Car tire prices are clear now thanks to ACM

Thanks to the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), car tire dealers now include all unavoidable costs in their advertised prices. These are costs that consumers pay in any event, such as the mandatory recycling fee. Dutch trade associations VACO (for the tire industry) and BOVAG (for car dealers) as well as tire recycling organization RecyBEM were actively involved in this process. It had been previously established that sellers of car tires displayed prices without including these mandatory costs. These costs were only added at the end of the purchasing process. Through their trade associations, ACM has called all sellers to account for these practices, and ACM has explained the rules. Sellers were given until early-December 2017 to adjust their prices. After an evaluation, ACM has concluded that car tire dealers no longer displayed misleading prices. This means in practice that consumers are able to buy their car tires for the advertised price.

Clear prices

Since consumers need to pay the mandatory recycling fee for tires anyway, this fee must be included in the advertised price. If sellers charge a higher fee than the statutory fee (EUR 1.50), they cannot give the impression that the higher amount is the statutory fee. If it is mandatory to mount the tires, then the advertised price of the tire must include the mounting fee. If consumers see prices that do not include all unavoidable costs, they can report this at www.consuwijzer.nl .

ACM wants prices to be transparent for consumers. With clear prices, consumers are able to compare services and products easier. This promotes fair competition between businesses.