Unfair competition: ECJ prohibits advertising with promises of profits
The European Court of Justice ECJ has banned advertising with promises of prizes if consumers have to pay costs to get a prize. This was decided by the ECJ in a ruling published in Luxembourg on Thursday.
The ban applies even if the consumer has to invest even one stamp or the cost of a phone call, or the price promises "do not give the advertisers any advantage," the ECJ ruled in a judgment published Thursday in Luxembourg. EU law protects consumers from unfair business practices, it said in justification.
According to the court, with such promises of profits, traders primarily want to obtain addresses and other current data from consumers. These are then sold via address traders to other companies for their advertising.
In the current case, the British competition authority took action against a company that had promised consumers prizes in letters, scratch cards or advertising supplements. These included Mediterranean cruises, for which winners were then asked to pay more than 400 euros in surcharges and fees. (sda)
