Just over 2,000 claims were made against Maltese traders between 2007 and 2014, with over half of them coming from the UK.

Around 10 per cent of the claims were from Sweden, with France in third place with 5.6 per cent.

Around 45 per cent of the claims were related to restaurants and hotels.

The claims were made through the European Consumer Centre network, which marks its 10th anniversary this week. The network handles cross-border claims. Malta’s centre opened in 2007, half funded by the European Commission with the balance coming from the government.

Maltese filed just over 1,300 claims against foreign traders, half of them against UK traders (668) with 226 against Italy, and 96 against Ireland.

Around 30 per cent of the claims were related to recreation and culture, which includes anything from books purchased online to tickets for events, while another 30 per cent were on transport, which mostly relate to flights and baggage claims, although this category could also include problems with second-hand cars purchased overseas.

Over the past 10 years, ECCs across the EU, Iceland and Norway received more than 650,000 requests for information about their EU consumer rights – up 30 per cent between 2012 and 2014, and assisted about 300,000 consumers – up 16 per cent in the same period. More than two-thirds of these complaints were resolved in an amicable manner between consumers and traders. Figures for resolved complaints in Malta were not available.

“Estimates suggest that consumers could save massive amounts – around €12 billion a year – taking advantage of the full range of goods and services available online in the EU. The ECC-Net is therefore an important element to promote and inform on the progress of the EU Digital Single Market Strategy just adopted by the European Commission, as it relates to online retail trade,” the Commission said.