EU consumer authorities compel Vinted to be clearer about prices and conditions

European consumer authorities have come to an agreement with online marketplace Vinted that, going forward, it will inform consumers more clearly about prices and conditions. Among other improvements, the platform will present the total price of each order more clearly, and explain more clearly how consumers can ask their money back if their orders have not arrived. Vinted is an online platform for selling and buying secondhand items like clothes and household items such as textiles, tableware and cutlery, and home decor accessories. Consumers in various EU countries had complained about the platform, for example about the mandatory ‘buyer protection fee’, which Vinted charges with each product but does not clearly explain in advance.

For more information about the action and the agreement reached with Vinted: read the press release of the European Commission.

This European action was led by the Lithuanian State Consumer Rights Protection Authority. Vinted is a company that has its registered office in Lithuania. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) and the Lithuanian authority both participate in the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network, which is a network of national authorities of EU/EEA Member Sates responsible for the enforcement of EU consumer protection laws. Vinted will implement said improvements in all European markets, including the Netherlands.

ACM will check whether Vinted properly implements these changes in the Netherlands. ACM will keep a close watch on the platform, for example, by monitoring the reports filed by consumers about the platform. As a result of the Digital Services Act (DSA), platforms such as Vinted need to comply with additional rules.