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The new order
Milda Deimantė, Senior Advisor to the Public and International Relations Division of the State Service for the Protection of Consumer Rights, told Delfi that the purpose of these new changes is to provide the seller with accurate information on price reductions, in accordance with the EU legislation.
As a result, according to her, as of July, sellers, when applying a discount to a product, must also indicate its previous price.
‘The above price will be the lowest price charged by the seller during the 30-day period before the reduction and, if the price of the item is gradually reduced, the price before the first reduction.
If the item has been offered to buyers for less than 30 days, the actual deadline for offering the item to buyers applies. These provisions do not apply to perishable products and items that rapidly lose their market value ”, explained M. Deimantė the procedure.
He noted that if the seller did not provide the buyer with the specified information, the buyer has the right to demand damages from the seller or demand a refund of the price paid and other damages.
“In this case, the seller must refund the price paid to the buyer and compensate the other losses immediately, but no later than within 14 days of the date of termination of the contract or the date of receipt of the claim for damages and damages of the buyer “. she said.
New procedure to announce discounts
According to the SCRPA, they receive annual reports of possible discount misapplication, non-application of discounts, lack of information on offers, etc.
During 2020, the SCRPA has received around 150 notifications regarding the application of discounts. In most cases, consumers reported a discount not applied, additional conditions, as well as reports of price discrepancies in the price list and at the checkout, ”said the specialist.
According to the Consumer Protection Law of the Republic of Lithuania, a fine of 500 to 5,000 euros can be imposed on merchants for non-compliance with the above provisions.
Some apply from the new year.
The SCRPA specialist assured that even before such changes took effect, the business was preparing for them.
“The SCRPA was interested, asked questions and provided a public consultation: answers to all the most frequent commercial questions, no violations were identified,” he said.
Vaida Budrienė, communications director for retail chain Iki, said that Lithuania is one of the first and few EU countries to adopt legislation implementing part of the Omnibus Directive very quickly, but so far, according to her, the European Commission itself it has not provided guidelines for the application of the Directive.
“From the beginning, we have been cooperating with SCRPA, which in turn is doing its best to get answers from the European Commission on this regulation.
In any case, we constantly monitor prices and their changes and invest many hours of work so that buyers see the correct information in the price lists and we as a company comply with the provisions and requirements of legal acts, “he said.
Ernesta Dapkienė, director of Maxima’s Communication and Image Department, explained that the retail chain was preparing for this change in advance and has been applying this practice of advertising discounts since the beginning of the year.
We always try to inform customers in a detailed and clear way about the advertised promotions and prices. We unconditionally follow the laws governing the dissemination of advertising.
This change will not affect the volume of shares announced, so we will continue trying to provide our clients with attractive price offers ”, he commented.
Informed sellers
Speaking about the new procedure for advertising discounts, Ernestas Kačerauskas, Pigu’s marketing manager, said that his online store works in the same way as a supermarket, but as a seller, such a procedure will not change them.
“We do not base our sales strategy on discounts,” he said, but added that sellers acting on behalf of Pigu.lt in the e-shop were informed about the changes and urged to prepare for the new order.
“All the sellers of our e. The platform develops its own sales mechanism, some of our partners apply discounts.
We support and welcome the new order. We have no doubt that it will ensure a more transparent discount policy for sellers.
Buyers will be more informed, which will create greater consumer confidence in sellers, ”said E. Kačerauskas.
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