Online payments: Ultimatum looming ahead!
In the case of online payments, it is almost a question of winnings of tens of millions of dirhams, estimates the presidency of the Competition Council. These “abusive costs” do “unduly” increase the consumer bill, says the National Federation of Consumer Associations (see L’Economiste, issue # 6518 of May 18 and # 6529 of June 02 to 04, 2023). “We shall take legal action. We shall meet, on Wednesday, June 07, with our lawyers to decide on the measures to be taken”, announced the president of the Federation, Ouadi Madih, because a fundamental question persists. What will be the fate of the sums received “unduly”? Will the service providers return them to their supposedly defrauded customers? This case should in principle lead to investigations, and for good reason, since the competition law includes the notion of objective infringement. No need to take action. It suffices for an operator to decide to act for an infringement to occur. “It is true. We can investigate and inflict sanctions. However, the law does not impose systematic sanctions. The penalty is assessed by the Competition Council”, said its president, Ahmed Rahhou. This approach, albeit debatable, provides information on the Council’s doctrine in the fight against anti-competitive practices.
“We can see an anomaly and consider that there was good faith involved. The new law on freedom of pricing and competition (of December 2022) further specifies the criteria for sanctions, and mitigating or aggravating circumstances as well as the leniency procedure (if a company acknowledges the facts and denounces its partners). If a business operator makes a mistake in good faith and corrects the situation, there is no reason to sanction it”, specifies the competition authority. For the Competition Council, “economic agents act a priori in good faith. If they decide to change their practices, the regulator may grant them a period of a few weeks or a few months, or even until the end of 2023( to become compliant)”. Acknowledging the existence of an alleged violation leads to a review of online payment contracts. Rearranging the contractual clauses between an operator and its service provider can take time. The Council is aware of this, hence the possible grace period that could be granted. This is not a blank cheque to the operators. “We will amicably treat companies that get in touch with us on their own initiative. However, the grace period will depend on each individual’s situation. It is therefore not certain that it will benefit all the operators concerned until the end of the year. But if there is a status quo, we will act”, warns the regulator.
Faiçal FAQUIHI
