The Antitrust Authority returns to work and focuses its sights on Samsung Electronics Italia S.p.A., Opia Ltd e World Business S.r.l. for alleged deceptive and aggressive conduct. More specifically, the promotions with which the company offered the opportunity to sell the old smartphone at advantageous prices in order to buy back a new one attracted the attention of the Competition and Market Authority. But let’s try to understand what really happened.
Antitrust: Samsung in the sights of the Authority for deceptive conduct
It may seem somewhat unusual, yet this time Samsung seems to have put the Antitrust on alert. Apparently, in fact, the Authority believes that the company has deceived consumers with promotions that they lack careful information towards the consumer. In fact, the communications promoting the sale of old mobile phones to favor the purchase of new ones ended up in the sights of the Antitrust Authority. Promotions which, according to the Authority, would not indicate that it is a particularly complex sale process for used vehicles. And that the one indicated by Samsung is only an estimate of the selling price, and not the real one.
And as if that were not enough, the Antitrust has said it is ready to also evaluate the way in which Samsung will resell the second hand purchased by customers. Apparently, the consumer does not know the price at which the smartphone is sold, and it is indeed the buyer who decides the state of use and the cost. By virtue of these behaviors considered deceptive, Antitrust officials have inspected the premises of the three companies with the help of the Special Antitrust Unit of the Guardia di Finanza. What will happen to Samsung and the other companies now is unclear, but we’ll find out soon.