Vol. 563 No. 1
210 Mr. Dennehy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment her views on the fact that many retailers who sell products or services over the Internet charge an additional handling fee which can often amount to 10% or more of the cost; if she will consider making such practices illegal in order to assist price transparency for consumers; and if she will make a statement on the sale of goods over the internet. [7210/03]
My Department does not have detailed information available to it relating to the practice referred to by the Deputy.
The objective of policy in this area is to ensure that the consumer is adequately informed of all charges being imposed. Provision for this has been made in a number of statutory measures, particularly by the European Communities (Protection of Consumers in respect of Distance Contracts Made by Means of Distance Communication) Regulations 2001, (S.I. No 207 of 2001), the European Communities (Directive 2000/31/EC Regulations 2003, (S.I. No. 68 of 2003), and the European Communities (Requirements to Indicate Product Prices) Regulations 2002 (S.I. No 639 of 2002).
These measures combined with normal consumer vigilance should be sufficient to protect consumer interests in this area. Therefore, I do not propose to take steps towards prohibiting the type of charges concerned.
