The Consumer Rights Protection Centre (CRPC) has adopted a decision to restrict access to the website marta-riga.com. The decision was taken because the commercial practices implemented on the website involve significant violations of consumer rights, and its continued availability poses a substantial risk to the collective interests of Latvian consumers.
The CRPC established that the website marta-riga.com offers goods for purchase to consumers in the Latvian language through distance contracts; however, it fails to provide the mandatory information about the trader and the terms of the distance contract as required by law. The website does not indicate the trader’s name, registration number, or legal address, and no withdrawal form is available.
Furthermore, the website provides misleading information regarding promotions, sales campaigns and the alleged closure of the store. For example, it states that “Marta Rīga” is permanently ceasing operations after many years of business activity. However, the CRPC found that the website’s domain was only recently registered (on 3 April 2026) anonymously through a US-based registrar and is hosted on a server located in Canada.
The CRPC also found that the website uses statements referring to substantial discounts and urgency, such as “Annual Sale – Discounts Up to 80%”, “Last Chance”, and “Buy the Bundle Now”, thereby creating an artificial sense of urgency and influencing consumers’ purchasing decisions.
On 3 June 2026, the CRPC sent a request to the trader via the email address provided on the website, inviting the trader to remedy the identified violations and provide an explanation. No response was received within the specified deadline, and the violations were not remedied. Consequently, the CRPC adopted a decision to restrict access to the website.
The CRPC urges consumers to exercise particular caution when shopping from online stores that do not clearly provide information about the trader, its legal address, contact details, withdrawal rights, and other terms and conditions of the distance contract.
Before making a purchase, consumers should verify that the online store provides complete and verifiable information about the trader and consumer rights.