The “crossed out” reference price must henceforth be equal to the lowest amount practiced during the last 30 days.
A Canon EOS 2000D camera with lens for the sum of 359 euros instead of 557 euros. A golden affair. Problem, at the same time Canon’s online store offers the said product at a much lower price of 449 euros. The substantial reduction of 198 euros offered on the first site is, in reality, “thatof 90 euros.
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In this case, and as in many others, the reference price is clearly overvalued to give the impression of making an exceptional deal. It is to fight against these false good plans that Europe now requires that the reference price be equal to the lowest price in the last 30 days.
A change brought by the new European directive 2019/2161, which must enter into force in French law on May 28 (Article L112-1-1 of the consumer code). It provides that the “previous price corresponds to the lowest price charged by the trader to all consumers during the last thirty days preceding the application of the price reduction.In the event of non-compliance, the offender will be liable to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of 300,000 euros for deceptive commercial practice.
Back to square one in France
A measure that should allow the consumer to be better informed. Except that in France, it is a step back. Until 2015, in fact, the thirty-day rule applied. But the law conflicted with European law, which required a case-by-case assessment. A breach into which Cdiscount had infiltrated to attack French legislation. The legal battle had been won by the online site, forcing the country to repeal the various articles governing these promotions “crossed out price“.
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The Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention had nevertheless continued to act, with regulatory means admittedly tightened. She had thus challenged the former Vente Privée in January 2019 for reference prices “which in fact did not correspond to any economic reality” and “used to display particularly attractive promotion rates“.