The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) has closed an investigation against six operators in the short-term car rental market and has declared unfair the penalty applied to consumers in the event of traffic fines. The investigation was triggered by several consumer complaints submitted to the ICA on the excessive amount they had been charged in addition to the sum paid for traffic fine .
Indeed, in the event of a breach of the Highway Code or non-payment of the motorway toll by a rented vehicle notified by the competent authority to the car rental companies, the latter impose on consumers the payment of a separate amount as penalty in addition to the payment of the traffic ticket. The car rental companies justified such an additional payment by referring to a specific clause included in their contractual terms.
According to the ICA, the clause under examination is unfair because it causes a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer. It imposes on the consumer, in the event of non-performance or delay in performance, the payment of a sum which is manifestly excessive compared to the operating activity carried out by the car rental company to indicate the transgressor to the competent authority as well as the compared to the daily price paid for the rental service.
The ICA argued that the mere communication of the personal data of the renter who had infringed the rules of the Highway Code do not justify the amount charged.
In its statement, the ICA relied on the European Court of Justice jurisprudence, under which the consumer is in a weak position vis-à-vis the seller or supplier, in particular against one sided-contracts where consumers adhere to the conditions laid down by the seller/supplier without being able to negotiate them.
The ICA has ordered the car rental companies to publish its decision on the home page of their websites for thirty consecutive days. The operators can appeal the statement by 60 days running from the notification of the provision before the Regional Administrative Court.
For more information: https://www.agcm.it/dotcmsdoc/bollettini/2022/22-22.pdf
