D-Day for new pricing regulations

Transparency will benefit consumers

"New rules will be enforced" - Tánaiste

The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Harney, today (Friday 28th February, 2003) reminded retailers and consumers that a new law on displaying prices of all products on sale to consumers comes into force tomorrow, Saturday 1st March 2003.

In January the Tánaiste announced the making of the new Regulations, which also oblige retailers to display a unit price (e.g. price per kilogramme or per litre) for all packaged products sold by quantity.

The Tánaiste said "I am acutely aware of growing concerns on the part of consumers who are anxious to ensure that they get best value available in the goods they require, whether it be in their local supermarket, bookshop, electrical store or where ever. I am also convinced that the only effective way to do this is to facilitate effective competition and to ensure that shoppers have the necessary information so that they can make the best choice to suit their needs."

She continued: "This new law is an important additional step in providing consumers with both general price information and unit price information that will enable them to make accurate and immediate comparisons as between competing products which are sold by quantity. The law applies to all goods including all basic foodstuffs and household items such as tea, milk, tinned goods, washing powders and so on. The law also applies to all traders whether they are selling in the local store, by mail-order catalogue or over the internet."

The Tánaiste welcomed RGDATA's comment that the reality is that most grocery retailers had been operating to such stringent standards for some time. But the Tánaiste also warned retailers that the new rules will be vigorously enforced by the Director of Consumer Affairs.

"I am a consumer myself and I am unfortunately aware of instances where prices are not displayed. Consumers who believe that traders are not adhering to the new rules should not be afraid to report the matter to the Director. Retailers will face penalties of up to €3,000 a time for failure to display prices clearly in line with the Regulations. Retailers have had ample warning of these new rules and there will be no more grace periods in order to come to terms with them. Tomorrow is D-Day," the Tánaiste said.

"Irish consumers deserve a better deal and I have implemented this new law to provide consumers with more and better quality information. I urge consumers to now put this information to use. From now on they should actively seek out the most competitive prices available and clearly express their concerns with retailers if they find these prices unjustifiably high," the Tánaiste concluded.

Note for Editors

These new Regulations (European Communities (Requirements to Indicate Product Prices) Regulations 2002, S.I. No. 639 of 2002) replace the European Communities (Product Prices) Regulations 2001, S.I. No. 422 of 2001, which gave effect to Directive 98/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 on consumer protection in the indication of the prices of products offered to consumers. The Regulations cover products as disparate as food and nails, paint and washing machines. They apply to most products offered for sale by traders to consumers, whether person to person, by mail order or over the internet. The indication of the selling price and of the unit price must be clearly visible.

Subject to the three exceptions specified, i.e. 1) goods sold in the provision of a service, 2) works of art or 3) goods for sale by auction, where traders indicate that a product is or may be for sale to consumers, they are required to indicate the selling price and the unit price of that product in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations. The pricing is per metric unit e.g., per kilogram, per litre or per square or cubic metre. The new Regulations will enable consumers to make informed choices about goods on offer. These Regulations will be enforced from the 1 March 2003 by the Director of Consumer Affairs. The Maximum fine for breaches of the Regulations is €3000.

Further information on the new Regulations can be obtained from the website of the Office of Director of Consumer Affairs at www.odca.ie.

The Office can be contacted as follows:

Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs

4 Harcourt Rd, Dublin 2 or

Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs

89-90 South Mall, Cork

Enquiry Line: 01 402 5555 or 1890 220 229 (outside the 01 area)

Fax: 01 402 5501

Email: odca@entemp.ie

ENDS