Stampa

PS8879 - Services on the web: Competition Authority applies sanctions to 7 companies that advertised free evaluation of cars and then asked payment


PRESS RELEASE


PRESS RELEASE



SERVICES ON THE WEB: COMPETITION AUTHORITY APPLIES SANCTIONS TO 7 COMPANIES THAT ADVERTISED FREE EVALUATION OF CARS AND THEN ASKED PAYMENT


Through sites www.auto-prezzo.net and www.auto-valutazione.com. At the end of the investigation, penalties totalling € 735,000 were imposed.

Penalties for a total of € 735,000 for 7 companies that advertised on the web a seemingly free evaluation service of cars, and asked afterwards the payment of a bill of about € 60, set to rise to over € 250 in case of delays in payment by the consumers. This was decided by the Antitrust at the end of an investigation. The phenomenon has involved thousands of citizens who between January and July of 2013 have used the Internet to find an estimate of the value of their car, by typing the keywords 'free' or 'free' along with "evaluation" and "car". The evidence collected by the Authority, which has received more than 2000 reports, shows that the seven companies (Pronto Value LLC, Atlantic Car Value LLC and United Auto Corporation LLC, based in Delaware, Meedium Marketing OÜ, based in Estonia, Pascutti Invest & Factoring Spa, Pascutti Invest & Factoring Inc and Media Solution Service of Ballariano Antonino headquartered in Patti-Me) have put in place a complex misleading mechanism to attract consumers on the websites www.auto-prezzo.net and www.auto-valutazione.com, offering a seemingly free service that resulted with fee instead. Consumers were given just 20 minutes to exercise, however, exclusively on-line, the right of withdrawal. After this short time, during which it was still very difficult to send the notice of withdrawal, the citizens were sent a confirmation email with an attached invoice (in a first phase € 59.60, subsequently increased to € 69.50) and a warning that, in the case delays, higher penalty would be applied. In fact, at the first reminder the account 'rose' to € 101 to climb up to € 259.50, with the letter of formal notice sent by the Credit Recovery Department of an Estonian law firm.

According to the Antitrust, the companies have violated the provisions of the Consumer Code through two distinct practises: the first consists in having put in place the misleading mechanism to induce consumers to benefit from the services of the car evaluation, based on the false assumption of their gratuity; the second practise, characterised by aggression, relates to obstacles to the right of withdrawal and the undue influence of the freedom of consumer choice, exercised through the unjustified claim for payment for a service which had not been requested and by the threat, in the case of non-payment, of recourse to legal action, resulting in additional expenses.

The penalties to the individual companies are shown below:

Pronto Value LLC: € 50,000 for the first practise, € 100,000 for the second one;

Atlantic Car Value LLC: € 50,000 for the first practise, € 100,000 for the second one;

United Auto Corporation LLC: € 50,000 for the first practise, € 100,000 for the second one;

Pascutti Invest & Factoring Spa Inc and Pascutti Invest & Factoring Inc: jointly and severally € 100,000 for the first practice and € 150,000 for the second one;

Meedium Marketing OÜ: € 30,000 only as regards the first practice;

Media Solution Service of Ballariano Antonino: € 5,000 in relation to the second practice.


Rome, 30 April 2014