Aggressive sales methods most frequent cause of complaint

Aggressive sales methods are still the most common reason for complaints to the Fair Trading Commission - even though complaints have fallen by 5 percentage points compared to 2014.The trend from the previous year of a decline in the number of complaints continued in the reporting year. "In view of the simultaneous increase in the complexity of complaints, we interpret the decline to mean that our work is having an effect and that advertising clients and agencies have developed a clearer awareness of which advertising is louder and which is unfair," explains Marc Schwenninger, the SLK's legal secretary. "Companies appreciate being able to obtain an assessment of a competitor's advertising that comes very close to a court ruling without a great deal of effort, in a very short time and at marginal cost." It has become correspondingly time-consuming for him and the twenty or so honorary chamber members and experts to examine the individual cases and draw up the grounds for the complaint.Consumers can better defend themselves against unwelcome advertisingThe decline in complaints is also still related to the entry into force of the Unfair Competition Act (UCA). Since the beginning of 2012, so-called individual complaints (questions regarding the delivery of unsolicited mailings, advertising calls, advertising faxes, etc.) can also be submitted to the Federal Office of Economic Affairs (Seco). At the same time, the SLK introduced a fee of CHF 50 for processing such complaints. This has greatly reduced the number of such complaints. "In addition," says Schwenninger, "consumers have been given increasingly effective means of defending themselves against intrusive and aggressive advertising in recent years. Starting with stop-advertising stickers, star entries in telephone directories, the replay button on the TV remote control and adblockers on the Internet."Further increase in media interestThe importance of the SLK is also reflected in the further increase in media interest. The Communications Officer or the Legal Secretary were contacted almost thirty times. The majority of inquiries were based on the media's own research. The SLK repeatedly had to comment on fundamental issues. The SLK was able to answer such information without assessing advertising subjects; however, all specific inquiries were rejected, as it is up to the three adjudicatory chambers to assess complaints.Most complaints about aggressive sales methodsAggressive sales methods are still clearly in the lead when it comes to the facts against which complaints were filed in 2015 (Activity Report, page 24), even though they have decreased by 5 percentage points compared to 2014. They now account for a good third of all complaints, followed by gender discrimination with just under 13%. "Tobacco products + alcoholic beverages", which increased sharply in 2013 and 2014, fell by 9 percentage points to 1.7 percent. Apparently, the new Tobacco Products Act (TabPG) was no longer as much of a focus last year. On the other hand, the burden of proof has increased significantly: "Every advertiser must be able to prove the accuracy of their advertising claims" (principle no. 1.9). In terms of sectors, the most complaints were once again received against advertisements from banks and insurance companies (aggressive telephone calls from health insurance companies) and the mail order business. In contrast, there was a sharp decline in complaints against telecommunications companies and, in line with the decline in the number of offenses, against the alcohol and tobacco industries.Parliamentary initiative on self-regulationState courts are facing major challenges today. Chronic overload, lengthy proceedings, extensive bureaucracy, massive costs, a lack of industry-specific knowledge and high barriers to access for consumers are frequently encountered. Against this backdrop, SLK President Christine Bulliard-Marbach, a member of the National Council, submitted the parliamentary initiative "Self-regulation as a test criterion in dispatches and draft decrees" in the 2015 summer session. This calls for new laws that restrict economic freedom to be examined to see whether self-regulation would not be just as good or better. Christine Bulliard-Marbach sees herself in agreement with the OECD, the European Union and the Swiss Federal Council. The position that self-determination and personal responsibility should always take precedence over state regulation also prevailed in the new Consumer Credit Act (CCA), which came into force on January 1, 2016. Although the KKG prohibits aggressive advertising, it leaves the definition of what is considered aggressive to the industry concerned. Complaints can be lodged with the Commission for Fair Trading against violations of this self-regulation. The SLK has already concluded similar agreements with the industry organizations for alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and direct marketing. fair-advertising.ch - can be downloaded free of charge or ordered in printed form from the SLK secretariat: 044 211 79 22, [email protected].