As good as all Belgian web shops selling DIY materials, toys or baby items are breaking the law. Most traders do adjust their web shops after a warning.
Misleading practices
Between 1 February 2024 and 6 January this year, the Federal Public Service Economy checked 252 Belgian web shops selling DIY items, toys or baby gear. At 242 web shops, or 96% of all shops checked, the FPS found at least one violation. In total, there were 1,467, representing an average of 6 per shop.
Most web shops gave no, incomplete, or incorrect information about the right of withdrawal or the legal guarantee. 54.4% of the shops had at least one misleading commercial practice, 42.5% did not correctly or incompletely display essential company information, and 67.4% did not always display the unit price.
96.7% of traders did adjust after a warning. According to Consumer Protection Minister Rob Beenders, the figures show that the protection of online consumers is still too often lacking: “We must ensure that every Belgian can buy online safely and correctly, without deception or hidden costs.”
