CODE OF CONDUCT

1. The Code lays down the general principles and lays down minimum standards of professional ethics and ethical conduct that must be observed by the business vis-à-vis the consumer. 

2. It shall apply to transactions in the context of contracts for the sale of goods or services concluded between consumers and suppliers for remuneration entirely online, that is to say by electronic means, without the simultaneous physical presence of the two parties (B2C transactions).

3. The Code concerns self-regulatory rules for e-commerce businesses targeted at consumers, and is without prejudice to EU and Greek e-commerce and consumer protection legislation which they do not in any way substitute. 

1. For the purposes of the Code, the following terms have the meaning given to them below:

(a) "Undertaking active in the field of" e-business "(hereinafter referred to as" business ") means legal or natural persons established in Greece who provide products and / or services to consumers in Greece and / or abroad, and / or as intermediaries for the provision of services against direct or indirect payment by electronic means at a distance and at the consumer’s own choice. 

(b) "remote electronic means" means services and products provided by undertakings and accepted by consumers through electronic processing equipment which is provided, transmitted and received entirely through the Internet and / or mobile networks / applications text).

c) For the rest of the terms the definitions in Law 2251/1994, as in force, apply in p. 131/2003 and the Code of Consumer Ethics in article 7 of law 3297/2004, as in force. 

2. In case of doubt, the definitions of the existing legislation prevail. 

A. General Principles 

The Code is governed by the principles of consumer protection, transparency, impartiality, technological neutrality, professional ethics, ethical conduct and respect for privacy, protection personal data and the protection of vulnerable population groups as specifically mentioned in articles 4 and 5 hereof. 

B. Minimum information for the consumer

1. The undertaking shall provide pre-contractual information to the consumer in order to enable him to be fully, accurately and clearly informed of the following: 

i. Full company name, head office, postal address, VAT number, contact telephones / email address. 

ii. Registration number at GEMI. 

iii. Main features of the products sold and the quality of the services provided (eg the total price including VAT or other taxes, shipping costs, or any refund of the product any additional charges, terms and conditions of payment, guarantees, size product dimensions) as well as payment means.

iv. The availability of services and products and the time limit within which the supplier undertakes to deliver the goods or to provide the services. 

Charges, possible discount packages or special offers. 

vi. Conditions for withdrawal from the contract as well as termination or cancellation of the contract, as specifically mentioned in article 6 hereof. 

vii. The possibility of out-of-court settlement of their disputes and information on the recognized alternative consumer dispute resolution providers that suppliers are bound or obliged to use to resolve disputes. In the absence of such a commitment or obligation, the suppliers shall also specify whether they will use the relevant entities.

viii. The possibility for an online alternative dispute resolution as specifically referred to in Article 8 hereof. 

ix. The terms of service after sale, any commercial guarantees (content, duration and scope of territorial validity), and seller’s liability for actual defects and lack of agreed properties, according to articles 534 et seq. 

x. The possible need for frequent maintenance of the products or the existence of particularly expensive spare parts in relation to the current price of these products. 

xi. The purpose of the processing, the recipients or categories of recipients of the data and the existence of the right of access and objection, as specifically mentioned in Article 5B / 5 hereof.

xii. Codes of ethics or any trust marks that bind them. 

xiii. The above information to the consumer must be understandable, legal, true, up to date, easily accessible to all, including people with disabilities, and verifiable and mandatory in Greek and optionally in another language. 

2. The terms of the service and / or sales contract must be posted on the website of the business at a point easily accessible to the consumer. 

3. In the case of a request for order from the consumer, the company is obliged to deliver / send immediately receipt of the order request, which clearly indicates the date of receipt and confirmation of the order.

4. Under the responsibility of the undertaking, the time at which the contract is deemed to have been concluded shall be made clear to the consumer as defined in the applicable legislation. The main contractual terms should be available in advance to consumers, in particular in such a way that the ordering order can not be registered if the user does not know them before. After the contract has been drawn up, the undertaking must refrain from any action that entails changing its terms, in particular amending the price or notifying the non-availability of the ordered product or ordered service. 

5. The consumer has sufficient information about the course of his order.

6. If the consumer finds out that the consumer has not been properly informed or the contract has been concluded without his explicit consent, he will make every effort to resolve the matter within a reasonable time. 

7. E-Commerce staff who come into contact with consumers to provide services and / or sell products must be fully informed of the above and answer reasonable consumer inquiries in a clear and accurate manner. 

C. Advertising - Promotion 

1. Advertising and promotion must be in compliance with applicable legislation. 

2. In any case, the following should apply:

i. The advertising messages and all the information provided by the undertakings must be characterized (as far as possible and as far as possible by the means used) by the identity of the undertaking, the properties and the final price of the product advertised, or it is not possible to calculate this method in a language simple and understandable for the consumer so that the latter can evaluate the information provided and safely proceed to the right in the equal decision on the purchase of products or services.

ii. Ads or other offers to refrain from misleading or aggressive practices before, during, and after a commercial transaction related to a particular product or service and which is either directly or inducibly likely to mislead the consumer for the product or service being displayed . 

iii. The staff of the business that comes in direct contact with the consumer does not mislead or seek to mislead consumers in any way by doing or failing to give false impressions about the service or product provided. 

iv. The company does not provide incomplete or inaccurate information about the possibility of providing the service or selling the product to the consumer.

v. Any advertising and promotional activity specifically aimed at a minor is not allowed to incite them, directly or indirectly, in acts of violence, in the use of spirits, tobacco products, toxic substances or in any form whatsoever dangerous to their safety and health behavior. 

vi. Businesses respect the age limitations imposed by applicable legislation on the promotion and sale of specific product categories. 

vii. Any advertising and promotional action aimed at people with disabilities should ensure their accessibility to them. 

