In early 2025, Finnish consumer authorities have received several dozen complaints about the Autocom.fi website, which offers a paid car valuation service. According to consumers, the paid nature of the service has not been clearly disclosed before placing the order. Some consumers who received an invoice claim that they never placed an order at all. The website is operated by Datatech SIA, a Latvian trader that has previously offered a similar service under different domain names.
In March alone, the European Consumer Centre Finland received around 15 consumer complaints concerning Autocom.fi. The Consumer Advisory Services of the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (Kilpailu- ja kuluttajavirasto) received approximately 20 complaints during the same period. The Finnish Consumer Ombudsman has also received a few tip-offs from consumers.
Instructions for consumers
You do not have to pay the invoice sent by Datatech in the following cases, for example, but you must submit a complaint to the trader. Contact the trader by using the contact form on their website (use the “Ota yhteyttä” button at the bottom of the page). Take a screenshot of your message before sending it.
- You did not place an order: Inform the trader that, since you did not order the service, you are not liable to pay the invoice. If you have already paid, demand that the trader issues a refund.
- You were not informed of your right of withdrawal before placing the order: Inform the trader that you are cancelling the service and disputing the invoice, as you did not receive correct information about the right of withdrawal before making the order. If you have already paid, demand a refund.
This latter situation is based on the Finnish Consumer Protection Act, which requires traders to inform consumers about their right of withdrawal before the conclusion of a contract. Currently, the Autocom.fi website contains misleading information about the right of withdrawal. Therefore, consumers are entitled to cancel their order and refuse to pay the invoice. Consumers have up to 12 months to cancel the order. This period starts when the original 14-day withdrawal period has ended. However, if the trader provides correct information about the right of withdrawal during this time, the consumer then has 14 days from the date of receiving that information to withdraw.
Contact the European Consumer Centre only in exceptional cases
Contact the European Consumer Centre only if the trader submits the invoice to a debt collection agency or initiates legal proceedings. However, such escalation is unlikely. It is important to note that a threat or notification of debt collection by the trader does not mean that the case has actually been forwarded to debt collection.
“Many consumers have expressed concern about invoices and payment reminders sent by Datatech. However, there is no need to lose sleep over these invoices, as consumers are not obligated to pay unfounded invoices. It is important, though, to submit a complaint to the trader as soon as possible,” says Senior Legal Adviser Oskari Stenius from the European Consumer Centre Finland.
The trader is familiar to consumer authorities
Datatech has been on the radar of Finnish consumer authorities before. In 2023 and 2024, the trader offered a similar valuation service through other domain names, which have since been shut down. The European Consumer Centre Finland has received more than 300 complaints about Datatech in total. The first press release about the trader was published in December 2023.
Mediation has not been possible in disputes with Datatech, as the trader has not responded to inquiries from the European Consumer Centre in Latvia. In the ECC-Net mediation process, the European Consumer Centre in the trader’s country of origin is responsible for contacting the trader to negotiate a solution.