Introduction
2024 was another busy year for consumer enforcement in the Republic of Ireland by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).
The CCPC is the statutory body responsible for promoting compliance with, and enforcing, competition and consumer protection law in Ireland. It is responsible for enforcing over 40 legislative instruments, with the stated aim of "making markets work better for consumers".
To that end, the CCPC seeks to influence public debate and policy development, grow public understanding of the importance of open and competitive markets, promote competition and highlight the interests of consumers. Regarding consumer protection, the CCPC carries out several functions including:
- Providing consumers with information on their rights and helping the consumer to make informed choices
- Enforcing consumer law through (a) prohibition orders (b) compliance notices and (c) on-the-spot fines for offences relating to price display, and (d) by 'naming and shaming' businesses by publishing non-compliant trader names
- Conducting research into consumer issues and publishing its research on consumer behaviours
- Advising the Irish Government on issues which have the potential to cause or are currently causing harm to consumers
- Protecting consumers from entities which might be dominating a market
Enforcement activity in 2024
2024 marked a record year for consumer enforcement activity by the CCPC according to the annual Consumer Protection List (CPL) 2024, which details enforcement action by the CCPC during that year.
According to the CPL, the CCPC took enforcement action against a range of traders and retailers, including supermarket chains, department stores, pub, bars and restaurants and vehicle retailers. Notably, and for the first time, the CPL notes that the CCPC also took enforcement actions against social media influencers.
Impugned practices ranged from misleading consumers by displaying the incorrect selling prices to failing to indicate selling prices entirely, as well as in the case of social media influencers failing to disclose the commercial nature of their social media posts.
Key statistics
In 2024:
- 5 traders prosecuted in court, including Tesco and Homesavers
- 23 Compliance Notices served on traders, including three social media influencers
- 47 Fixed Payment Notices served on traders including Aldi, Brown Thomas, Currys, Dunnes Stores, Londis, Spar
- 205 consumer protection inspections
Tesco enforcement case
The CCPC prosecuted Tesco following an inspection of their premises in the Jervis Shopping Centre on in August 2023, as a result of which the CCPC identified breaches of the requirement - under Regulation 5(1) of the European Communities (Requirements to Indicate Product Prices) Regulations 2002 - to display the unit price of goods offered for sale. This specifically related to its failure to include unit pricing on Tesco Clubcard promotional shelf-edge labels. On 24 June 2024, Tesco entered guilty pleas in respect of two offences under the Regulations before Judge Halpin of the Dublin Metropolitan District Court. The judge applied section 1(1) of the Probation of Offenders Act 1907, ordered Tesco to pay the legal costs of the CCPC and invited it to make a donation of €1,000 to the Little Flower Penny Dinners charity.
Consumer Protection Inspections
As noted earlier. the CPL features 205 consumer protection inspections in 2024, comprising 164 in-store inspections, 41 online inspections and 21 vehicle trader inspections. This number is up from 183 in 2023.
The CCPC announced in September 2024 that it had conducted 59 unannounced inspections across 8 counties that month, targeting businesses in respect of whom the CCPC had received consumer complaints to its helpline, underlying the importance of complaints to the CCPC's enforcement activity.
Inspections focused, among other things, on the motor retail sector to ensure compliance with consumer protection laws. During these inspections, the CCPC identified consumer law breaches in relation to pricing and faulty goods. The apparent lack of understanding among businesses regarding their legal obligations to consumers when issues arise with a product or service was of particular concern to the CCPC.
Social media influencers served with compliance notices
For the first time, social media influencers were also served with compliance notices for failing to use the correct labels to disclose the commercial nature of the content they published online. The CCPC, together with the Advertising Standards Authority, published guidance on influencer advertising and marketing in October 2023. In April 2024, the CCPC wrote to 26 influencers in Ireland across a range of sectors and reminded them of their obligations under consumer protection law in relation to labelling of content.
Brian O'Driscoll, a former Irish rugby international, and Caroline O'Mahony, an online fitness coach, were among the influencers subsequently served with compliance notices for failing to disclosure the commercial nature of some of their social media posts by failing to label social media posts as paid promotions where they received a commercial benefit from the brand(s) featured in the post(s). The compliance notices directed O’Driscoll and O’Mahony to amend a number of promotions posted on their Instagram accounts to make them consumer law compliant and appropriately label them as paid promotions.
Launch of new CCPC guidelines for traders
This April saw the launch of a new set of guidelines for businesses in Ireland. The guidelines focus on what traders and retailers must do to adhere to consumer law when selling goods and services, following the introduction of new rules in the Consumer Rights Act 2022.
For more information, please contact Aisling Duffy or John Gaffney or your usual contact in Beauchamps LLP.