Dealer Omnibus Policy: Maximum Customer Rights are Coming!

What if online retailers were no longer allowed to lie to you? What if a crossed-out price discount had to be cheaper than any offer in the last 30 days? Or when they need to make sure customer reviews are genuine? The EU’s “Omnibus Directive” promises you this and more. Here you can find out more…

The strange name “Omnibus Directive” does not of course refer to local transport, but is derived from the Latin “omnibus” ab, which means “for all” means. Transferred to the EU regulation, it means that it applies to everyone and for both sides, i.e. for customers and dealers.

A notice: This article does not replace legal advice and is only a concentrated summary of a 22-page guideline. If you have any further questions and to be on the safe side as a buyer or seller, you should contact a specialist lawyer.

What is the aim of the Omnibus Directive?

The basic aim of this directive is to strengthen consumer rights across the EU. To this end, several consumer protection guidelines were changed at the end of 2019. Various reviews of the applicable laws had shown that consumers in particular were not sufficiently informed, which made it difficult to enforce legal measures.

The legal situation with regard to possible penalties was also not uniform and not specific enough, so that the commission decided to eliminate these shortcomings in order to create a set of rules that was valid everywhere and for everyone.

This EU regulation has been in force since May 28, 2022 and will hopefully clean up online trading.

The Omnibus Directive brings these benefits to consumers

One of the most important basic rules could beTraders are no longer allowed to cheat or lie” summarize. That means for example:

Price information for discounts and “strikethrough prices”: If an item is advertised with the old price crossed out and a new one quoted, then the old price quoted is subject to a 30-day rule. It must be the lowest price that an item had in the last 30 days.

This is to prevent retailers from raising the price sharply for a short time before a discount campaign, only to then “drop” it to the old price.

Personalized Prices: If a product has different prices from a retailer, depending on which group of buyers it belongs to or which link it came from, then this must be made transparent.

Are prices in shops “personalized based on automated decision-making“Then the customer needs to know that.

Fake customer reviews: Shops need to ensure they only see real reviews from customers who actually bought the goods. In addition, the dealer must state how and whether he checks this authenticity. That has to be in the reviews.

Unfortunately, there are exceptions to customer reviews that were not prompted by the dealer himself. So if, for example, a marketplace dealer gets reviews from Amazon, it is not his job to check them. In this context, Amazon has already kicked out thousands of retailers who advertised with fake reviews.

Paid search positions: Anyone who pays for their offer to be at the top of certain search terms must identify this as advertising and also explain to their customers how such “top rankings” are achieved.Ranking on online marketplaces: If a retailer sells on a marketplace such as eBay, Amazon or AliExpress, the operator of this portal must provide information on how the rankings of search results are achieved.

This is intended to make it more transparent when retailers or items are not at the top of the search results because they are the best, but because they paid for them.

That’s why the link ” is at the top of the search results of an Amazon searchLearn more about these results.” On the following page you will find all the necessary information about the display order. Search parameters, offers but also about paid positions.

compensation for consumers: The Omnibus Directive not only regulates that and how violations can be punished, but also that the customer is entitled to compensation for some violations.

While previously only competitors or warning associations could claim costs, this now also applies to consumers. For example, if they are lured into the store by alleged cheap prices, where the advertised item is not available at the advertised price, consumers can claim their travel expenses, for example.

Even in “surprise situations” consumers may now be entitled to compensation if, for example, locksmiths call up fantastic prices in the evening to open a door that has fallen shut.

Dealers must now pay attention to this with the omnibus directive

The new EU directive tightens things up for retailers. It ensures more market transparency and ensures that many dealer tricks no longer work. Especially the black sheep have to look around. But some regulations affect every seller, regardless of whether they use a marketplace or run their own shop. Here are some important key points:

On eBay and Co. it must be made clear that whether it is a private or commercial sale.discount prices always have to refer to the old prices lowest price in the last 30 days relate.
Not only competitors and warning clubs, but Customers can also claim damages under certain conditions. For example, when they come into the store because of attracting advertising and the advertised item is not available Cancellation regulations for digital services have been made more concrete and must certainly be adapted in most cases. Among other things, cancellation periods can be extended from 14 to 30 days under certain circumstances Penalties for Violations several “facts” are taken into account and the penalties must, according to the directive, “be effective, proportionate and dissuasive“. At least 4% of the annual turnover is estimated. If there is no information about this, a fine of up to 2 million euros can be imposed.In principle, basic price information must now refer to units of measurement such as 1 kilogram or 1 liter. Claims of 100 milliliters or 100 grams are no longer permitted. So if about 100 gram cans of cat food are sold, the basic price must refer to 1 kilogram Resale of tickets is prohibited if the dealer has used automated processes (e.g. bots) to obtain inadmissible quantities of tickets.Any contact with consumers, not only for advertising purposes, is prohibitedas long as it does not serve to fulfill a concluded contract.

For example, in dropshipping, these rules prohibit availability information that cannot be maintained. If you offer goods that you don’t have in stock yourself, you risk expensive warnings.