Consumer rights organisation Test Achats has reported Zara and Bershka to Belgium's consumer watchdog, for what it says is an "unacceptable" move by the clothing retailers to stop providing paper receipts.
According to Test Achats, Zara and Bershka stores have recently stopped providing paper till receipts, and customers are instead asked to provide a mobile phone number or email address to obtain a digital receipt. The organisation is now taking the matter to the Economic Inspectorate, the federal body responsible for investigating alleged unfair commercial practices and protecting consumers.
Test Achats stated on Friday that customers should always have a choice between a paper or digital receipt, and added that it is "surprising" that the Code of Economic Law does not oblige retailers to issue a till receipt.
The law does, however, underline that consumers must receive proof of their purchase, for example under the legal guarantee, and more generally, consumers must be able to prove facts or legal acts.
Under the law, terms that are intended to "restrict in an unauthorised manner the means of proof that the consumer may use or impose on him a burden of proof that normally falls on another party to the contract" are always considered unfair.
Increasing the digital divide
Test Achats also highlighted a Walloon decree about waste, circularity of materials and public cleanliness, which came into force last year. It stipulates that a customer should be able to request for a paper receipt to be printed.
"We believe that by forcing customers to provide an email address or mobile phone number, which they may not have, the Zara and Bershka shops are abusively limiting the means of proof available to these same customers," said Test Achats spokesperson Julie Frère in a press release.
"Moreover, this type of practice only increases the digital divide at a time when we should be doing everything we can to combat it. The fact that many customers are satisfied with digital till receipts does not mean that others should be deprived of paper till receipts."
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As well as requesting for the Economic Inspectorate to penalise the move by Zara and Bershka, Test Achats has called on the Minister for Economy and Labour, Pierre-Yves Dermagne, to take action. The organisation has urged the Minister to ensure that the obligation to issue a till receipt (either paper or digital) is enshrined in law.
In a statement, Dermagne said that depriving consumers of a till receipt is a "serious infringement of their rights".
"This situation is unacceptable. Unacceptable because consumers no longer have a choice. The till receipt is still the key to withdrawing from a purchase or making use of the legal guarantee, which has been improved under this legislature. Test Achats has convinced me to ask the Economy Ministry for an in-depth analysis to find a solution to this problem, in the name of respect for consumer rights," he said.
The Zara and Bershka brands are owned by Spanish fast fashion giant Inditex, which also owns Pull & Bear, Stradivarius, Oysho and Massimo Dutti.
