Napalon leather sofa is not a leather sofa
At its meeting at the beginning of July, the Third Chamber of the Swiss Fairness Commission (SLK) had to deal with various complaints that had misleading information as their origin. The recommendations of the SLK were all the clearer.
If a travel agency offers air travel on its website, it is obliged under Articles 13 (1), 11c (2) and 3 (1) of the Price Disclosure Ordinance (PBV) to indicate the actual price including charges. At the same time, the travel provider must indicate how the price is composed (Art. 14 para. 1 PBV). In the present case, however, the travel agency only listed the pure flight costs under "Tariff"; the actual price to be paid was only visible further down the page - without a detailed breakdown of the fees. The travel agency thus violated the PBV once again. In order to prevent a punishment by the responsible authorities, the SLK recommended the travel agency to provide clear information.
Coincidence that the complaint was rejected?
Is it unfair to offer a promotion in which the first 500 customers to sign a contract receive a USB stick? The Third Chamber of the Fairness Commission said no. The telecom company's documents credibly showed that the new customers already knew whether they were among these 500 or not when they signed the contract. If chance had decided, this promotion would be considered a lottery or competition and would be unfair according to principle no. 3.9 of the SLK or according to the Lottery Act. The complaint was rejected.
10 percent discount - or is it?
According to Art. 3 para. 1 lit. b of the Unfair Competition Act (UCA), anyone who makes misleading statements about their own prices or refers to discounts in a misleading manner is acting unfairly (Art. 18 lit. b). References to price reductions such as "10 percent discount" without further details are therefore unfair if they do not relate to the entire product range. In this case, the discount indication must be clearly specified according to the PBV, so that it is clear to the average consumer at first glance to which products the price reduction applies. In principle, this information must appear directly next to the reduction indication, because the PBV clearly requires: "It must be clear from the price announcement to which goods the price applies".
Do you know what Napalon leather is?
According to Wikipedia, "Napalon leather (...) is a high-quality artificial leather. The name is based on nappa leather. Visually and haptically, it comes close to the quality of real leather." But just: Napalon leather is not leather, but a synthetic material. Therefore, the term "leather sofa" for a sofa made of Napalon leather is misleading. The term "leather" arouses the expectation in the average addressee that it is real leather. In the present case, there was also no clarity with regard to the price indication. Thus, the "trinity of image, text and price" was not fulfilled. The SLK approved the complaint.
Hard or soft?
Are caramel candies allowed to be advertised with the claim "Hard or soft?" And only by a well-built young man with an unclothed upper body in a barn with a baby calf nibbling on his jeans. Does this man serve as a mere eye-catcher (there is also a version with a cow and a young woman in a dirndl)? Is this depiction gender discriminatory or even zoophilic, as interpreted by the complainant? The Third Board said no, and dismissed the appeal - even if it did not quite understand why the man had to bare his upper body.
Image: Keystone
