Investigation by the Commission and national consumer authorities finds that nearly half of second-hand online traders fail to correctly inform consumers of their return rights

On Friday, the European Commission and national consumer protection authorities of 25 Member States as well as Iceland and Norway released the results of a screening (‘sweep’) of online traders selling second-hand goods, such as clothes, electronic equipment or toys. ‘Sweeps’ are coordinated by the European Commission and carried out simultaneously by national enforcement authorities. The objective of this sweep was to verify whether the practices of these traders are compliant with EU consumer law. Consumer authorities checked 356 online traders and identified 185 (52%) as potentially in breach of EU consumer law.

Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, Michael McGrath, said: “Second-hand goods play a crucial role in a circular economy. It is important that all traders, including those dealing in second-hand goods, uphold consumer rights. The results of our recent sweep indicate that this is not always happening. I urge all affected traders to assure their practices are fully aligned with EU consumer law”.

Consumer authorities will now decide whether to take action against the 185 traders that were earmarked for further investigation the results of the sweep is available in our press release.

Source: European Commission