Consumer Authority imposes fine on PostGarant B.V.

The Consumer Authority is imposing a fine on the company PostGarant B.V. (formerly Fitanova), as it has violated a number of consumer law regulations, which has resulted in consumers being seriously duped. The fines imposed amount to a total of EUR 130,000, and unless the company improves the information it provides to consumers on its website, a penalty will be imposed upon it. If a penalty is imposed upon PostGarant B.V., it will not be permitted to continue its unsolicited mailing of products in the future.

PostGarant B.V., trading under names such as TopForm, Slim+, SuperWhite, StarBright, Pet's Energy and Lively Spirit, is a mail order company that supplies products such as slimming products and dental care products. The products can be ordered via websites and are also available via telemarketing.

PostGarant worked as follows. PostGarant B.V. made use of the internet to invite consumers to fill in a form, which was used to order a sample pack or a welcome pack. Afterwards, it appeared that by filling in this form, the consumer had agreed to receive future parcels and to pay the costs that these entailed. The costs were collected from the consumer's bank account automatically, by means of direct debit. Nor was the consumer informed that a seven-day cooling-off period applied for purchases made via the internet. It had also become more difficult to contact the company, as details about the company, such as the identity of the vendor, the company's business address and how to contact the company via telephone or e-mail were either missing or incomplete.

Fines have been imposed, as the Consumer Authority is of the opinion that the aforementioned practices violate consumer regulations. After all, these regulations stipulate that the consumer must be informed in a clear, understandable and unambiguous manner about both the nature and content of the agreement that he/she is entering into and the way in which he/she can dissolve the agreement. The consumer must also be provided with sufficient information about the party with which he/she is entering into an agreement beforehand. This is especially important whenever the company collects the costs by means of direct debit.

PostGarant B.V. has recently lodged an objection against the Consumer Authority's decision.