Around 8 in 10 companies in the used-vehicle sector inspected in 2023 breached legal obligations, stated the Federal Ministry of Economy in a press release on Tuesday. The majority of the cases concerned the sales contract.
Last year, the Ministry’s Economic Inspectorate inspected 200 used-car dealers, evaluating their compliance with general legislation. This included the details of the sales contracts, ensuring proper company registration, and complete identification information on online platforms, for example.
Around 73% of the inspected companies had infringements related to the drafting of the sales contracts. The Economic Inspectorate highlighted the inability to revise the sale price, the absence of contracts and mandatory appendices, and the lack of specific reimbursement deadlines, as some of the most prominent issues.
Moreover, the report revealed that almost one in two companies (42.4%) did not fully comply with rules regarding the vehicles’ guarantee. The main issues involved the use of abusive clauses or misleading commercial practices.
Issues regarding transparency on social media, mostly concerning the company’s information, were also identified in 70 cases.
Compliance with other investigated legal requirements was breached less frequently, such as the limitation of cash payments (10.5%), provision of the Car-Pass certificate (21.2%), and correct price indication (28%).
The inspections resulted in 285 warnings and 78 official reports for the most serious infringements.
The Ministry of Economy aims to support Belgium’s economic growth and is involved in the development of economic policy in the country.
