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Message   VRSS    All   Amazon Fined In Poland For Dark Pattern Design Tricks   March 27, 2024
 7:20 PM  

Feed: Slashdot
Feed Link: https://slashdot.org/
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Title: Amazon Fined In Poland For Dark Pattern Design Tricks

Link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/03/27/2138...

Poland has fined Amazon close to $8 million for misleading consumers about
the conclusion of sales contracts on its online marketplace. The sanction
"also calls out the e-commerce giant for deceptive design elements which may
inject a false sense of urgency into the purchasing process and mislead
shoppers about elements like product availability and delivery dates,"
reports TechCrunch. From the report: The country's consumer and competition
watchdog, the UOKiK, has been looking into complaints about Amazon's sales
practices since September 2021, following complaints from shoppers, including
some who did not receive their purchases. The authority opened a formal
investigation into Amazon's practices in February 2023. Wednesday's sanction
is the conclusion of that probe. The UOKiK found consumers who ordered
products on Amazon could have their purchases subsequently cancelled by the
tech giant as it does not treat the moment of purchase as the conclusion of a
sales contract, despite sending consumers confirmation of their order -- even
after consumers have paid for the product. For Amazon, the conclusion of a
sales contract only occurs once it has sent information about the actual
shipment. [...] Its enforcement also calls out Amazon for using deceptive
design to encourage shoppers to click buy by presenting misleading
information about product availability and delivery windows -- such as by
listing how many items were in stock to be purchased and providing a
countdown clock to order an item in order to get it on a particular delivery
date. Its investigation found Amazon does not always meet these deadlines for
orders, nor ship products immediately as they may be out of stock despite
claims to the contrary shown to consumers. "Amazon treats the data it
provides on availability and shipping date as indicative but the way it is
presented does not indicate this," the UOKiK noted, adding: "Consumers can
only find out about this in the terms of sale on the platform." While Amazon
does offer a delivery guarantee -- offering a refund if items do not ship
within the stated time -- the authority found it failed to provide consumers
with information about the rules of this service before placing an order. It
only offers details at the order summary stage. And then only "if the
consumer decides to read the subsequent links specifying delivery details."
Shoppers who did not follow the link to read more may not have been aware of
their right to apply for and receive a refund from Amazon if there is a delay
in shipment. It also found the e-commerce giant failed to provide information
about the "Delivery Guarantee" in the purchase confirmation sent to shoppers.
Amazon said it will appeal the fine. The company also writes: "Fast and
reliable delivery across a wide selection of products is a top priority for
us, and Amazon.pl has millions of items available with fast and free Prime
delivery. Since launching Amazon.pl in 2021, we have continuously invested
and worked hard to provide customers with a clear, reliable delivery promise
at check out, and while the vast majority of our deliveries arrive on time,
customers can contact us in the rare event that they experience a delay or
order cancellation, and we will make it right. Over the last year, we have
collaborated with the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK),
and proposed multiple voluntary amendments to continue to improve the
customer experience on Amazon.pl. We strictly follow legal standards in all
countries where we operate and we strongly disagree with the assessment and
penalty issued by the UOKiK. We will appeal this decision."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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