Temu has its European base in Ireland.
Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and consumer authorities in Belgium and Germany, are scrutinising Temu for potential breaches of consumer protection law.
In a statement, the CCPC said the ongoing investigation, which is being carried out through the European Commission’s Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network, has identified practices which may mislead consumers or unduly influence their purchasing decisions.
Temu is a popular online retail platform known for selling a huge variety of often very inexpensive products shipped from factories in China.
The European consumer protection authorities said several “problematic practices” have already been identified and considered to be in potential breach of EU consumer protection laws.
These include:
Fake discounts – giving consumers the false impression that products are discounted when they are not.
Fake pressure – putting consumers under pressure to complete purchases using tactics like false claims about limited supplies of products or false purchase deadlines.
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Missing and misleading information – displaying incomplete and incorrect information about consumers’ legal rights to return goods and receive refunds. Failing to inform consumers in advance that their order needs to reach a certain minimum value before they can complete their purchase.
Fake reviews – giving inadequate information about how Temu ensures that reviews published on its website are genuine. National authorities identified reviews which they suspect to be fake.
Hidden information – forcing consumers to play a ‘spin the fortune wheel’ game to access the online marketplace, while hiding essential information about the conditions of use that apply to the rewards of the game.
The CCPC said information has also been requested from Temu to assess if it is following EU consumer laws on discount calculation, product ranking, review and rating authenticity, trader identification, and environmental claims.
Kevin O’Brien of the CCPC said: “The investigation has found potentially misleading practices including fake discounts, fake countdown timers, and missing or misleading information about products, sellers and consumer rights. All of these could interfere with the consumer’s right to make an informed decision about how and where they spend their money.
“Large online marketplaces have obligations under consumer law. We look forward to engaging constructively with Temu during this investigation.”
