In accordance with the provisions of numeral 2.1 of Article 3 of the Consumer Statute (Law 1480/11), consumers must inform themselves, on the one hand, of the quality of the products, and, on the other hand, of the instructions provided by the producer or supplier regarding their proper use, consumption, conservation, and installation.
As a general rule, all goods and services must conform to the objective descriptions of use and functioning announced, since otherwise the producer or supplier will be liable for any damage caused by the lack of information or because it is not clear. However, the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce clarifies that the consumer, with the corresponding document, must demonstrate that the information provided or the advertising is misleading, so that their claims may prosper.
Thus, the fact of verifying the truthfulness and sufficiency of the information that influenced the decision to purchase in a given case will always be a relevant factor in the protection of consumers' rights, especially when filing a judicial action for consumer protection.
In the case at hand, the plaintiff sought a declaration that information and advertising were misleading and harmed him, since he alleged that the defendant informed him, through advertising material, that the television purchased was a 2019 model and that it had software or an operating system that included the Disney+ application without the need to purchase an additional electronic device, but that was not true.
However, the aforementioned entity specified that the plaintiff did not provide any evidence of the alleged misleading information and advertising. No document forming part of the claim accredited such misleading information, and the plaintiff also did not provide any advertising material specifying the alleged characteristics of the product purchased.
In the opinion of the Superintendence, what was determined is that the plaintiff, unfortunately, did not inform himself previously and adequately of the qualities and other characteristics of the product purchased, by not having carefully read the manufacturer's documents specifying the characteristics and functions of the television purchased.