Latest News

17 June 2010: USB offer for consumers

UK consumers are taking the e-commerce revolution on board - with more of them using e-commerce to buy goods and services. But a study of the latest consumer complaint figures by the UK ECC this year (2010) shows that complaints involving e-commerce as the selling method rose by 18.5% from 2008 to 2009 for the first five months of the year. Read more.

Now the UK ECC is offering consumers something to make it easier for them to store all of their 'complaint' documentation in one place. The first 100 consumers who write into the centre via ecc@tsi.org.uk with the words UK ECC - USB STICK OFFER in capitals in the subject line will be sent a free UK ECC USB 1GB memory stick. Consumers need to give their name and FULL POSTAL ADDRESS. One per household. Only applicable to EU residents. We aim to send it out within 28 days.

4 May 2010: Helping volcanic ash crisis passengers claim their rights

The network of European Consumer Centres (ECC-Net) - including the UK European Consumer Centre - has worked with the European Commission to issue a practical complaints package designed to help UK consumers affected by recent flight disruptions exercise their consumer rights guaranteed under EU laws.

Huge disruption has been created for passengers who were stranded throughout Europe following the airspace closure due to the recent volcanic ash cloud from Iceland.

23 December: Thinking of getting a service in Europe?

In that case think European Consumer Centre for Services (ECCS), your one stop shop to find out everything you need to know before getting the service.

The ECCS is a requirement of the European Services Directive and is hosted by the Trading Standards Institute and funded by the Department for Business Innovations and Skills (BIS).

The ECCS is here to ensure you know what you need to know before you get a service from another European Country. Have a look at their website for further information – www.ukecc-services.net. You can also contact the ECCS by phone if you have a specific enquire about a service in another European country – 08456 08 94 94.

21 December: Joint project between UK and Ireland could lead to ‘happier consumers’ in 2010

Now, in a move designed to make ‘happier visitors’ over Ireland’s busy off-peak season, the UK ECC has teamed up with the European Consumer Centre Ireland (ECC Ireland) to produce a leaflet keeping visitors informed about everything from what to expect from car rentals to what VAT is charged in restaurants.Jed Mayatt, UK European Consumer Centre Manager, said: "The number of complaints the UK ECC handled from January to October 2009 on behalf of UK consumers in dispute with a trader based in Ireland rose by four per cent this year, compared to the same period last year."As holidaymakers are the most likely visitors to visit Ireland during the off-peak season, we decided that the winter is the most appropriate time to give a helping hand – after all, well-informed consumers are likely to be happy consumers.The leaflet can be downloaded from our publications page.

16 October: Why not chat online with Commissioner Kuneva about how EU Consumer law can help you as a consumer in your daily life?

On 23 October at 15:00(C.E.T.), EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva will chat online with consumers from all over the EU. The chat will focus on how EU consumer law helps consumers in practical terms. The Commissioner will answer questions in 14 languages.

Join the Commissioner here for a live chat (the link will be active on 23 October from 15:00).

For more information or to send questions in advance see:

http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/chat_23october2009_en.htm

21 September: UK ECC Newletter coming your way very soon

The UK European Consumer Centre is preparing to launch its newsletter, “UK ECC – your update”, in October. The aim of the newsletter is to provide you, the consumer, with a flavour of what the UK ECC does, provide examples of cases we have been working on and, more importantly, provide you with the best advice on cross-border shopping.

If you are interested in subscribing to our newsletter please complete the form on our subscription page. Once you have subscribed you will receive confirmation of your subscription and then will receive your first copy of our newsletter during October.

All of us at the UK ECC hope that you will find this newsletter useful and information and we all look forward to providing you with “your update”.

3 August: European Commission releases ECC-Net 2008 annual report

Today the European Commission released its European Consumer Centre Network annual report for 2008. The report reveals that the number of EU consumers seeking help from the ECC-Network increased by 22% in 2008.

During 2008 the Network handled more than 62,000 enquires from consumers who turned to them for advice or help with problems affecting cross-border shopping. In 2008 the UK ECC handled a total of 8,048 enquires, which was the largest share of any centre in the Network.

Over 30% of all complaints received by the Network from consumers were because of dissatisfaction with transport services.

The UK ECC will be publishing their 2008 annual report in September to coincide with National Consumer Week from 14-18 September 2009. Their annual report will examine the cases that they have dealt with and highlight the areas which show the most dissatisfaction experienced by UK consumers against European traders and by European consumers against UK traders.

To download your copy of the European Consumer Centres Network annual report 2008 please visit our reports web page.

30 June: UK consumers ‘given teeth’ to sue traders in a different European country

This week the UK ECC is attending the Consumer Affairs & Trading Standards Conference & Exhibition 2009 in Brighton held by the Trading Standards Institute annually.Today at this event the UK ECC is launching its guide to the European Small Claims Court. Not many people realise that since the beginning of 2009 a process has been introduced by the European Commission to allow consumers to take legal action against traders based in a different country (within Europe) easily, cheaply, and quickly.

