Tomorrow, March 15, marks the day when consumer rights are celebrated globally to raise awareness on the need to protect consumers from market abuses that attempt to undermine their rights. This day provides an opportunity to promote consumers’ basic rights, debate current issues, and consider how consumers can be better empowered and safeguarded.
This year, we are celebrating consumer rights at a time when consumer consumption patterns and expectations have been significantly and irreversibly altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Irrespective of which country consumers live in, as globalisation makes countries interdependent on each other, the widespread measures introduced by governments to contain the pandemic have shut down businesses, disrupted international supply chains and restricted mobility. In addition, the restrictive measures have disrupted the way people work, socialise and consume.
The pandemic has also brought new challenges in a variety of consumer policy fields. These include travellers’ rights, misleading commercial practices, unfair contract terms and online scams. The emerging complaints have called for a deeper analysis into whether the current regulatory framework is adequate and sufficiently robust to provide comprehensive consumer protection at all times and in all circumstances.
The local scene
In these turbulent times, the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA) had to deal with an exceptional amount of consumer disputes related to the purchase of products and services that could not be provided as agreed or when agreed by traders.
To effectively handle the influx of enquiries and complaints, the MCCAA transformed its operations to meet the increasing demand. Furthermore, the authority constantly communicated with the business community to ensure a right balance between operators’ situation and consumers’ rights.
The authority continuously encouraged and stimulated collaboration as an indispensable prerequisite for the achievement of reasonable and fair solutions in these extraordinary times. While the authority provided the required assistance to consumers and sellers, in most cases the two parties managed to come to an amicable agreement without the need to resort to legal action or for the authority to intervene.
The sudden inundation of unprecedented complaints evidenced the importance to have in place a well-functioning structure capable of providing the required assistance in a timely manner. Delays in providing the needed assistance would diminish consumer trust and negatively affect the economy.
Way forward
To address the current challenges and simultaneously empower consumers to be agents of change, last November, the European Commission launched the New Consumer Agenda. Through the implementation of this agenda, the EU commits to address European consumers’ needs in the face of the ongoing pandemic and also steer the evolution of consumers’ behaviour in the context of both the green and digital transitions.
With regard to the digital transformation, the times we are living in have reinforced the importance of digitisation as an indispensable communication and commercial tool. In fact, this past year we have witnessed a significant drop in demand for products and services that involve physical contact and a tremendous increase to online consumption through e-commerce. This shift highlights the crucial role of digital technologies in consumers’ lives, allowing them to purchase essential goods and accessservices that would not be otherwise accessible.
This evolving context demands a high level of consumer protection to ensure that consumer rights remain effective. It is imperative that consumers benefit from the same protection online as they enjoy offline. This can be achieved through a strengthened legal framework coupled with a holistic approach based on closer cooperation at EU and national level, with the ultimate objective of protecting consumers from commercial practices that hinder or distort consumers’ decision-making processes.
The surge in consumer scams and online shopping fraud, which a significant number of consumers have fallen victim to, has required close cooperation between the EU member states’ enforcement authorities, the European Commission and key stakeholders such as digital platforms and online market places, to take effective measures to prevent and take down illegal and misleading commercial content.
Another key priority area of the New Consumer Agenda is the green transition, which stems from the need to reduce the environmental footprint in areas such as housing, food, mobility and leisure. The agenda focuses on educating consumers how to make green choices and outline measures designed to promote a greener and fairer single market. Reliable and transparent information on the sustainability of products, such as their durability and repairability, is also necessary for consumers to be able to make greener choices.
Fostering collaboration between consumers and the business community is a crucial prerequisite to strengthen consumer protection and resilience, and to rebuild an economy where both consumers and traders can flourish.
Odette Vella, Director, Information and Research Directorate