Introduction

The EU Sweep is a new kind of enforcement action – a systematic check carried out simultaneously in different Member States to investigate breaches of consumer protection law. Such action is co-ordinated by the European Commission under the Consumer Protection Co-operation Regulation which came into force at the end of 2006. In September 2007, in the first sweep, participating national authorities scanned hundreds of airline ticket selling websites to identify those which appeared to be in breach of the law, focusing on clear pricing, availability of offers and clear contract terms. More than 50% of websites checked showed irregularities. This phase was followed by an enforcement phase when authorities contacted companies asking them to correct their sites or clarify their position.

Examples of good and bad practice

Please view the good and bad examples below and skim over both pages to find the specific examples.

National Results

Link to National Websites for National Results

Results summary

Following the enforcement action by enforcement authorities, so far, results show that more than half of the sites found with irregularities have now been corrected. This is a positive trend and is a signal that this new kind of joint enforcement action works well. Most companies accepted to rapidly change their website, when informed about the misleading parts they contained, which shows that a majority of companies are willing to co-operate to improve consumer rights.

Results detail

The main problems found concerned:

1. insufficient or unclear information about price, where the price is split into a series of diverse charges, and only becomes clear at the end of the booking process;
2. practice relating to special offers where there was eye-catching marketing but which were difficult if not impossible to find in reality;
3. unclear information on contract terms, either, missing, in another language, or illegible due to use of characters of another language.

What consumers should find

Consumers should find clear information about price, about availability of offers, and should find clear legible contract terms and conditions in the language of the site consulted. Hereunder is a list stating typical problems encountered.

What consumers should watch out for