The European Consumer Center (CEC in French) is an institute based in Kehl (Germany) which enables people to protect their rights in a conflict against professional sellers. Its missions are to inform, give advice and help the French and German consumers to obtain an out-of-court settlement.
Nowadays, e-commerce becomes a great part of business transactions. Many complaints concern conflicts between e-sellers and e-consumers. In 2012, the ECC received more than 13 000 cross-border complaints. Most of them were related to transport, tourism and good purchases.
70% of ECC litigation consultation concerned an Internet transaction which was not paid or delivered. Another source of conflict is the seller’s refusal to sell across borders. European directives forbid the consumer’s discrimination based on the country of origin. In such cases, the CEC helps parties to find a compromise with an out-of-court settlement or advice consumers on their rights for a trial.
The French-German collaboration is enabled thanks to cross-border mediators working together.
The ECC is not a consumer’s legal representative or can’t intervene outside Europe. It’s also a fundamental operator for the protection of personal data on Internet. It organizes workshops on this question to inform consumers about the different ways to insure their own protection (password, bad practices, prevention). The European Consumer Center is above all an important aid for consumers.
Visit the ECC website for more informations : http://www.europe-consommateurs.eu
Jordan MANCEL
Étudiant en Master 2 Droit de l’Économie Numérique
