Brussels, 01/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has launched a network for out of court settlement of disputes in the financial services sector. The aim of the network, called FIN-NET, is to allow companies and consumers to avoid having to go to court by making it possible for them to resolve a dispute in an effective and inexpensive manner, above all when the service provider is established in a Member State other than that where the consumer resides.
Given the growing sophistication of the services, measures for out of court settlement of disputes (DAR) have been set in place in each Union Member State. These are an alternative to the long, complex and costly court proceedings that often discourage the consumer from filing a complaint. With the coming of single currency and the dynamism of supply and demand for financial products, the question of crossborder dispute settlement will become more acute. One can imagine that, in such cases, consumers are still less inclined to file complaints, because they fear the linguistic and cultural problems this will entail or because they have a feeling that there is no action possible against a provider established in another Member State. This gives rise to the risk of holding up the development of the internal market for financial services and the development of electronic commerce.
The Commission has worked towards the creation of FIN-NET, the first DAR European network in the field of financial services, which groups, on the basis of a voluntary protocol agreement, over 35 national bodies at the head of certain financial services (for example, the mediators in the banking and insurance sectors) or which settle consumer disputes in general. FIN-NET covers on-line and off-line services. In concrete terms, in the event of crossborder disputes, it brings the complainant into contact, via the DAR of his or her country, with that of the country where the provider is established. FIN-NET completes the European out of court network (EJE), which is a structure for assistance and information composed of national contact points established in each Member State. More ample information on FIN-NET is to be found on the Commission's site: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market.