More safety thanks to SW workshop
About forty advertising professionals from the automotive industry attended the SW workshop titled «Price Disclosure for Motor Vehicles.» Their main focus was on the specific wording of the «legal lines» and the increasingly complex guidelines on price labeling.
In his opening speech at the event, which took place on June 5 in Zurich's Volkshaus, Guido Sutter, Head of the Legal Department at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs Seco, pointed out that the Price Disclosure Ordinance (PBV) had not been designed specifically for the automotive industry, but for all sectors. The "guardian" of the PBV explained that the ordinance is based on the principle that consumers must not be misled. Transparency is therefore the best recipe. While the PBV does not apply to car advertisements that do not mention prices or to commercial vehicles, particular attention must be paid to leasing offers. Not only would the PBV apply here, but also individual sections of the Federal Act against Unfair Competition (UWG). Sergeant Georges Eigenmann from the Commercial Offenses Department of the Zurich City Police then showed understanding for the advertising concerns. It is not the job of the state to check every comma. That is why there is always room for maneuver. In any case, he did not immediately issue a fine for the first violation of the PBV. First, he writes a friendly letter to those responsible. In the event of a further violation, he forwards the case to the municipal court1 . This can issue a fine of a maximum of 500 francs. Only in more serious cases does the governor's office come into play. Its authority goes up to a fine of 5,000 francs. The maximum penalty for violations of the PBV is a fine of 20,000 francs, combined with a personal record of the person responsible. Nobody likes such an entry, which is only deleted after five years.
Around 40 participants took part in the lively discussion that followed. They demonstrated how important the topic is for agencies and clients, and how much uncertainty there was about the correct interpretation of the Price Disclosure Ordinance. An uncertainty that - according to the tenor - has become much smaller thanks to the workshop.
