Last night, the Knesset passed an amendment the Consumer Protection Law giving the Consumer Protection and Fair Trade Authority very broad powers to act in cases in which it becomes convinced that a person or company has misled, exerted unfair influence, or refused to repay money lawfully due, when the counterparty is a minor, a helpless person, someone who does not speak Hebrew adequately, or someone with other special characteristics. In other words, businesses that swindle old people, new immigrants, and people with disabilities.
Among the powers available to deal with those against whom enough complaints have accumulated will be blocking of credit card clearance and the restoration of the frozen funds to consumers who have been harmed, a ban on other clearers providing clearance services to the person or company concerned, fines on credit clearers that fail to comply with the provisions of the law, and prevention of the party in breach from opening files at the Law Enforcement and Collection Authority.
The amendment also gives the Commissioner of Consumer Protection and Fair Trade the right to apply to the court for a warrant to enter a computer in the case of suspicion of a breach of the law.
The amendment began life as a private member’s bill sponsored by MK Meirav Cohen (Yesh Atid), and won the support of Knesset Economic Affairs Committee chairperson MK David Bitan (Likud) and Minister of Economy Nir Barkat (Likud). The powers that it awards will be exercised after the Commissioner of Consumer Protection and Fair Trade sends a "notice of intention" to the suspect person or company, to the clearer, and to the Law Enforcement and Collection Authority. The person or company will have between two and three weeks to respond to the claims against them, and after a further two weeks the Commissioner of Consumer Protection and Fair Trade will determine whether there has been a severe breach of the Consumer Protection Law and whether sanctions should be applied.
"A significant enforcement tool"
"This is a significant enforcement tool, the aim of which is to deter swindlers and stop the harm they cause in real time," Cohen said. "No more proceedings taking years in the courts, during which they can evade punishment. From now on, if severe complaints by old people accumulate against a certain company, the state can order all the credit card companies to stop providing the company in question with clearing services. That will effectively block the access of the swindlers to the wallets of consumers in Israel, and their cash flow will be halted."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 2, 2024.
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