The aim of the UK ECC’s guide is to provide a step by step process in how to complete this action and to highlight the fact even though the trader may not be in the same country, action can be taken.It is important to remember that all relevant steps are first taken before taking legal action – making contact with the trader yourself to resolve the problem and where appropriate taking advantage of alternative dispute resolution schemes.If you happen to be in dispute with a trader based in a different country to yourself (in Europe) contact the UK ECC first for advice and support before taking legal action our contact details can be found on our contact us page.To download your own copy of the guide to the European small claims court please go to our publications page.A press release has also been issued to raise awareness of the launch of the guide; this can be found on our press releases page.

5 June: Is it 2 years or 6 years?

This week the UK ECC has received numerous enquiries from consumer regarding Directive 99/44 on the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees. This legislation is commonly know as the Consumer Sales Directive and has been implemented in the UK as the Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumer Regulations, which amended the Sale of Goods Act 1979. The Directive talks about Legal Warranties and Associated Guarantees and states that a legal warranty must be for a minimum of 2 years. The terminology used has caused confusion as in the UK warranties and guarantees are usually provided by a third party and are in addition to consumer's statutory rights.

Many consumers have heard stories in the media that traders must provide a warranty of 2 years. In the terms of the Directive a Legal Warranty is a consumer's statutory rights given by law and an associated guarantee is offered by a third party. All consumers can be confident to know that when purchasing goods in any Member State of the EU they have rights (Legal Warranty) against the trader for a minimum of 2 years. In the UK, under UK legislation, this period is 6 years rather than 2. There is currently no legislation that states that an associated guarantee must be provided or sets a specific period of time, the legislation does mean that any guarantee provided is legally binding.

If you need more information or just need to know what rights you have in Europe please contact us here at the UK European Consumer Centre.

10 March: Why not chat online with Commissioner Kuneva about your consumer rights?

To mark the 10th anniversary of the European Consumer Day, EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva host a live webchat on 13 March 2009 (at 15h00 CET) with citizens from across the EU about their rights and their concerns as consumers.

The webchat is intended to give citizens across the EU the chance to ask the Commissioner direct questions. Commissioner Kuneva will be ready to talk about issues which are becoming of growing concern to consumers in today's uncertain economic climate, as they try to shop for better and fairer deals. These include unfair sales practices (such as hidden charges), or safety of the daily consumer products (such as toys or childcare products or electrical appliances). Online visitors may also be interested to learn how to get help when they shop cross-border and something goes wrong, or what the EU is doing concretely to make sure that they can truly enjoy the freedom of shopping online.

Members of the public can join the live chat on 13 March from 15h00 – 16h30 CET. The chat will be moderated in 12 languages: questions asked in Bulgarian, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese or Spanish will be answered in the same language. To join the live chat, visit: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/chat_13march_en.htm. Questions can also be asked in advance by sending an e-mail to SANCO-WEBCHAT-13-03@ec.europa.eu. These questions will be answered once the webchat starts. A transcript of all the questions and answers will be posted afterwards on the webchat page.

01 January: European Small Claims Procedure

January 2009 saw the introduction of the new European Small Claims Procedure that will provide consumers all over Europe with a uniform, speedy and affordable debt recovery process for low value claims in cross-border cases.

The European Small Claims Procedure will apply in civil matters where the value of a claim does not exceed EU 2000. The procedure applies to monetary claims as well as to non-monetary claims.

The European Small Claims Procedure introduces standard forms to be used by the parties and the court across the EU and establishes time limits for the parties and for the court in order to simplify and speed-up litigation concerning small claims.For more information on the European Small Claims Procedure please visit Her Majesty's Courts Service website.The standrad forms to be used in order to make a European small claim can be found on the European Commission's Judicial Atlas website.

26 November: Is It Fair? website launched

Unfair Commercial Practices are an issue of importance to the European Commission. In order to raise awareness about this matter even further, the Health & Consumer Protection Directorate-General is launching a campaign to help all consumers become more aware of their rights.The centrepiece of the campaign is a website www.isitfair.eu. This website is named after the campaign slogan: "Is it fair?" Far from being a boring, institutional website, the "Is it fair?" website includes the following features: Practical information: consumers can determine whether a particular practice is unfair in the eyes of the law and what they can do when they’ve been the victim of an unfair commercial practice.Interactive learning: quizzes on the website help consumers better distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate commercial practices. Some of the stuff people try to get away with is amazing!Multimedia promotional tools: animations describe some of the most unfair commercial practices from the Black List in an entertaining way.

If you regularly shop online or just about to for the first time it may be beneficial to visit Howard the ECC-Nets online shopping assistant, Meet Howard - your online shopping assistant

The UK European Consumer Centre has available a free newsletter, “UK ECC – your update”. The aim of the newsletter is to provide you, the consumer, with a flavour of what the UK ECC does, provide examples of cases we have been working on and, more importantly, provide you with the best advice on cross-border shopping.If you are interested in subscribing to our newsletter please complete the form on our subscription page. Once you have subscribed you will receive confirmation of your subscription and then you will receive the latest copy of our newsletter, with new ones being provided when they are released.

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