In its first year since the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform was launched, over 24,000 consumer complaints were lodged.

Over a third of the complaints concerned cross-border purchases within the EU. Most complaints were about clothing and footwear, airline tickets and information and communication technology goods.

A consumer from Italy complained about a defective ICT product bought from an online trader in Belgium. The platform sent the complaint to the competent dispute resolution body in Belgium. As a result, the Italian consumer was reimbursed.

A consumer from Luxembourg complained about a car rented on­line from a Greek trader. The platform sent the complaint to the dispute resolution body in Greece and it was settled within 60 days. The trader reimbursed the expen­ses incurred by the consumer.

While there are strong EU rules to protect consumers, in practice consumers sometimes encounter problems getting redress when their rights are violated, particularly cross border.

When consumers purchase on­line, they should also be able to solve problems online. Be it a seller refusing to repair a defective laptop within the guarantee period, or a travel agent not willing to refund a ruined holiday, such disputes can be settled faster and cheaper on­line and out of court, via the ODR platform, launched by the Commission on February 15, 2016.

Věra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, said: “While we are still in an early phase, we can already say that the ODR platform has been well received by consumers. We also see that the fact of a consumer using the platform often is incentive enough for traders to resolve the dispute. We are giving consumers a practical tool to help them benefit from their rights.

“Traders also have a lot to gain from this platform and should use it more. Particularly for online traders it is essential to be seen as reliable by potential consumers. Using this tool will help them earn consumer trust, while providing them with a simple and fast way of resolving disputes.”

A consumer using the platform often is incentive enough for traders to resolve the dispute

The platform often also works as a channel of first contact between parties and a solution is often found bilaterally without taking the complaint to a dispute resolution body. For example, a Belgian consumer had been complaining for months about a defective dryer to a Belgian trader, with no success. When the trader received the complaint via the platform, he contacted the consumer and offered to replace the dryer with a new one.

The Commission will prepare a first detailed report on the platform’s functioning towards the end of 2017. It is planning to engage more traders and to further promote the platform among consumers. It will also improve the platform’s user-friendliness and monitor whether traders comply with their obligation to put a link to the platform on their website.

The platform can be accessed in any EU official language. It channels disputes submitted to it to certified alternative dispute resolution bodies that respect binding quality requirements established at EU level. So far, 260 alternative dispute resolution (ADR) bodies are registered on the platform.

The ODR platform is based on the regulation on consumer ODR that requires the Commission to establish and operate the platform as a multilingual web-based IT tool. The regulation also provides that member States designate contact points that assist the users of the platform. Online traders are required to provide a link to the platform and state their e-mail address on their website.

The regulation builds upon the directive on consumer ADR, which ensures that EU consumers can turn to certified alternative dispute resolution bodies when they have a problem with a trader in virtually all retail sectors, no matter where (domestically or across borders) or how (online or offline) a purchase was made. The certified ADR bodies must respect binding quality requirements. Member states need to establish national lists of certified ADR bodies and send the lists to the Commission. Under certain conditions, traders need to inform consumers about the ADR body by which they are covered.

To date, 27 member states have communicated to the Commission that they have fully implemented the directive on consumer ADR, 24 have sent their national list of ADR entities, and 27 have designated their national ODR contact point.

Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein will join the platform later this year.

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