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PARALLEL TEXTS
Le pratiche aggressive del professionista che danno al consumatore la falsa impressione di aver già vinto un premio, quando invece deve sostenere un costo per riceverlo, sono vietate
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-12-133_en.htm
Italiano tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-12-133_it.htm
Data documento: 18-10-2012
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Traders’ aggressive practices which give a false impression to the consumer that he has already won a prize, while he has to incur a certain cost in order to receive it, are prohibited
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Le pratiche aggressive del professionista che danno al consumatore la falsa impressione di aver già vinto un premio, quando invece deve sostenere un costo per riceverlo, sono vietate
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Those practices are prohibited even if the cost imposed on the consumer is minimal compared with the value of the prize or even if it does not procure any advantage for the trader
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Tali pratiche sono vietate anche se il costo imposto al consumatore è irrisorio rispetto al valore del premio e anche se esso non procura al professionista alcun vantaggio
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EU law seeks to protect consumers’ economic interests by prohibiting companies from adopting commercial practices which are unfair to consumers.
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Il diritto dell’Unione mira a tutelare gli interessi economici dei consumatori vietando le pratiche commerciali sleali delle imprese nei loro confronti.
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It prohibits, amongst other things, companies from creating the false impression that the consumer has already won, will win, or will win on doing a particular act, a prize or other benefit, when in fact taking any action in relation to claiming the prize or other equivalent benefit is subject to the consumer paying money or incurring a cost.
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Esso vieta in particolare alle imprese di dare la falsa impressione che il consumatore abbia già vinto, vincerà, o vincerà compiendo una determinata azione, un premio o altra ricompensa, mentre in effetti qualsiasi azione volta a reclamare il premio o altra vincita equivalente è subordinata al versamento di denaro o al sostenimento di costi da parte del consumatore.
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The proceedings in the present case are between five British undertakings specialised in the distribution of mailings together with a number of people who have worked for those undertakings and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), which is responsible, in the United Kingdom, for enforcing consumer protection laws, in particular regarding the practices used by the traders.
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Le parti in causa sono, da un lato, cinque imprese britanniche specializzate nella spedizione di invii pubblicitari e diverse persone che hanno lavorato presso tali imprese e, dall’altro, l’Office of Fair Trading (OFT, Autorità per la correttezza nel commercio), incaricato di vigilare, nel Regno Unito, sull’applicazione della disciplina posta a protezione dei consumatori, in particolare per quanto riguarda le pratiche utilizzate dai professionisti.
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The OFT called upon those traders to stop their practices in the form of the sending of individually addressed letters, scratch-cards and other advertising inserts placed into newspapers and magazines, by which the consumer was informed that he had won a prize or equivalent benefit, the value of which could be either considerable or merely symbolic.
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L’OFT ha imposto a tali professionisti di interrompere le loro pratiche consistenti nell’invio di lettere indirizzate individualmente, tagliandi tipo «gratta e vinci» e altri inserti contenuti in giornali e periodici, con cui il consumatore era informato del fatto di aver ottenuto un premio o una ricompensa, il cui valore poteva essere notevole o soltanto simbolico.
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The consumer was offered a number of options in order to discover his prize and obtain a claim number:
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Il consumatore aveva diverse opzioni per scoprire il suo premio ed ottenere un numero per la richiesta:
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he could call a premium rate telephone number, use an SMS service or obtain the information by ordinary post (the latter method being given less prominence).
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chiamare un numero di telefono a tariffa maggiorata, oppure utilizzare un servizio SMS, oppure ancora ottenere le informazioni via posta ordinaria (a quest’ultimo metodo era dato minore rilievo).
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The consumer was informed of the cost per minute and the maximum duration of the telephone call but was unaware that the company responsible for the promotion took a certain sum from the cost of the call.
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Il consumatore era informato del costo per minuto e della durata massima della chiamata, ma ignorava che l'impresa all'origine della pubblicità percepiva una certa somma sul costo della chiamata.
