Sicily By Car condemned by the Agcm for an abusive clause in the rental contracts and for not having respected the obligations imposed
I’car rental Sicily by car was again sanctioned by the Competition and Market Authority. The fine imposed by the Agcm is due to the application of a vexatious clause for the customers. Here are the story details.
CAR RENTAL SANCTIONS IN SICILY IN CASE OF A FINE
With summer holidays fast approaching, you should be prepared to avoid car rental mistakes, to which we have dedicated this review. Some very common hazards with leasing are the imposition of penalties for undisputed damages on the way back and penalties applied in case of a fine taken by the driver, for example for exceeding the speed limit or driving in a lane reserved for other vehicles. Here, precisely on this report, the preliminary investigation was opened which resulted in provision no. 30177 of May 24, 2022. The French Competition Authority noted that the clause contained in Article 2.2 letter e) of the General Conditions of Contract (containing “Obligations and rights of the customer”) concerning the charge of 50 euros (excluding VAT) invoiced to the client-consumer for the management of fines, tolls, parking and any penalties/charges imposed by authorities, entities, dealers in relation to the circulation of the vehicle covered by the car rental contract – it turned out to be vexatious in accordance with articles 33, paragraphs 1 and 2, letter f), and 34 of the Consumer Code.
WHY THE ANTI-TRUST FINED SICILY BY CAR
The Guarantor Authority ordered that Sicily By Car published an excerpt from the Disposition for a period of twenty consecutive days on the home page of the website with adequate graphic evidence. Before the expiry of the deadline imposed by the Agcm (June 23, 2024), the car rental Sicily By Car has applied to the Authority for a 40-day extension the deadline for providing for the publication of the extract of the Provision, in order to “allow the effective judicial protection of the rights and interests of the Company, even as a precautionary measure”. Claim denied by Antitrust with communication in early July.
FINE OF 50 THOUSAND EUROS FOR SICILY BY CAR CAR RENTAL
The Company did not communicate to the Autorité the date of publication of the extract from the Provision, did not send a copy of the same text and did not provide any response within the five-day period indicated in the reminder. . The Antitrust therefore opened a preliminary inquiry procedure to assess non-compliance with the provisionwhich was approved on September 27, 2022. In addition, on November 3, 2022, Sicily By Car was informed of the deadline of November 14, 2022 for the possible submission of closing briefs in the proceedings. “To such communication no response from the professional followed and no written defense has been received”. Based on these assessments, the AGCM issued a Fine of 50,000 euros to Sicily By Car.
Source : Sicur Auto
