Antitrust: fine imposed on Mooney of approximately 2.5 million for unfair trade practices

The Competition and Markets Authority imposed administrative penalties of approximately PLN 2.5 million on Mooney SpA, the issuer and manager of the Mooney prepaid card, and on Mooney Group SpA, the parent company with total control of Mooney SpA. EUR. Both companies, according to the Antitrust Office in the note, failed to conduct effective and timely checks on the issuance and correct use of their cards, thereby facilitating an unfair commercial practice involving misleading payment requests, apparently transmitted by the Chambers of Commerce. Furthermore, they did not carry out checks to detect information and management weaknesses regarding locking and unlocking procedures Mooney cards. The investigations were initiated after the Authority received a large number of reports from micro-enterprises receiving claims, which often mentioned Mooney prepaid cards as a payment instrument.

During the proceedings it was established that Mooney S.p.A., although it became aware of the repeated use of its cards for these illegal purposes, failed to take timely initiatives to address the phenomenon. This behavior constitutes an unfair commercial practice violating Art. 20 section 2 of the Consumer Code, as it is contrary to the due professional care that an operator such as Mooney SpA must exercise, taking into account, among others, the industry in which it operates and the seriousness of the reported phenomenon. In addition, the information and methods by which Mooney SpA triggered the blocking of its cards and managed blocking and any unblocking were found to be deceptive and misleading, in some cases preventing cardholders from using their cards for a period of time. Indefinite. This conduct constitutes an unfair commercial practice in breach of Article 20(1). 2, 21, 22, 24 and 25 of the Commercial Code. How to consume itas this may unduly influence consumers’ freedom of choice in using their Mooney Prepaid Card and impede the exercise of their contractual rights.