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By way of example, certain promotions proposed cruises in the Mediterranean.
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A titolo di esempio, talune promozioni offrivano crociere nel Mediterraneo.
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In order to receive that prize, the consumer had to pay inter alia the insurance, a supplement to obtain a one-bed or two-bed cabin and, during the voyage, the cost of food and drink, plus the port fees.
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Al fine di ricevere il premio, il consumatore doveva pagare in particolare l’assicurazione e un supplemento per ottenere una cabina a uno o due letti, oltre a sostenere, durante il viaggio, le spese per alimenti e bevande, nonché le tasse portuali.
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Thus, two couples would have had to pay £399 per person in order to participate in that cruise.
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In tal modo, due coppie di due persone avrebbero dovuto sborsare GBP 399 a persona per partecipare alla crociera.
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As explained by those traders in their observations submitted to the Court of Justice, it is important for them to have up-to-date databases listing participants likely to be interested in responding to prize promotions, data which can be used to offer other products to consumers or licensed to other companies who wish to offer their own products.
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Come chiarito dai professionisti nelle osservazioni che hanno presentato dinanzi alla Corte di giustizia, per loro è importante disporre di banche dati aggiornate dei partecipanti potenzialmente interessati a rispondere alle promozioni che offrono premi, in quanto tali dati possono essere utilizzati per proporre ai consumatori altri prodotti o essere ceduti ad altre imprese che intendono proporre i loro prodotti.
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The Court is asked to rule on the compatibility with EU law of such practices and in particular on the question whether the traders may impose a cost, even a minimal cost, on a consumer who has been informed that he had won a prize.
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Alla Corte viene chiesto di pronunciarsi sulla compatibilità di tali pratiche con il diritto dell’Unione, e più in particolare di chiarire se un professionista possa imporre un costo, ancorché irrisorio, ad un consumatore al quale è stato comunicato di aver vinto un premio.
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In its judgment delivered today, the Court holds that EU law prohibits aggressive practices which give the consumer the impression that he has already won a prize, while he is obliged to pay money or incur a certain cost in order to be informed of the nature of that prize or to take certain action to acquire it.
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Nella sua odierna sentenza, la Corte afferma che il diritto dell’Unione vieta le pratiche aggressive che danno al consumatore l’impressione di aver già vinto un premio, mentre in effetti, per ottenere informazioni sulla natura del premio o per adempiere a quanto necessario per entrarne in possesso, egli deve versare del denaro o sostenere un determinato costo.
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The Court makes clear that such practices are prohibited even if the cost imposed on the consumer is minimal (such as that of a stamp) compared with the value of the prize or where it does not procure the trader any benefit.
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La Corte precisa che tali pratiche sono vietate anche se il costo imposto al consumatore è, rispetto al valore del premio, irrisorio (come ad esempio quello di un francobollo) o non procura al professionista alcun vantaggio.
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In addition, those aggressive practices are prohibited even if a number of methods are offered to the consumer in order to obtain the prize and even if one of those methods is free of charge.
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Peraltro, tali pratiche aggressive sono vietate anche qualora le azioni volte a reclamare il premio possano essere realizzate attraverso diversi metodi proposti al consumatore e uno di tali metodi sia gratuito.
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The Court answers finally that the national courts must assess the information provided to the consumers targeted by those practices by reference to its clarity and comprehensibility.
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La Corte risponde infine che i giudici nazionali devono valutare le informazioni fornite ai consumatori ai quali tali pratiche sono dirette, tenendo conto della loro chiarezza e della loro comprensibilità.
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NOTE:
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IMPORTANTE:
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A reference for a preliminary ruling allows the courts and tribunals of the Member States, in disputes which have been brought before them, to refer questions to the Court of Justice about the interpretation of European Union law or the validity of a European Union act.
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Il rinvio pregiudiziale consente ai giudici degli Stati membri, nell'ambito di una controversia della quale sono investiti, di interpellare la Corte in merito all’interpretazione del diritto dell’Unione o alla validità di un atto dell’Unione.
