France has imposed a fine of 22 million euros on the Asian low-cost online retailer Shein for violations of the right of withdrawal and a lack of information for consumers. This was announced by the competition and anti-fraud authority DGCCRF, based in Paris. The shopping portal speaks of a “clearly disproportionate and discriminatory” punishment that it does not want to accept.
Last year it was checked whether Shein was complying with consumer regulations. The authority accuses the online giant of not doing so in many respects. Shein sent sales confirmations that were not compliant. The price, date, delivery period, information about the seller and the guarantee as well as the right of withdrawal were missing. The right of withdrawal was also not adhered to. Consumers would not have been able to withdraw from the sale under the stipulated conditions. Shein also did not provide sufficient information about the environmental standards of its products – something with regard to microplastics, the authority said.
A spokesperson for Shein made it clear that the company plans to appeal the penalty. There was no apparent harm to consumers. The information requested by the authority was available in the customer account and the reason for the lack of environmental information was a technical error. Shein complained that such a high sanction could not be justified.
Last year, France had already imposed a fine of 40 million euros on Shein for deceiving consumers when it came to price discounts.