UNFAIR COMMERCIAL PRACTICES
Invitation to purchase
• that the words ‘thereby enables the consumer to make a purchase’ in Article 2(i) of Directive 2005/29 must be interpreted as meaning that an invitation to purchase exists as soon as the information on the product advertised and its price is sufficient for the consumer to be able to make a transactional decision, without it being necessary for the commercial communication also to offer an actual opportunity to purchase the product or for it to appear in connection with such an opportunity.
Entry-level price may be permitted
• that Article 2(i) of Directive 2005/29 must be interpreted as meaning that the requirement relating to the indication of the price of the product may be met if the commercial communication contains an entrylevel price, that is to say the lowest price for which the advertised product or category of products can be bought, while the advertised product or category of products are available in other versions or with other content at prices which are not indicated.
Indication of product characteristics
• that Article 2(i) of Directive 2005/29 must be interpreted as meaning that a verbal or visual reference to the product makes it possible to meet the requirement relating to the indication of the product’s characteristics, and that includes a situation where such a verbal or visual reference is used to designate a product which is offered in a variety of forms.
Reference to website for product characteristics may be allowed
• that Article 7(4)(a) of Directive 2005/29 must be interpreted as meaning that it may be sufficient for only certain of a product’s main characteristics to be given and for the trader to refer in addition to its website, on condition that on that site there is essential information on the product’s main characteristics, price and other terms in accordance with the requirements in Article 7 of that directive.
Reference only to entry-level price not in itself a misleading omission
• that Article 7(4)(c) of Directive 2005/29 must be interpreted as meaning that a reference only to an entrylevel price in an invitation to purchase cannot be regarded, in itself, as constituting a misleading omission: will have to ascertain, inter alia, whether the omission of the detailed rules for calculating the final price prevents the consumer from taking an informed transactional decision and, consequently, leads him to take a transactional decision which he would not otherwise have taken. It is also for the national court to take into consideration the limitations forming an integral part of the medium of communication used; the nature and the characteristics of the product and the other measures that the trader has actually taken to make the information available to consumers.
IPPT20110512, CJEU, Konsumentombudsman v Ving
