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Some Dark Patterns Now Illegal in UK

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Re: Some Dark Patterns Now Illegal in UK

#41

Post by rmc »

techmatters wrote: post #7

"A failure to comply cancels the transaction. You can get your money back and keep the goods. If the sale was for a service or a digital download, the contract is cancelled and no further payments are due." I would think that, under contract law, you get your money back and you return the goods - that would be cancelling the transaction. Likewise for digital downloads or services. Can anyone explain why the provider…

> Can anyone explain why the provider would be penalized further ?

Because nearly always the trader/seller has more power than the little guy. It's good to 'encourage' them to not break the law in the first place.

It's like punitive damages.

Re: Some Dark Patterns Now Illegal in UK

#42

Post by yardie »

Hey AirBnB. I hope you're listening. Sneaking in service charges and "cleaning fees" is no bueno. I know it's not you doing the later but I hate it when I find an apartment at an appropriate price then good hoodwinked for additional services I don't particularly care for.

Re: Some Dark Patterns Now Illegal in UK

#44

Post by rmc »

raverbashing wrote: post #15
jiggy2011 wrote: post #4

I wonder what effect this will have on ryanair ticket prices? As I understand it the tickets themselves are not profitable, it's the extras.

A lot of extras are sold on the plane or at checkin (like 60EUR for a boarding pass) That's why I never fly with them. Too much BS to waddle through.

A lot of extras are sold on the plane or at checkin (like 60EUR for a boarding pass)

That's not an extra, that a "you should have printed the PDF at home" charge.

Re: Some Dark Patterns Now Illegal in UK

#45

Post by tehwebguy »

Pxtl wrote: post #30
Someone1234 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is a good idea, but in practice getting them to return your money before you return the goods might involve a small claims court. This directive actually has a lot less "teeth" than you'd think from reading this article. It is good that it exists, but aside from class action style lawsuits, few companies will get hit by individual customers seeking refunds+goods.

Perhaps including the credit cart "dispute charges" process into this discussion would help?

That was my guess as to where enforcement takes place. But this is already a great way to "reeducate" terrible retailers since there are often expensive chargeback fees even if the vendor wins the dispute ($15-25 in the US)

Re: Some Dark Patterns Now Illegal in UK

#46

Post by spindritf »

sentenza wrote: post #20
spindritf wrote: post #12

Financial services are exempt under the Directive Great. Let's take all the downside of heavy regulation but give up most of the upside.

If I, as a consumer from continental Europe, can't be subject to what is essentially a rippoff by UK online shops any more, then it is a win. It even makes it easier for UK online shops to be compliant with consumer protection laws within the rest of Europe. I fail to see the downside.

Downsides are the same as always. The higher the regulation burden, the fewer new companies and products we will see. This is how we ended up relying on Americans for almost every service online, computers, phones...

Even with all the upside, I don't that's the right trade-off. But once you start piling up exemptions, and industry-specific rules, you forgo most of the benefit you could have achieved with uniform regulation.

This was the whole point behind letting EU set up the regulatory regime: to create a single EU-wide market. It's self-defeating to unify it across countries and then break up into hundreds of industries.

Re: Some Dark Patterns Now Illegal in UK

#47

Post by Padding »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #9

I wonder why there seem to be no companies that use "not being cheating bastards" as a marketing advantage. I'd gladly pay more to buy from a shop that emphasizes transparency and fairness.

Isn't this basically what Amazon does? I've always felt very comfortable and safe when pushing the buy button on their site.

Re: Some Dark Patterns Now Illegal in UK

#49

Post by lmm »

rjsw wrote: post #37
pjc50 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(UK) This is basically what you get from John Lewis, and the Co-Operative; both are the last vestiges of the old mutual movement. The building societies used to be a good option for non-aggressive finance, but almost all of them sold out.

The Nationwide Building Society is still a mutual.

Sort of. New members don't get share rights any more.

Re: Some Dark Patterns Now Illegal in UK

#50

Post by thomasahle »

Sorry, but this seems like a stupid law. Clearly fraud was already illegal, all that was needed were court cases clearly demonstrating these patterns.

A law like this just encourages people to tweak their practices slightly and continue as before.

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