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The Court of Justice does not decide the dispute itself.
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La Corte non risolve la controversia nazionale.
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It is for the national court or tribunal to dispose of the case in accordance with the Court’s decision, which is similarly binding on other national courts or tribunals before which a similar issue is raised. |
Spetta al giudice nazionale risolvere la causa conformemente alla decisione della Corte. Tale decisione vincola egualmente gli altri giudici nazionali ai quali venga sottoposto un problema simile. |
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LISTEN WITH READSPEAKER
Traders’ aggressive practices which give a false impression to the
consumer that he has already won a prize, while he has to incur a certain cost
in order to receive it, are prohibited
Those practices are prohibited even if the cost imposed on the
consumer is minimal compared with the value of the prize or even if it does not
procure any advantage for the trader
EU law seeks to protect consumers’ economic interests by prohibiting
companies from adopting commercial practices which are unfair to consumers.
It prohibits, amongst other things, companies from creating the false
impression that the consumer has already won, will win, or will win on doing a
particular act, a prize or other benefit, when in fact taking any action in
relation to claiming the prize or other equivalent benefit is subject to the
consumer paying money or incurring a cost.
The proceedings in the present case are between five British
undertakings specialised in the distribution of mailings together with a number
of people who have worked for those undertakings and the Office of Fair Trading
(OFT), which is responsible, in the United Kingdom, for enforcing consumer
protection laws, in particular regarding the practices used by the traders.
The OFT called upon those traders to stop their practices in the form
of the sending of individually addressed letters, scratch-cards and other
advertising inserts placed into newspapers and magazines, by which the consumer
was informed that he had won a prize or equivalent benefit, the value of which
could be either considerable or merely symbolic.
The consumer was offered a number of options in order to discover his
prize and obtain a claim number:
he could call a premium rate telephone number, use an SMS service or
obtain the information by ordinary post (the latter method being given less
prominence).
The consumer was informed of the cost per minute and the maximum
duration of the telephone call but was unaware that the company responsible for
the promotion took a certain sum from the cost of the call.
By way of example, certain promotions proposed cruises in the
Mediterranean.
In order to receive that prize, the consumer had to pay inter alia the
insurance, a supplement to obtain a one-bed or two-bed cabin and, during the
voyage, the cost of food and drink, plus the port fees.
Thus, two couples would have had to pay £399 per person in order to
participate in that cruise.
As explained by those traders in their observations submitted to the Court of
Justice, it is important for them to have up-to-date databases listing
participants likely to be interested in responding to prize promotions, data
which can be used to offer other products to consumers or licensed to other
companies who wish to offer their own products.
The Court is asked to rule on the compatibility with EU law of such
practices and in particular on the question whether the traders may impose a
cost, even a minimal cost, on a consumer who has been informed that he had won a
prize.
In its judgment delivered today, the Court holds that EU law prohibits
aggressive practices which give the consumer the impression that he has already
won a prize, while he is obliged to pay money or incur a certain cost in order
to be informed of the nature of that prize or to take certain action to acquire
it.
The Court makes clear that such practices are prohibited even if the
cost imposed on the consumer is minimal (such as that of a stamp) compared with
the value of the prize or where it does not procure the trader any benefit.
In addition, those aggressive practices are prohibited even if a number
of methods are offered to the consumer in order to obtain the prize and even if
one of those methods is free of charge.
The Court answers finally that the national courts must assess the
information provided to the consumers targeted by those practices by reference
to its clarity and comprehensibility.
NOTE:
A reference for a preliminary ruling allows the courts and tribunals of the
Member States, in disputes which have been brought before them, to refer
questions to the Court of Justice about the interpretation of European Union law
or the validity of a European Union act.
The Court of Justice does not decide the dispute itself.
It is for the national court or tribunal to dispose of the case in
accordance with the Court’s decision, which is similarly binding on other
national courts or tribunals before which a similar issue is raised. |