Facua-Consumers in Action He was accused General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) For “favoring widespread fraud” in the sale V-16 emergency beacons It was not approved by some companies and required the implementation of a “public alert protocol to report violations committed in a clear manner.”
“It is not enough to simply say ‘Find out on the DGT website which signs are valid as of January.’ The DGT must act against the illegal use of its logo,” said Secretary General of Facua-Consumers in Action. Ruben SanchezThis was during a press conference at its headquarters in Seville.
As Sánchez explained, Vacua had discovered “irregularities” in the sale of these beacons that “are advertised as ‘Approved by the General Directorate of Taxes’ and use their logo, without explaining that they are no longer useful as of January 1. “No consumer in his right mind would buy a device of this type if he knows that it will not be useful,” he declared.
Ruben Sanchez highlighted “A very serious negative” for traffic Which “did absolutely nothing to stop this consumer fraud.” He stressed that it “remains silent while many companies, manufacturers and sales platforms make money at the expense” of consumers, adding that the General Directorate of Taxes’ performance was “very poor because it allowed commercial fraud on a large scale.”
In this sense, the spokesperson stated that “it is very surprising that the General Directorate of Roads has not developed communication with all drivers.” “A notification arrives at our homes clarifying the obligation that comes into effect “January 1”He noted, then requested “immediate” communication.
Asked whether a driver can file a complaint if the authorities stop him or impose a fine on him as of January 1 for using an unapproved beacon, Sanchez explained that “this is the big problem” because “in principle, the consumer should know the rule.” However, after you have been the victim of an act of fraud, “you may be able to hold the company that sold you the beacon liable.”
Error, manipulation and fraud
He added: “They are thus sowing confusion among consumers who buy this product on a large scale, due to error, manipulation or fraud, and it is clear that in the face of it they can demand a refund.”
In this sense, Rubén Sanchez urged to demand a refund for all lighthouses purchased throughout this year “with Advertising claim approved by DGTif it is not clearly stated in their business information that they are not connected to traffic, and that they do not have a SIM card calling system, which is mandatory as of January 1, 2026.”
He added: “These beacons can be sold, and they were sold without any problem, and what happens is that they had to clarify that they do not meet the mandatory requirements as of 2026. If they are sold without this clarification, they are committing an act of deception to consumers.”
It violates three different rules
Facua’s spokesman noted that these unapproved beacons could be used until December 31 as a complementary mechanism to the mandatory signal triangle and warned that the “lack of clarification” about their connection to the DGT is unacceptable. “scam” It violates three different rules.
The organization warns that it violates Article 5 of the Unfair Competition Law. Articles 20 and 60 of the General Law of Defense of Consumers and Users, which require that the consumer be informed of the essential characteristics of the good and provide relevant, truthful and sufficient information; And the same royal decree that regulates lighthouses.
Ruben Sanchez thinks so “There was a premeditated deletion of data.” At the time of the largest purchase of V-16s “to try to completely eliminate the inventory of what they had left.”
“They are hiding the fact that it is not related to DGT because they know that many consumers will bite, they will swallow the bait and they will buy a product that will not work for them as of January 1. They are committing an act of deception,” he stressed, later explaining that “the consumer has the legal right to return this beacon.”
In view of this, it invites those who have purchased an emergency beacon with these characteristics to file a complaint with the consumer authority in their autonomous community or to General Directorate of Consumption of the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030In this regard, it is competent to investigate and impose penalties when necessary.
For its part, Vaqua will transfer to the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumerism and Agenda 2030 cases of signals containing “incomplete or misleading information” that it deals with to demand the existence of sanctions files.