Supermarkets: only one can be the most sustainable
Dutch Supermarket chains Plus and Albert Heijn were reprimanded by the ACM in December 2023 and April 2024 for making several inaccurate sustainability claims in their shops, leaflets and/or om their websites. Plus and Albert Heijn claimed to be "the most responsible supermarket" and "the most sustainable supermarket" in the Netherlands, respectively, with that claim based only on their own customers' perceptions and not on concrete, objective information regarding their sustainability efforts. The supermarkets also used other terms that were not or insufficiently substantiated according to the ACM such as "together with our growers / our farmers we are working on a more sustainable future". After the ACM addressed both companies about making the incorrect claims, Plus and Albert Heijn removed those claims.
Epic fined for misleading business practices in game Fortnite
In May 2024, it was announced that the ACM had fined Epic Games International S.à.r.l. ("Epic") in late 2023 for offering products to children in the online game Fortnite Battle Royale ("Fortnite") in a misleading and aggressive manner. The vulnerability of underage children played an important role in this case. The ACM concluded that Epic was guilty of several misleading and aggressive commercial practices, such as making an offer using an expiring timer of 24 hours, while this offer was available for longer than 24 hours. Furthermore, clearly visible advertisements were used when the game was started where users were addressed in the imperative (e.g. "Get it now" and "Grab it") and those advertisements were also aimed at children. For these violations, the ACM imposed a fine of €1,125,000. It also imposed a binding instruction on Epic to adjust several design features in the game (such as the expiring 24-hour timer). Epic raised objections to the ACM's decision, but those objections were rejected by the ACM in late 2024. Epic has already announced an appeal to the Rotterdam District Court.
Miscellaneous matters concerning HIM
Allround Hollands Energie B.V. ("HEM") was fined by the ACM in March 2024 for misleading consumers when recruiting new customers by telephone. During the telephone calls, consumers were not told that the intention was to sell an energy contract, which constituted deception. Also, some salesmen showed aggressive behaviour by urging consumers to switch to another energy supplier, limiting their freedom of choice. The amount of the fine is €1,100,000.
Moreover, the ACM considered it objectionable that the contracts offered by HEM had tariffs that far exceeded the price cap. In that context, in April 2024, HEM made a commitment to the ACM to allow customers, who entered into a fixed contract in 2023 or the first quarter of 2024, to choose whether they wished to remain customers for a lower tariff or switch to another supplier. HEM has also pledged not to do any more telephone canvassing for the next three years.
In October 2024, the ACM would also publicly call on consumers not to pay bills from HEM, alleging that HEM was engaging in aggressive debt collection practices. The ACM was reprimanded however by the interim relief judge of the Rotterdam District Court who ruled that notice unlawful because ACM did not sufficiently distinguish between HEM's different types of customers and the amounts those customers owed HEM. Two months later, the ACM revoked HEM's licence to supply energy
Fine for misleading sales of energy contracts for intermediary GMB
Global Marketing Bridge B.V. ("GMB") was also fined in March 2024 for misleading telephone sales of energy contracts during the one-year period. GMB acted as an intermediary and approached customers for energy suppliers. During the telephone sale of the energy contracts, consumers were misled by not informing them of the purpose of the call, that GMH was calling and on whose behalf GMH was acting. For example, they concealed their motives by making consumers think that nothing would change with their existing energy contract. The amount of the fine for GMB is €400,000. In addition, GMB's de facto executives were fined.
Penalty decisions for fake discounts on websites
In May 2024, the ACM imposed fines on G-Star Raw eStore B.V. ("G-star"), JYSK B.V. ("JYSK"), PVH Brands Netherlands B.V. ("Tommy Hilfiger"), Day Traders B.V. ("Koopjedeal") and Leen Bakker Nederland B.V. ("Leen Bakker") for displaying fake discounts on their websites. According to the ACM, presenting a higher price reduction than the actual discount based on the lowest price in the past 30 days led to an unfair commercial practice in violation of the Prices Act and the updated Decree on Product Pricing. This also applies to presenting discounts when in reality no discount was given. The fines imposed range from €110,000 to €163,000. Only Koopjedeal appealed the fine, which was upheld by the ACM in appeal.
Reizendeals.nl obtains order under penalty for deception
The owner of the auction website www.reizendeals.nl ("Travel Deal") was the subject of an order for periodic penalty payments by the ACM in October 2024. According to the ACM, the information provided on the price of the package holidays on offer was incomplete and ambiguous (the price appeared to be a discounted price). In addition, it was unclear to consumers that the "make an offer now button" was a payment button, which entailed a payment obligation for the consumer if the highest bid for the package holiday is made. Also, any date surcharge was not included in the total price and was not clearly displayed before the consumer made an offer on a package holiday. Travel Deal is ordered to clarify this and adjust the bid button.
Commitments from SurchargePortal binding
In November 2024, the ACM declared binding the commitments of ToeslagenPortal B.V. ("ToeslagenPortal"), after announcing its intention to impose an order for periodic penalty payments. ToeslagenPortal is a commercial company that applies for benefits on behalf of consumers for a fee. It was unclear to consumers that they were dealing with a commercial company that acted as an intermediary, for example through a sentence such as "Submit your application online within minutes." In addition, consumers were informed too late that they had to pay for the service and the fact that consumers were waiving their right of withdrawal could easily go unnoticed because it was displayed only after providing other information. ToeslagenPortal has already made changes in advertisements and on its websites, and will financially compensate consumers who used their services between 1 January 2022 and 30 June 2024.
