Act No. 57/2005 on the Supervision of Business Practices and Marketing imposes extensive obligations on those engaged in commercial activity to give consumers clear and appropriate information before, during and after a transaction takes place. Correct information is a fundamental prerequisite for consumers to be able to make an informed decision about a transaction, and it is therefore regarded as an unfair commercial practice to withhold information from consumers or to provide it in a misleading or unclear manner.

Information that is material to consumers must be presented clearly, prominently and accessibly on signage at the place where the charge is made, before the consumer becomes bound by a contract. The information Neytendastofa considers material for consumers is information on all prices, on the charging period, and on whether — and if so, how high — a charge may be imposed on consumers if payment for the service is not made within a certain time. In addition, it is important to provide information on who consumers are entering into a transaction with when they park in the facility. The above information must be presented in large, prominent type that stands out from the other information on the signage.

It is important that consumers understand when they are entering into a transaction and with whom. It must therefore be made clear when parking is subject to payment. If payment is required on particular days, at particular times of day, or after the consumer has been in the parking facility for a certain length of time, this must be explained simply and clearly. In addition, the chargeable area must be clearly demarcated, and before the payment obligation arises it must be stated who the service provider is, how further information about them can be obtained and how they can be contacted in connection with the service.

If a consumer can drive between parking areas operated by different businesses, as is the case in some parking garages, it must be ensured that consumers can tell, in an obvious and simple manner, which chargeable area they are in at any given time and to whom payment is to be made.

Price counts as information that is material to consumers before they become bound by a contract. Sellers therefore have an unequivocal duty to state the final price of goods or services in advance, or to explain how the price is calculated if it cannot be stated in advance.

Just as sellers may themselves determine the price of their goods and services, they may decide how payment for the service is accepted. But in order for consumers to be able to pay for the service they use, they need to know how payment is to be made. In many cases this is obvious, but in others it may be necessary to explain specifically how to pay. This applies in particular where more than one payment method is available. If consumers are offered several different ways of paying for their stay in a parking facility (for example at a pay machine, through a dedicated app, on the seller’s website, or by a payment slip sent to their online bank), these must be clearly explained. At the same time, any conditions attached to the use of a given payment method must be stated. That applies, for example, where an automatic payment system is in place but the consumer must activate the service in order to use it, or where the consumer may pay for the service electronically afterwards but must do so within a specified time limit.

If a charge is added to the price depending on which payment method is used, the price for each individual payment method must be stated clearly. Consumers are then able to make an informed decision about how they wish to pay for the service.

Where the charge for a stay in a parking facility is a single fee for a specified period, as is the case at various tourist sites, the final price must be stated together with the period that payment covers.

If an additional charge is levied, it is not sufficient to state the parking fee alone. The amount of all additional charges the consumer must pay must be stated, together with an indication that additional charges may arise.

Where the charge for a stay in a parking facility is set up as a time-based fee and the final amount depends on the time the consumer spends in the facility, the final price cannot be given in advance. In that case, consumers must be given information on all the factors that affect the price and on the amount of each of them. This means that the parking fee must be stated together with the basis on which time is measured (for example ISK per hour), and if any other charge is added, its amount must be clearly stated as well.

Payment for the use of paid parking facilities is made either at the start of the service, immediately at the end of it, or within a specified period after the service ends.

Consumers must be informed of the measures that will be taken if they fail to pay, and of the costs this may entail.

Camera systems are now widely used in parking facilities, and the owner or keeper of the vehicle is sent a claim in their online bank for the parking fee plus a cost for having the claim sent. Since the banks’ claim systems do not allow detailed information about a claim to be provided to consumers in their online bank, some other means must be provided for consumers to access this information, and it must be ensured that consumers are informed of how they can obtain it.¹

As stated above, Neytendastofa considers the information dealt with in these guidelines to be material for consumers, and considers that it must be provided before the payment obligation arises. It is therefore required that the information be given to consumers on prominent, simple and easily legible signs that consumers see before they become bound by a contract. The payment arrangements may mean that a sign has to be placed at the entrance to the facility. The size and layout of the facility, as well as its proximity to other parking areas, may also mean that the information needs to appear on several signs distributed around the facility.

A reference to a website, an app or a QR code cannot replace providing material information to consumers in the parking facility itself, but these technical solutions can be used to give consumers other information about the contract. Where this is done, the reference must beclear and distinct, and it must be easy for consumers to access the supplementary information by following these routes. Such supplementary information may, for example, be information on how to contact the service provider and on how disputes are resolved, including a reference to the complaints committee.

These guidelines are based on Act No. 57/2005 on the Supervision of Business Practices and Marketing and on Rules No. 537/2011 on price information in the sale of services, as well as on decisions Neytendastofa has taken concerning the provision of information at paid parking facilities.

The Act sets out which business practices are acceptable and which are not. It applies to all types of commercial activity and covers business practices before, during and after a transaction in goods or services takes place. The Act lays down a general prohibition on unfair commercial practices, and what constitutes an unfair commercial practice is specified in more detail in Chapters III–V of the Act. These guidelines focus mainly on the provisions of Article 5, Article 8(1), Article 9(1) and (2), Article 13 and Article 17 of the Act.

Rules No. 537/2011 on price information in the sale of services impose a general requirement to maintain a clear price list. These guidelines focus mainly on Articles 3 and 4 of the Rules.

Neytendastofa supervises the Act and Rules referred to above. On that basis, the agency has the power to prohibit unfair commercial practices or to issue instructions to businesses to remedy matters, and it may also impose fines for breaches of the Act.

Neytendastofa also points out that the provisions of other legislation may apply or be relevant to the operation of paid parking facilities. Particular attention is drawn to the provisions of the Traffic Act concerning holders of parking cards for people with reduced mobility, cf. Regulation No. 1030/2016, and to the rules on the traffic signs to be used at paid parking facilities, cf. Regulation No. 250/2024.