Misleading pricing among potential law breaches found at tourist hotspot shops by watchdog
The consumer watchdog has carried out 80 unannounced inspections of retailers across six counties and uncovered at least some potential breaches of the law including misleading pricing and commercial practices. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) said the inspections were part of its ongoing compliance and enforcement activities and added that its officers had been instructed to place “particular focus on key tourist locations ahead of the peak summer season, ensuring clear and transparent pricing and fair commercial practices”.The sweep comes less than a week after Quills Woollen Market in Kerry was convicted after pleading guilty to attaching “Made in Ireland” labels to ranges of hoodies actually produced in Pakistan. The CCPC said some of the latest inspections were driven by complaints to its helplines and covered a broad range of sectors, including gift shops, pubs, cafes, supermarkets, clothing retailers, jewellers, hairdressers and petrol stations. READ MOREInside the Shelbourne Hotel: If this hotel is a barometer, the Irish economy ‘is good’The financial exposure of Irish households to flooding and lazy generational labelsUK government is still paying the cost of BrexitSurge in ecommerce means we need to reimagine retail on the streets of our towns and citiesDuring the inspections, commission officers found “strong levels of compliance among many retailers” but it said “a number of potential breaches of consumer law were identified, including inaccurate or inadequate price displays, failures to display notices about hallmarking, and misleading commercial practices”.Some 14 inspections took place across Dublin city and county, including popular tourist areas such as Temple Bar. In Kilkenny city, 16 inspections were conducted, while 13 took place across Galway city and county. In Kerry, the CCPC carried out 16 inspections, primarily in Dingle and Kenmare, while 21 checks were undertaken across Wexford and Waterford, including in Tramore. Traders were selected based on location, sector and, in some cases, complaints to the CCPC’s national consumer helpline. The CCPC receives more than 40,000 contacts to its helpline each year and all are screened for concerning trends and patterns.[ Ireland’s most complained-about companies: there’s a new top offenderOpens in new window ]Where breaches of the law are found, businesses are required to take corrective action, and the CCPC said its enforcement teams “work closely with them to help ensure compliance”.Further inspections are subsequently conducted and where continued breaches of the law are found, enforcement action may follow, up to and including prosecution. “Every year, the CCPC carries out hundreds of inspections to encourage, monitor and enforce compliance with consumer protection law, and overall we continue to see significant improvements in compliance levels,” the head of the CCPC, Brian McHugh, said. “These nationwide inspections play a crucial role in driving compliance, deterring unlawful practices and protecting consumer welfare.” He said the CCPC would “continue to support and engage with businesses to support compliance, but where necessary, we can and will take enforcement action against traders who continue to deliberately deceive consumers”. He said the commission was looking forward to the introduction of direct fining powers for the CCPC and said the ability to issue significant fines would become an essential addition to its enforcement toolkit.The CCPC has long called for stronger enforcement powers to address serious breaches of consumer law, including the ability to impose fines based on a business’s turnover. The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment recently launched a public consultation on proposed legislation that would, among other measures, allow the CCPC to issue direct fines for serious or repeated breaches, streamlining enforcement and reducing reliance on the courts.
