We are working too well, the State Consumer Protection Service told us
“You won’t even buy those comments”
L. Boguševičius 15 minutes He said he received a letter from the office Wednesday night and laughed when asked how he assessed the situation.
“We laughed at how we could evaluate such a card. I forwarded it to the partners, they also laughed amiably. We wondered if a better rating could be achieved when services were already registering and saying they were responding too well. I don’t know if you can get better feedback. You won’t even buy one like that ”, commented the businessman about the situation.
According to L. Boguševičius, the situation is currently viewed with humor, but if the SCRPA is not withdrawn, the entrepreneur will try to explain to them how to prove to them that customers are customers, without violating the Data Protection Regulation (BDAR). It is true that to explain the situation to the institution, the head of the company has not yet come forward.
“I received the letter last night, my emotions have not yet calmed down. So far, we have reacted to all this with humor, ”he said with a laugh.
Almost all online stores can find similar positive reviews that businesses use for marketing purposes. However, L. Bogševičius assured that the company does not need a lot of publicity and that the comments that need to be justified are from Facebook.
“In three years, we have spent about 300 euros on advertising. We advertise absolutely nothing because the job is the best advertisement and it obviously works. The funniest thing is that if they had gone to our facebook page, they would have seen that all the reviews have been copied from there. What people left on Facebook, we copy, one by one. We don’t create anything, we don’t ask for anything. ” 15 minutes assured.
Žygimantas Gedvila / 15min photo / Laurynas Boguševičius
L. Boguševičius confirmed that anyone who wants to can write negative comments on Facebook. It is true that there is only one.
When asked if he intended to reply to the letter, L. Bogševičius stated that he did not yet know if he wanted to do so.
“I will consult with lawyers about the possible consequences. If it is very strict, I will write it down. I just don’t know how to answer them yet. I can’t send invoices that clients have paid because there really is a phone number and a residential address and an account number. There is a lot of private information out there and I can’t send things like that.
I wonder why they didn’t go to the Facebook page and they didn’t make the few comments they mentioned and they didn’t message them. The investigation would be over very soon. It would have taken 10 minutes and I would not have received such a sarcastic approach in public space ”, he is convinced.
SCRPA: The letter does not imply that violations have been identified
Dalia Malinauskienė, Head of SCRPA’s International and Public Relations Division 15 minutes He explained that the institution monitors every year in the areas of advertising, unfair commercial practices, abusive contractual terms, as well as compliance with the requirements established in the Consumer Protection Law. At the same time, he assured that the monitoring carried out by the SCRPA is carried out in accordance with the standards approved by order of the Director.
“The purpose of monitoring is to provide methodological assistance to economic entities by evaluating information on economic entities, cooperating with them and advising them on matters within the competence of the SCRPA or implementing other preventive measures that help economic entities to comply with legal requirements. “Sanctions will be applied to economic entities only if the monitoring objectives related to the supervision of compliance with the requirements of legal acts cannot be achieved by other legitimate means, as well as when the objective is to prevent harm to the public or other persons, “he assured.
Photo by Žygimantas Gedvila / 15 min photo / State service for the protection of consumer rights
According to D. Malinauskienė, each year an area is determined in which specific monitoring will be carried out. In selecting the area to be monitored this year, SCRPA has taken into account the fact that consumer feedback is provided when selling various goods or providing services in the electronic space.
“It should be noted that the feedback provided by consumers influences consumers due to their economic behavior in relation to the product or service offered, as early as 2013. (Web survey of the Network of European Consumer Centers) found that more than 80% of consumers take into account the feedback provided by consumers when making the decision to buy a product or service, and feedback from marketers is recognized as one of the most effective ways to attract customers. It is worth mentioning that this area will be monitored this year by all the relevant institutions of the European Union, and this campaign is coordinated by the European Commission ”, he said.
