Brussels, 11/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - Members of the European Parliament internal market committee, chaired by Malcolm Harbour (ECR, United Kingdom), believe that any consumer who purchases goods or services that are defective in their own country or another member state, should have access to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) procedures, which are reliable, cheap and fast (EUROPE 10622). While supporting the objective contained within the legislative package (a draft directive and draft regulation) presented on 29 November on consumer disputes that are taken to conciliation services, ombudsmen, complaints offices or other bodies that bring the different parties together to help them find a solution, MEPs have effectively gone further than what the Commission had intended. Compromise amendments adopted on Tuesday the 10th July by a majority vote call on the ADR schemes be made available freely to consumers or at a “nominal charge” and that disputes can generally be resolved within a period of 90 days. MEPs would also like traders to inform their consumers about ADR bodies they use, the way in which they can contact these bodies and whether the trader in question is prepared to use the ADR for resolving any possible complaints that arise. In order to guarantee perfect equality between the different ADR bodies, MEPs advocate the introduction of a quality label that attests that these organisations respect minimum quality standards set out in the draft directive.
Rapporteur Louis Grech (S&D, Malta) considers that, “the proposed minimum standards for the quality of ADR entities are of the utmost importance to the single market, by engaging with consumers and working towards restoring trust in the online market between consumers and traders alike”. MEPs also inserted a number of safeguards to guarantee the impartiality of the ADR arbitrators or mediators, so that all consumers can be sure of being treated fairly.
With regard to the online platform that the draft regulation aims to set up for ODR - Online Dispute Resolution (ODR directive) -, the Parliamentary committee is requesting not to be limited to cross-border sales, as proposed by the Commission but that it involve all online disputes (therefore, domestic purchases as well). This will facilitate the task of consumers seeking damages. Rü¿a Thun (EPP, Poland), rapporteur for this dossier, considers that this future regulation will provide a “better choice for the consumer and a larger market for the trader". The parliamentary committee will decide after the summer break whether it is appropriate to begin negotiations with the Council in view of an agreement in a first reading on this legislative package. (AN/transl.fl)