I wish to register a complaint! EU Rules on ADR in consumer disputes
Significant penalties apply to traders who flout EU regulations on alternative and online dispute resolution for consumers, writes Juan Bueso in the August/September 2016 Gazette.
Last year, four statutory instruments transposed Directive 2013/11/EU on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes, and Regulation (EU) 524/2013 on online dispute resolution, into Irish law.
The legislation covers procedures for out-of-court resolution of both domestic and cross-border transactions, where a consumer submits a complaint against a trader. It imposes specific information obligations on traders who use, or are obliged to use, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) – and certain information obligations on all traders when attempts to resolve a consumer dispute fail.
Online traders are also now required to provide information on a recently-introduced Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform, such as a link on the website or clickable banners. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is the competent authority in the State for the purposes of the directive and enforcement of the regulations.
Juan Bueso notes that a trader who contravenes the relevant regulations may face a fine of €4,000, imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both. Bueso,a Spanish lawyer (abogado) and legal adviser to the European Consumer Centre in Ireland, offers practical advice on the ODR platform and analysis of the legislation’s likely impact in the August/September 2016 issue of the Gazette.
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