In response 15 minutes It is stated that the relevance of the chosen field is also justified by the fact that in 2019. 27 November Directive 2019/2161 of the European Parliament and of the Council, adopted in 2010, also contains new provisions on comments on goods or services sold in line.
‘The Directive requires that when traders make consumer feedback on products available, they must inform consumers if there are processes or procedures in place to ensure that posted feedback is received from consumers who have actually used or purchased the products . These changes are aimed at better informing the consumer who buys online, so that they are not deceived and make a correct decision based on the information ”, said D. Malinauskienė.
123RF.com nuotr./Automobilis
At the same time, he added that the list of entities selected to monitor is randomly selected. The fact that the SCRPA contacts the interested company to report on the follow-up carried out and request certain information does not mean that there are suspicions about the activities of the company or possible infractions of the law.
This is also reflected in the letter sent to SCRPA, which was posted on the Facebook account. There is no indication in the letter that the reviews on the company page are false. In carrying out its monitoring, the SCRPA follows the above rules and follows the established procedure, that is, it contacts the companies involved in the monitoring and requests explanations and justifications for the comments on their website. This right of an institution is enshrined in the law ”, says D. Malinauskienė.
A representative from VTTAT explained that companies are not asked to provide redundant information while monitoring is being done. It is stated that in order to objectively assess the information disseminated, an approach is made to the company, otherwise it could be considered that the authority did not grant the company the right to give its explanations.
It should be noted that the purpose of the monitoring is not to apply sanctions, but on the contrary, to help companies and, if certain discrepancies are identified, provide methodological assistance and indicate how the company can improve its activities to comply with legal provisions. “Commented D. Malinauskienė.
It is necessary to ensure the authenticity of the comments.
According to D. Malinauskienė, consumer comments can be used, but it is necessary to ensure the authenticity of the comments, as this can lead to consumer decisions regarding the purchase of a product or service. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure the authenticity of the comments posted when such promotional means are used to purchase goods or services and to provide consumers with objective information about the goods sold.
“In cases where a business only posts good comments and, for example, removes bad comments, this would be considered bad practice as consumers might see a different decision on the transaction than seeing only positive comments,” he said. .
What if the director of Deals On Wheels decides not to respond to an inquiry from the SCRPA? In that case, according to D. Malinauskienė, it would be considered that the company does not comply with the legal obligation to provide the information necessary for the supervision of the law, it cannot justify the veracity of the information disseminated.
“We explained that the SCRPA has the right to receive all the information necessary for the application of the law. If the company provides confidential information, this and the security of the data of third parties will be guaranteed,” says the representative of the SCRPA.
It is not the first service dispute with companies.
15 minutes Remember that SCRPA is not the only body involved in trade disputes. Late last year, the State Food and Veterinary Service (SFVS) was hit by the “Butter with butter” trademark.
READ MORE: The Food and Veterinary Service has been affected by the “Butter Butter” brand; company founders have been told to change it
Subsequently, in February this year, a dispute arose between the SFVS and the Straikas company, which produces Marmaluzi baby and children’s food and Sip Sap juice. The SFVS got stuck in the descriptions of the company’s products for fairy tale reasons, although the director of the company claims that the small Lithuanian manufacturer was only trying to stand out. Food inspectors said the violations found were not related to fairy tale motifs and did not see the company’s willingness to cooperate. He also explained that one company will not be good and will apply the requirements equally to everyone.
READ MORE: Food Authority Gets Involved In Baby Porridge Dispute Over ‘Grits’ And ‘Space Carrots’
The Minister of Economy and Innovation Aušrinė Armonaitė criticized the service at the beginning of the year. He described the situation as tragicomic and explained that SFVS staff were wasting their time in “minor situations.”
“The control institutions (should – aut. Past) advise preventively. Second, apply regulation proportionally and prudently, and not stifle people’s initiative. In this case, there are creative descriptions of products and as if they were treated as misleading. There must be more imagination and the inspectors must follow the criteria of reasonableness and proportionality ”, the Minister assured at the time.
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