The Authority will assess commercial promotions offering customers the opportunity to trade their old devices in at advantageous prices.

The Italian Competition Authority has commenced investigation proceedings against Samsung Electronics S.p.A., Opia Ltd and World Business S.r.l. for alleged misleading and aggressive conduct.

The Authority will scrutinise promotions offering customers the opportunity to trade their used phone in at an advantageous price for a new one. The Italian Competition Authority maintains that the information provided is inadequate and unclear and that the consumer is not able to understand that a complex sale process is implied and the advertised sale price is merely an estimate.

Furthermore, the Italian Competition Authority will examine how the used product is resold: the consumer does not know the sale price and that a third party, i.e. the buyer, determines the condition of the phone and its sale price.

Yesterday, officials of the Italian Competition Authority carried out inspections on the premises of the concerned companies with the assistance of the Special Antitrust Unit of the Italian Finance Police (Guardia di Finanza).

Rome, 27 July 2022