5 reasons for a warning

Around 20% of the operators of an online shop with WooCommerce have already received a warning. We show you the reasons for a WooCommerce warning.

The costs of a warning are usually in the four-digit range. For this reason, it is all the more important that operators of an online shop know the reasons and can avoid them. Because most warnings are justified and could be avoided.

What is a warning?

A warning is a legal request to refrain from certain behavior. This requirement arises when someone else is harmed. On the one hand, these can be branches that grow on the neighbor’s property. On the other hand, false reporting in the press can also result in a warning.

In the area of e-commerce, there are mainly warnings under competition law. Violations of competition law are warned. Because these violations can give the operator of an online shop an advantage over the law-abiding operators.

The basic requirement for a warning is that a third party suffers a disadvantage as a result of a violation of competition law.

For this, the two parties must be in a competitive relationship. A competitive relationship exists with a similar range of goods.

In the rarest of cases, the warning will come from the dealer himself. His interests are represented by a lawyer. The retailer can claim the costs of hiring a lawyer from the person who has been warned.

The warning is often accompanied by a cease-and-desist declaration. A cease and desist is a pre-formulated contract that promises the other party that the reason for the warning will not be repeated again. If it is repeated, this is a breach of contract and a contractual penalty must be paid.

Reasons for a warning under competition law

We show you the most common reasons for a competition law warning so that you can avoid them.

→ outdated cancellation policy

The right of withdrawal has existed in its current form since 2014. Because cancellation instructions are still outdated. You can recognize an outdated cancellation policy by the form of the cancellation notice. If the revocation can be explained in the form of a return without comment, this is obsolete.

The revocation must be declared in the form of a declaration to the company. The declaration must reflect the will of the customer. You should check the wording of your cancellation policy and adjust it if necessary to reduce the risk of a warning.

→ insured shipping

Some companies advertise that their goods are shipped insured. But this is also referred to as “advertising with obvious things”. In the mail order sale of goods, the entrepreneur bears the transport risk acc. § 475 para. 2 BGB. This means that the entrepreneur must be liable for damage or loss during transport.

It does not matter to the customer whether the goods are insured or not. By advertising with the insured shipping, the customer is promised a special protection against other retailers.

In B2B and C2C transactions, the buyer bears the transport risk as soon as the goods have been handed over to the transport service provider.

→ Guarantee

Advertising with the slogan “2 year guarantee” arouses the interest of many customers. But what is the 2-year guarantee for? On certain parts of the product? On the color? Who should the customer contact in a warranty case? If this information is missing in the advertisement, it is a blanket advertisement with a guarantee. The specific information must be contained in the advertisement. Especially when the guarantee only applies to part of the product, the advertising is no longer so tempting.

→ Missing basic price

The basic price of a product must be indicated in accordance with the Price Indication Ordinance. This ensures that the consumer can compare a product that is sold in different filling quantities. A basic price must be stated whenever a product is sold by weight, volume, length or area.

→ Registration

The new packaging law came into force on January 1st, 2019. This means that retailers have new obligations. The disposal of the packaging waste must be paid for by the person who also sends the packaging waste to the consumer.

For this reason, the packaging must be licensed with one of the dual systems.

Licensing has been mandatory since the 1990s. Until 2018, this was regulated by the Packaging Ordinance. The problem was that it was difficult to determine whether the duty was being fulfilled or not.

The “Central Office” database was also created with the Packaging Act. All companies that put packaging that is subject to mandatory system participation into circulation must register in this database. The database is called LUCID. In addition to the authorities, competitors can also view this database. This enables them to understand whether the competitors are complying with their registration obligation or not.

Check the reasons mentioned in your online shop. This is the only way you can avoid a warning and the associated cease-and-desist declaration.