State to crack down on ‘aggressive practices’ such as fake reviews

The State is to crack down on businesses that engage in aggressive practices such as writing fake reviews for competitors, as well as extending consumer rights to cover digital goods and services under a landmark new law.

The Consumer Rights Bill 2022, published by the Government on Tuesday, is designed to consolidate and modernise consumer law and gives consumers new protections for the digital age.

For the first time, consumers will have the same rights and protections over digital content and digital services, such as streaming, downloads, cloud products, as they do currently with traditional products and services.

New digital rights will include the right to a full refund, exchange or repair when goods or services are not as described or not fit for purpose.

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Consumers will also be entitled to any upgrades to the product or service that are needed to ensure the goods continue to work as expected and agreed, free of charge.

The law will also blacklist certain terms and conditions which are “automatically regarded as unfair when put in a contract”.

Examples of this include any condition which allows a trader to unilaterally change the terms of a contract, or any provision which would indemnify a trader from harm caused by a product or service.

Businesses will also be required to clearly set out a description of the goods or services being provided, the total price of the item, and the cost of delivery before entering into a contract with a consumer.

Furthermore, the new law features a crackdown on dishonest commercial practices.

Court fines

Companies that engage in “misleading and aggressive” commercial practices, such as fake reviews, could be subject to fines imposed by the courts following enforcement action taken by the consumer watchdog.

There will also be further redress options, as customers will be entitled to agree a price reduction on faulty goods, rather than simply seek a refund, or have the product exchanged or repaired.

In addition, consumers will be entitled to withhold payment for goods partially paid for if they are not satisfied with the quality of the item received. Any form of redress must be free of charge and must be carried out as soon as possible.

Minister of State with responsibility for consumer protection legislation Robert Troy said the Bill represents "the biggest overhaul of consumer rights law in 40 years".

“The proposed legislation modernises and consolidates existing consumer protection law and significantly strengthens the enforcement powers of our agencies responsible for ensuring consumer rights such as the CCPC [Competition and Consumer Protection Commission] and ComReg,” he said.

“For example, the CCPC will now be able to take enforcement action against traders who refuse or fail to provide consumers with a remedy for faulty goods or services and against traders who fail or refuse to make a reimbursement to which consumers are entitled under the Act.

“Once enacted, this legislation will strengthen protections for consumers, while also creating clearer rules for businesses ensuring the market works fairly and effectively for both.”

‘Good for consumers’

Minister for Enterprise Leo Varadkar said the new law is "good for consumers and good for business".

“Most businesses are responsible and treat their customers fairly when things go wrong,” he said. “For those that don’t, it can give them an unfair advantage over their competitors. This new law consolidates a lot of existing legislation and updates it to make it fit for the modern, digital age.

“For the first time, we’re extending consumer rights over digital goods and services, meaning you will have the same rights over anything you stream or download as you do over a good or service you’d buy in a shop.

“We’re also cracking down on aggressive commercial practices, such as a company leaving fake reviews on its own or competitor’s services.”