Albert supermarket's complaints against misleading discount fines rejected by Constitutional Court

The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic has rejected complaints filed by the supermarket chain Albert regarding fines imposed for misleading discount practices. The fines, totaling 490,000 CZK, were originally issued by the Czech Trade Inspection Authority (ČOI) and subsequently upheld by regional and administrative courts.

The retailer was found to have violated consumer protection rules by failing to calculate discounts based on the lowest price offered within the previous 30 days. Instead, the company often used higher price points to make discounts appear more significant. Additionally, the mandatory information regarding the lowest price was often placed in small, difficult-to-read text on the margins of discount tables.

Albert argued that the law did not specify the required format for such information and claimed that consumers understood the communications. However, the courts relied on European Court of Justice rulings, which mandate that pricing information must be clear, easily recognizable, and transparent to prevent distorting a consumer's perception of a discount's value.