One year on from its launch, the platform for settling disputes involving purchases made online –the online dispute resolution (ODR) platform – has every right to be proud of its success with consumers and its effectiveness, the European Commission announced on Friday 24 March.
Over 24,000 consumer complaints were lodged in the first year. More than a third of the complaints concerned cross-border purchases within the EU and most were about clothing and footwear, airline tickets and information and communication technology (ICT) goods.
The platform was launched on 15 February 2016 to allow consumers and online traders to resolve disputes speedily and more cheaply (see EUROPE 11501 and 11464).
So far, 260 alternative dispute resolution (ADR) bodies have been registered on the platform.
“The mere 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 in practice”, said Justice and Consumers Commissioner Vera Jourova in a press release.
The first detailed report on the functioning of the platform is being prepared by the Commission and is expected towards the end of 2017.
The Commission says it plans to engage more traders and to further promote the platform amongst consumers. It will also further improve the platform’s user-friendliness and monitor whether traders comply with their obligation to put a link to the platform on their website. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)