1. Employees do not exploit the vulnerability of consumers belonging to vulnerable groups such as the elderly, minors, people who do not understand the Greek language well or people with disabilities. Businesses make careful, accurate and objective descriptions of products and services specifically targeted at such persons in a manner that is understandable, comprehensible and fully accessible to them so as not to mislead them as to the true size, value, nature, purpose , the durability, performance and price of the advertised product or service.

2. Especially for juvenile consumers, businesses should - as far as possible - ensure that appropriate conditions for access to their websites are set out in the applicable laws in each case. 

A. Transaction security 

1. Businesses are concerned with the security of transactions made using ICT.

2. In this context and in accordance with the provisions of the applicable legislation, companies shall make every effort to use the appropriate tools and measures according to their category and type of business and the type of data they use (personal or otherwise) and apply all appropriate measures to provide the legally envisaged security of electronic transactions (commensurate with the various stages of their completion) and data (personal duties or not) that collect and process, and to inform the operators on the basic parameters of the utilized security and confidentiality with specific reference to the website’s terms of use.

3. Businesses shall use appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure the confidentiality of the data they collect and process to the extent reasonably foreseen and according to the nature of the products and services they provide. 

B. Personal Data Protection 

1. Businesses must have and implement a comprehensible, true, legitimate, easily accessible and up-to-date Privacy Policy and inform consumers as required by the relevant laws and guidelines of the Personal Data Protection Authority on with this Privacy Policy.

2. No collection, storage or processing of data which the law regards as sensitive, that is to say, data relating to racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, membership of an association, trade union and trade union organization, health, welfare and criminal prosecutions or convictions unless the terms and conditions set by the law and the Personal Data Protection Authority are met. 

3. The collection, processing, maintenance and use of other personal data shall only be made where 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 "any kind of cookies", their installation should be carried out after appropriate information of the consumer and on the basis of his / her consent, in accordance with the law and the relevant instructions of the Personal Data Protection Authority. 

5. In case of non-consent / acceptance of "cookies", companies allow, if technologically feasible, the continued use of the website by the consumer without sending the cookies.

6. Undertakings shall ensure that personal data collected are not disclosed or transmitted to third parties without the prior notice or consent of the data subject and / or where the law provides in accordance with the data protection legislation personal nature. 

7. Businesses respect consumers’ desire not to be included in records intended to make unsolicited commercial communications by human intervention (call) for the promotion and supply of goods or services, provided that they have declared it to the provider available to the public.

8. Undertakings provide consumers with the option of choosing to send advertisements and newsletters of all kinds and, in case of acceptance, to have the possibility to withdraw their consent free of charge, and businesses have the obligation not to return new advertising messages and any type of prospectus (unless re-consented or re-enforced by statutory provisions).

9. The consumer is entitled to have direct access to information about his or her personal data, to oppose their use in future promotions, to request and confirm their partial or total deletion from the company’s records, to request the correction or completing them, to know the time and manner of the initial acquisition of their personal data by the company and to be informed about the applicable methods of personal data protection. 

1. The consumer has the right to unjustified and unjustified withdrawal in accordance with the provisions of the relevant legislation.

2. Before the consumer is contractually bound, the supplier must inform him in clear, understandable and understandable language in his own language of his right to an unjustified and unreasonable withdrawal within the legally prescribed 14-day period from the point in time that the law determines each time, as well as the terms, conditions, exceptions and procedure for exercising the right of withdrawal, and the consequences of the exercise, taking into account the specificity of each product / service and providing a template for withdrawal. 

1. The company shall ensure that it has appropriate mechanisms (by telephone and / or e-mail) and adequate staff dealing with consumer service by making reasonable efforts to inform them of their requests within the legal time limits per case . 

2. Where communication is via a call center, the undertaking shall ensure that the consumer does not remain in excessive waiting and in any case the charge for the call does not exceed the charges applicable to local calls. 

When communication is via an online communication form or e-mail address of the business, care is taken to send a response within a reasonable time from the receipt of the customer request. 

1. Undertakings inform consumers about the possibility of resolving consumer disputes arising from contracts for the online sale of products or services by using registered ADR entities in the Register in accordance with Joint Ministerial Decision 70330/2015. 

2. Undertakings, whether or not they commit themselves to use the ADR, shall make available on their websites an electronic link to the EU-wide consumer dispute resolution platform (ODR platform), in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) No 524 / 2013) through which consumers lodge their complaint and then promote it to the relevant ADR entity. "

 
GR.EC.A. (Greek eCommerce Association)