Article 1
Purpose and Scope
1. The Code sets out the general principles and defines the minimum rules of professional conduct and ethical behaviour that businesses must observe towards consumers.
2. It applies to transactions carried out under contracts for the sale of goods or the provision of services concluded between consumers and suppliers for remuneration, entirely online, that is, by electronic means at a distance, without the simultaneous physical presence of the two parties (B2C transactions).
3. The Code concerns self-regulation rules for businesses operating in e-commerce aimed at consumers and applies without prejudice to European Union and Greek legislation on e-commerce and consumer protection, which it does not in any way replace.
Article 2
Definitions
1. For the purposes of the Code, the following terms have the meaning given to them below:
a) “Business operating in the field of e-commerce” (hereinafter “business”) means legal or natural persons established in Greece that provide products and/or services to consumers in Greece and/or abroad, operating lawfully either directly or as intermediaries in the provision of services for direct or indirect remuneration by electronic means at a distance and following the consumer’s personal choice.
b) “By electronic means at a distance” means services and products provided by businesses and accepted by consumers through electronic processing equipment, which is provided, transmitted and received entirely via the Internet and/or mobile networks/text applications).
c) For all other terms, the definitions laid down in Law 2251/1994, as in force, Presidential Decree 131/2003 and the Consumer Code of Conduct of Article 7 of Law 3297/2004, as in force, apply.
2. In case of doubt, the definitions of the applicable legislation prevail.
Article 3
General principles and obligations of online stores
A. General principles
The Code is governed by the principles of consumer protection, transparency, impartiality, technological neutrality, professional conduct, ethical behaviour and respect for privacy, the protection of personal data and the protection of vulnerable population groups, as specifically referred to in Articles 4 and 5 hereof.
B. Minimum consumer information
1. The business ensures pre-contractual information to the consumer so that full, accurate and clear information is possible regarding the following:
i. Full corporate name, registered office, postal address, VAT number, contact telephone numbers/e-mail address.
ii. General Commercial Registry (GEMI) registration number.
iii. Main characteristics of the products sold and quality of the services provided (e.g. the total price including VAT or other taxes, shipping costs, or any return costs of the product, any additional charges, terms and methods of payment, guarantees, size/dimensions of the product), as well as the means of payment.
iv. Availability of services and products and the time limit within which the supplier undertakes to deliver the goods or provide the services.
v. Characteristics of charges, possible discount packages or special offers.
vi. Terms for withdrawal from the contract as well as termination or cancellation of the contract, as specifically referred to in Article 6 hereof.
vii. The possibility of out-of-court settlement of disputes and information on recognised alternative dispute resolution (ADR) bodies for consumer disputes, which suppliers are bound or obliged to use for dispute resolution. In the absence of such a commitment or obligation, suppliers must in any case clarify whether they will make use of such bodies.
viii. The possibility of electronic alternative dispute resolution as specifically referred to in Article 8 hereof.
ix. Terms of after-sales service, any commercial guarantees (content, duration and territorial scope), and the seller’s liability for actual defects and lack of agreed qualities, in accordance with Articles 534 et seq. of the Civil Code.
x. Any need for frequent maintenance of products or the existence of spare parts of particularly high cost in relation to the current price of such products.
xi. The purpose of processing, the recipients or categories of recipients of the data and the existence of the right of access and objection, as specifically referred to in Article 5B(5) hereof.
xii. Codes of conduct or any trust marks by which they are bound.
xiii. The above information to the consumer must be understandable, lawful, true, up-to-date, easily accessible to all, including persons with disabilities, and verifiable, and must be provided mandatorily in the Greek language and optionally in another language.
2. The terms of the contract for the provision of services and/or sale of products must be posted on the business’s website at a point where the consumer can easily access them.
3. In cases where an order request is submitted by the consumer, the business is obliged to deliver/send immediately proof of receipt of the order request, which clearly states the date of receipt and confirmation of the order.
4. Under the responsibility of the business, the time at which the contract is deemed to have been concluded is made clear to the consumer, in accordance with the applicable legislation. The basic contractual terms must be made available to consumers in advance and in such a way that the order cannot be placed unless the user has previously taken notice of them. After conclusion of the contract, the business must refrain from any action entailing modification of its terms, in particular changing the price or notifying non-availability of the ordered product or service.
5. The consumer has sufficient information about the progress of their order.
6. If the business finds that the consumer was not correctly informed or that the contract was not concluded with their explicit consent, it makes every effort to resolve the issue within a reasonable time.
7. Staff of e-commerce businesses who come into contact with consumers for the provision of services or sale of products must be fully informed about the above and respond to consumers’ reasonable questions clearly and accurately.
C. Advertising – Promotion
1. Advertising and promotion must comply with applicable legislation.
2. In any case, the following are recommended to apply:
i. Advertising messages and all information provided by businesses must (as far as possible depending on the medium used) be characterised by clarity regarding the identity of the business, the characteristics and the final price of the advertised product, or, where this is not possible, the method of calculating it, in simple and understandable language for the consumer, so that the latter is able to assess the information provided and safely make, at their own discretion, the correct decision regarding the purchase of products or services.
ii. Advertising or other offers must refrain from misleading or aggressive practices before, during and after a commercial transaction relating to a specific product or service, which directly or indirectly is likely to mislead the consumer regarding the product or service promoted.
iii. Staff of the business who are in direct contact with the consumer do not mislead nor seek to mislead consumers in any way, by act or omission, giving false impressions about the service or product provided.
iv. The business does not provide incomplete or inaccurate information regarding the ability to provide the service or sell the product to the consumer.
v.. Any advertising and promotional activity specifically addressed to minors must not incite them, directly or indirectly, to acts of violence, to the use of alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, toxic substances or any behaviour dangerous to their safety and health.
vi. Businesses observe the age restrictions laid down in the applicable legislation regarding the promotion and sale of specific categories of products.
vii. Any advertising and promotional activity addressed to persons with disabilities must ensure its accessibility to them.
