City Taxi is being investigated by the GVH for unfair commercial practices

The Economic Competition Authority (GVH) has initiated proceedings against the City Taxi Fuvarszerzégo Szövetkezet (City Taxi) for alleged violations of the prohibition of unfair commercial practices towards consumers, the GVH announced. According to the suspicion of the competition office, the company is deceiving consumers regarding the essential characteristics of the company and its commitments related to the passenger taxi service it provides.

The Economic Competition Authority initiated a competition supervision procedure against City Taxi, as it noticed that the company probably deceived consumers on several points with its commercial communication, because City Taxi promotes its business with claims that:

• by using the adjective “the Hungarian” – without additional content – it is likely to mislead consumers regarding the essential characteristics of the business,
• consumers are likely to get the impression that the “price guarantee” used by the company is unique and that it is provided on a voluntary basis, even though it must be provided based on a legal requirement.

According to the GVH, the initiation of the competition supervision procedure is justified by the fact that the above commercial practices were implemented by the company, among other things, through a national radio station.

The GVH also added that the initiation of the competition supervision procedure does not mean that the company has committed the violation. The procedure is aimed at clarifying the facts and thereby proving the alleged violation. The duration of the procedure is three months, which can be extended twice, each time by a maximum of two months, in justified cases.