The company allegedly made it difficult for consumers to contact them for complaints or queries.
An investigation by the European Commission and multiple national consumer authorities has found online retailer Shein to have allegedly engaged in a “number of practices on its platform that infringe EU consumer law,” the commission said.
Shein was found to be allegedly offering fake discounts by advertising price reductions that were not based on the actual pre-discount prices of the products. The company put consumers under pressure to complete purchases by using tactics such as false purchase deadlines, the commission said in a May 25 statement.
The company displayed “incomplete and incorrect information” regarding the legal rights of consumers to return goods and receive refunds, the commission alleged, adding that Shein also failed to process returns and refunds in accordance with existing consumer laws.
Shein is accused of providing “false or deceptive information” about their products’ sustainability benefits, the statement said.
As for customer service, Shein allegedly hid its contact details so that consumers cannot easily contact the company for questions or complaints, according to the statement.
The commission carried out the investigation with the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network, an association of national consumer authorities from Europe. CPC’s action against Shein was led by authorities from the Netherlands, France, Belgium, and Ireland.
“SHEIN now has one month to reply to the CPC Network’s findings and propose commitments on how they will address the identified consumer law issues. Depending on SHEIN’s reply, the CPC Network may enter a dialogue with the company,” the commission said.
“If SHEIN fails to address the concerns raised by the CPC Network, national authorities can take enforcement measures to ensure compliance. This includes the possibility to impose fines based on SHEIN’s annual turnover in the EU Member States concerned.”
The Epoch Times reached out to Shein for comment and did not receive a response by publication time.
Shein, headquartered in Singapore, was founded by Chinese billionaire Sky Xu in Nanjing, China, in 2008. The company sells cheap fashion goods from China directly to customers around the world.
Earlier in February, the European Commission asked Shein to submit internal documents and other information related to the presence of “illegal content and goods” on its platform. It also sought details on how the company protects users’ personal data.
Last year, the commission and the CPC Network found that Temu, another marketplace selling cheap Chinese goods directly to customers, had violated several EU consumer protection laws by engaging in practices such as offering fake discounts and fake reviews, as well as pressure buying tactics.