Article 4
Protection of minors and other vulnerable groups of the population
1. The staff of the business does not exploit the weakness of consumers belonging to vulnerable groups, such as elderly people, minors, people who do not understand the Greek language well or people with disabilities. Businesses provide careful, accurate and objective descriptions of products and services addressed specifically to such persons in a way that is easy to grasp, understandable and fully accessible to them, so as not to mislead them regarding the actual size, value, nature, purpose, durability, performance and price of each advertised product or service.
2. Specifically for minor consumers, businesses ensure – as far as possible – the setting of appropriate access conditions to their websites, as provided in each case by the applicable laws.
Article 5
Transaction security and protection of personal data
A. Transaction security
1. Businesses take care to ensure the security of transactions carried out using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
2. Within this framework and in accordance with the provisions of applicable legislation, businesses make every possible effort to use, themselves or through their partners, appropriate tools and measures, depending on the category and type of their business activity and the type of data (personal or not) that they collect and process, and to implement every suitable measure so as to provide the legally required security of electronic transactions (corresponding to the various stages of completion of such transactions) and of the data (personal or not) that they collect and process, as well as to inform transacting parties about the basic parameters of the security and confidentiality measures used, with specific reference in the website’s terms of use.
3. Businesses use appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard the confidentiality of the data they collect and process, to the extent required by law and according to the nature of the products and services they provide.
B. Personal data protection
1. Businesses must have and implement a clear, truthful, lawful, easily accessible and up-to-date Personal Data Protection Policy and inform consumers as required by relevant legislation and the guidelines of the Hellenic Data Protection Authority regarding this Personal Data Protection Policy.
2. It is not permitted to collect, store or process data that the law characterises as sensitive, i.e. data concerning racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, participation in an association, trade union or political organisation, health, social welfare as well as data relating to criminal prosecutions or convictions, unless the conditions and requirements laid down by law and the Hellenic Data Protection Authority are met.
3. The collection, processing, retention and use of other personal data is carried out only when this is permitted by the applicable legal framework and always in accordance with the conditions laid down therein.
4. In particular, with regard to the use of “all kinds of cookies”, their installation must take place after appropriate information of the consumer and on the basis of their consent, in accordance with the law and the relevant guidelines of the Hellenic Data Protection Authority.
5. In the event of non-consent/acceptance of “cookies”, businesses allow, where technically feasible, the continued use of the website by the consumer without the sending of cookies.
6. Businesses ensure that the personal data collected is not disclosed or transmitted to third parties without the prior information or consent of the data subject and/or in cases provided for by law, always in accordance with the provisions of personal data protection legislation.
7. Businesses respect the wish of consumers not to be included in directories intended for unsolicited commercial communications with human intervention (calling) for the promotion and supply of products or services, provided that they have declared this to the provider of publicly available services.
8. Businesses provide consumers with the ability to choose whether they wish to receive advertising messages and any kind of newsletters and, in case of acceptance, to have the possibility of freely withdrawing their consent, and businesses are obliged not to send any new advertising messages or any kind of newsletters thereafter (unless new consent is given or the legal requirements are again fulfilled).
9. The consumer is entitled to have direct access to information concerning their personal data, to object to the use of such data in future promotional activities, to request and confirm the partial or total deletion of such data from the business’s records, to request their correction or supplementation, to be informed of the time and manner of the initial acquisition of their personal data by the business, as well as to be informed of the methods applied for the protection of personal data.
Article 6
Right of withdrawal for consumers
1. The consumer has an inalienable right to withdraw without justification and without cost, in accordance with the provisions of the applicable legislation.
2. Before the consumer is contractually bound, the supplier must inform them, in a clear, distinct and understandable manner, in their language, of their right to exercise a withdrawal without justification and without cost within the legally prescribed period of fourteen (14) days, which begins from the point in time determined each time by law, as well as of the terms, conditions, exceptions and procedure for exercising the right of withdrawal and of the consequences of exercising it, taking into account the particular nature of each product/service and providing them with a model withdrawal form.
Article 7
Consumer service
1. The business ensures that it has appropriate mechanisms (via telephone and/or e-mail) and sufficient staff engaged in consumer service, making reasonable efforts to inform them about their requests within the legal time limits applicable in each case.
2. When communication takes place via a call centre, the business ensures that the consumer is not kept on excessive hold and in any case that the cost of the call does not exceed the charges applicable to local calls.
When communication takes place via an online contact form or the business’s e-mail address, care is taken to send a reply within a reasonable period of time from receipt of the customer’s request.
Article 8
Electronic Alternative Resolution of Consumer Disputes
1. Businesses inform consumers of the possibility of alternative resolution of consumer disputes arising from contracts for the electronic sale of products or the provision of services, using the registered ADR bodies listed in the Register in accordance with Joint Ministerial Decision 70330/2015.
2. Businesses, whether or not they are committed to using ADR, provide in an accessible manner, through their websites, an electronic link to the EU-wide online dispute resolution platform (ODR platform), in application of the provisions of Regulation (EU) 524/2013, through which consumers submit their complaint, which is then forwarded to the relevant ADR body.
Source: http://www.greekecommerce.gr/gr/kwdikas-deontologias/