Legal Literature

Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, Chapter 2, Section 1, Article 6, 1.

This article describes the deceitful practices of catalogue companies that have also appeared in Slovakia. Such companies advertise their products or services for free, whereas their paper forms state in small letters (sometimes even on the back of the document) that the form constitutes an irrevocable and chargeable order.

The author explains that campaigns against catalogue companies had been organised all over Europe with state administrative bodies, consumer protection NGOs and the injured parties as participants. The article names different ways, which enable the injured party to avoid the duty to pay any of the demanded fees. It cites the UCP Directive and states that its Art. 6 Sec.1 letters a),b) and c) about misleading practices with its corresponding Annex I is exactly the right legislative norm that will stop the spread of such companies.

The article was published in the period of time just preceeding the moment that the new Act. No.250/2007 Coll. on Consumer Protection as amended was adopted. This Act implemented the UCP Directive.