Since January 1, 2022, customers in Switzerland can breathe a sigh of relief when it comes to discrimination in online trading, as this is now prohibited by law. The core of this is an amendment to the federal law against unfair competition (UWG).
Swiss consumer protection is primarily targeting foreign online shops that use unfair practices, such as redirecting customers to a more expensive website without asking, using geoblocking, not accepting standard Swiss payment cards or charging unjustifiably excessive prices.
Customers can report unfair practices
Such practices should definitely be reported to consumer protection, which calls on the population to report excessive prices and violations of the new provisions; a registration form is available.
“Consumers from Switzerland have often paid massively more for exactly the same goods and services than abroad. We are confident that this unjustified Swiss surcharge is now history, ”commented Sara Stalder, General Manager of Consumer Protection, in a press release.
The new legal provisions were passed by parliament in spring 2021 as a counter-proposal to the fair price initiative, which was then withdrawn.
In particular, four rules apply: Customers from Switzerland may not be forwarded directly to another website or access to an online shop blocked (so-called geoblocking) without consent.
In principle, there must be no discrimination against Swiss customers in terms of prices or means of payment.
While Swiss customers should be able to order on a foreign website, there is no delivery obligation to Switzerland. “A German online shop, for example, must also deliver to Swiss customers under the same conditions if they provide a German delivery address,” says consumer protection.
Should a foreign online shop deliver to Switzerland, it may not demand more for its goods than abroad without objective justification. However, additional costs for shipping to Switzerland or customs clearance, for example, are justified.
Antitrust law has also been adapted
At the beginning of the year, the area of relative market power of the Cartel Act was also adjusted so that companies can better defend themselves against excessive prices – especially from foreign suppliers.
“If companies from Switzerland are dependent on a product or service from a certain provider because there is no reasonable alternative, they can now turn to the Competition Commission (WEKO) if the supplier abuses their market power,” explains consumer protection.