The Italian Competition Authority fines Mediamarket €3.6 million for unfair commercial practices

In a decision dated 18 October 2022, the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) fined the Company Mediamarket, which owns and controls the Mediaworld brand, 3.6 million euros for unfair commercial practices characterised by misleading and aggressive behaviour towards consumers.

The focus of the contested practice were some misleading information on offers of technology products. In particular, the company advertised these products as being on promotion without specifying that they were sold exclusively in conjunction with accessory products or services such as pre-installed screen protectors, pre-installed software or additional guarantees. These additions resulted in the consumer paying a higher price than that advertised, which was only discovered at the time of payment.

According to the Authority, the conduct described represents an unfair commercial practice and, specifically, a misleading one, pursuant to Articles 21 and 22 of the Consumer Code, i.e. a practice liable to mislead the consumer as to the characteristics and costs of the product offered, leading him to take a commercial decision that he would not otherwise have taken. In particular, the ICA considered that Mediamarket's abovementioned conduct was likely to attract and induce the consumer to subscribe to the promotional offer without putting him in a position to make an informed and conscious choice. According to the ICA, the deceptiveness of the conduct was also aggravated by the fact that it was carried out in connection with the marketing of smartphones, PCs, iPads, Playstations, Smart TVs - all devices that are particularly desirable for consumers and command a high price. It pointed out that 'bundled sales of accessories are made and massed together precisely at the time of such promotions, when the 'hook' effect is particularly relevant and effective'.

Not only that, the ICA also found that the duty of professional diligence referred to in Article 20 of the Consumer Code had been breached, in that Mediamarket had not adopted, at its points of sale, all the measures necessary to ensure full compliance with the rules of fairness and transparency of promotional information in relation to the prices applied to products and their conditions of sale.

Lastly, according to the Authority, the conduct described above also presents aggressive behaviour, pursuant to Articles 24 and 25 of the Consumer Code, which sanction aggressive commercial practices in that, by means of undue conditioning, the consumer's freedom of choice is restricted, inducing him to take a commercial decision (the purchase of the product forcibly combined) that he would not otherwise have made. The ICA points out that, once the consumer has reached the stage of purchasing the product, he has already made a choice and is unlikely to renounce the purchase, being consequently subject to any commercial decision of the trader, including that of forcing the purchase of the additional products.

In conclusion, in light of the seriousness of the conduct ascertained and the considerable damage caused to consumers, the ICA fined Mediamarket 3.6 million euros. The initial determination of 3 million euros was in fact increased by a further €600,000 taking into consideration a previous sanctioning measure addressed to the same company, again for violation of consumer regulations.