kataggelies.mindev.gov.gr: New platform for complaints – New way of calculating discounts

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The new digital tool is already available to consumers – In which cases it will be used – The “30-day rule” for discounts

It was launched by the Ministry of Development and Investments digital platform for complaints from consumers in order to more effectively control the market for profiteering, fictitious discounts, but also for other violations of businesses against consumers. In fact, named complaints will be considered on a priority basis.

Complaints from consumers will be able to be made on the platform kataggelies.mindev.gov.gr and concern violations within Greece, within the European Union and outside the European Union. The platform displays five different topics on which consumers can submit, named or anonymous, a complaint: consumer goods, services, banking services, insurance and other financial services, debtor information companies, debt settlement and personal data protection.

Among the subjects for which a complaint can be made are consumer items such as food, cosmetics, farm, food supplements etc.), but a complaint can also be made for food safety issues, for marketing rules (weighing, interpretation of legislation, misleading advertisements etc.) , for counterfeit products, personal data protection services, and other matters which are not all the competence of the Ministry of Development and Investments.

If the general secretariat of Trade and Consumer Protection is not responsible for a topic, the information for the competent control service is provided through the platform.

The platform has already come into effect, as the Minister of Development and Investments said at a press conference ‘Adonis Georgiadesthe Deputy Minister of Development and Investments Nikos Papathanasis and the Secretary General of Trade and Consumer Protection Sotiris Anagnostopoulos, on the occasion of the start of the winter sales on Monday, January 9. This is because consumers will be able to report fictitious discounts through the platform, especially since it is now the “30 day rule”.

According to the provision contained in Law 4933/2022, the price before the discount is understood to mean the lowest price applied by the trader during a period of time not shorter than 30 days before the price reduction was applied. In the same provision it is provided that when the product has been on the market for less than thirty days, the previous price is understood to be the lowest price applied by the trader during a period of 10 days before the price reduction was applied. Where the price reduction is progressively increased, the previous price is the price without the price reduction before the first application of the price reduction.

In case of violation of the above provision, a fine of up to 4% of the total turnover of the business is foreseen. “In conditions of high inflation, we will contribute with real discounts to control inflation in the next two months”, stressed Mr. Georgiadis.

Regarding the controls to be carried out by DIMEA, the minister noted that, so far, DIMEA has proven to be effective, its staff has reached 90 people, but he noted that the largest part of the control process is now done electronically.

“The percentage of companies that are found to have committed a violation for profit making is less than 6% of the audited companies. It is not the profiteering that is the main cause of the accuracy, but the international developments” he emphasized and added that the checks are carried out both inside and outside the basket and in large and small shops and of the fines that have been imposed, the vast majority have been collected.

RES-EMP

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