Consumer watchdog tackled 62 businesses in 2015

The State’s consumer watchdog took action against 62 businesses last year for a range of offences.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission said it fined 33 traders for breaches of price-display laws and issued compliance notices to 29 others in 2015.

It also imposed €5,000 in fines and compensation orders on car dealer Brian Fassnidge following his conviction in 2014 for supplying a dangerous vehicle and providing misleading information to people who were buying cars. This was on top of court orders for €10,000 in costs and €17,200 in repayments to affected consumers. His total bill was €32,200.

Commenting on the figures, the commission's chairwoman Isolde Goggin said the organisation focuses on stopping practices that harm consumers.

“We inspected 111 business premises across the country to check that traders were compliant with price-display legislation and where traders were found to be in breach we took action to ensure compliance,” she said.

“Consumers play a very important role in helping us identify non-compliant business practices through the information they provide to our consumer helpline and website.”

The commission published its Consumer Protection list for 2015 on Tuesday.