	Information
	ADR: Helps to settle consumer disputes out of court throughout Europe

EEJ-Net / ADR: Helps to settle consumer disputes out of court throughout Europe

ADR - Alternate Dispute Resolution:

The ECC-NET offers informal dispute resolution throughout Europe: low costs and fast service

During your holiday in Austria you bought a handbag and now you realize that the seams are coming off. You bought a digital camera from a Belgian company by catalogue or by internet and got the wrong specimen.

Certainly we are familiar with such situations when shopping in our home-country and we know how to handle them, but how do we claim a fault in an other European state and which possibilities do we have to settle the problem out of court?

Considering these difficulties the European Commission created a network of cross-border out-of-court dispute settlement, the ECC-NET (formerly EEJ-Net - Extrajudicial net). It aims to help consumers access out of court or alternative dispute resolution (ADR) schemes, in other EU member states, when they are involved in cross-border disputes with traders. The procedure should be effected informally, at low-cost and quickly.

Structure and Functionality

On the basis of 2 recommendations of the European Comission throughout Europe only such institutions of dispute resolution which fulfill basic principles such as transparency, independence, impartiality, legality and effectiveness were registered. Meanwhile, there is at least one European Consumer Centre (ECC) in every member country (as well as in Iceland and Norway), which has the purpose to make it easier for the European consumers to use the institutions of dispute resolution. The ECC informs you about the European settlement procedures in force, about their rules, about their costs and about the possible result of the procedure (binding judgement, not binding judgement, recommendation, agreement. Moreover the clearing house can help the consumer to lodge the complaint.

What can the Consumers do?

In all member countries of the EU there is the principle that a complaint – regardless of which kind- has to be sent to the trader as quickly as possible. Many consumers are not able to do this in a foreign language. Therefore, the European Commission has drawn the European form for consumer complaints. This can be used the amount in controversy or kind of object and it can be used on a national as well as an international level within the European Union. It is drawn in a way that in the first place it helps to formulate consumer’s demand and secondly it is easy to understand for everybody because it is translated into all languages of the European Union. If an English consumer ticks item number 37 (demand of exchanging the product), the German trader will read on the German form under number 37 „Umtausch der Ware“.
Further information on this subject are provided on the information sheet .

If you have other questions about the ECC-NET or if you are even looking for an alternative dispute resolution in a differnt EU member country, you can contact:

ECC Italy:
Our office:
CENTRO EUROPEO CONSUMATORI
EUROPÄISCHES VERBRAUCHERZENTRUM
Tel: +39-0471-980939
E-Mail: info@euroconsumatori.org
www.euroconsumatori.org

Rome office:
CENTRO EUROPEO CONSUMATORI
Tel: +39-06-442 38 090
E-Mail: info@ecc-netitalia.it
www.ecc-netitalia.it

or

ECC Austria:
EUROPÄISCHES VERBRAUCHERZENTRUM
Tel: +43-1-588770
E-Mail: info@europkonsument.at
www.europakonsument.at

ECC Belgium:
EUROPEES CENTRUM VOOR DE CONSUMENT
CENTRE EUROPÉEN DES CONSOMMATEURS
Tel : +32-2-5423346
E-Mail : info@eccbelgium.be
www.eccbelgium.be

ECC Bulgaria:
EUROPEAN CONSUMER CENTRE BULGARIA
Tel : +359-298 676 72
E-Mail : ecc.bulgaria@kzp.bg
ecc.kzp.bg

ECC Cyprus:
Ευρωπαϊκό Κέντρο Καταναλωτή Κύπρου
Tel : +357-2286-7100
E-Mail : ecccyprus@mcit.gov.cy
www.ecccyprus.org

ECC Czech Republic:
EVROPSKÉ SPOTŘEBITELSKÉ CENTRUM
Tel: +420-296 366 155
E-Mail: esc@coi.cz
www.coi.cz/esc

ECC Denmark:
FORBRUGER EUROPA
Tel: +45-3266-90000
E-Mail: info@forbrugereuropa.dk
www.forbrugereuropa.dk

ECC Estonia:
EUROOPA LIIDU TARBIJA NÕUSTAMISKESKUS
Tel: +372-6201708
E-Mail: consumer@consumer.ee
www.consumer.ee

ECC Finland:
EUROOPAN KULUTTAJAKESKUS
Tel: +358-9-77267816
E-Mail: ekk@kuluttajavirasto.fi
www.ecc.fi

ECC France:
CENTRE EUROPEEN DES CONSOMMATEURS
Tel: +49-7851-991480
Tel only callers from France: 0820-200999
E-Mail: info@euroinfo-kehl.com
www.euroinfo-kehl.com

ECC Germany:
Kehl office:
Tel: +49-7851-991480
E-Mail: info@euroinfo-kehl.com
www.euroinfo-kehl.com

Kiel office:
Tel: +49-431-5909950
E-Mail: info.kiel@evz.de
www.evz.de

ECC Greece:
Ευρωπαϊκό Κέντρο Καταναλωτή
Tel : +30-210-3847253
E-Mail : infoeccgr@efpolis.gr
www.eccefpolis.gr

ECC Hungary:
EVRÓPAI FOGYASZTÓI KÖZPONT
Tel: +36-1 473 0338
E-Mail: info@efk.hu
www.efk.hu

ECC Iceland:
EVRÓPSKA NEYTENDAAÐSTOÐIN
Tel: +354-545-1200
E-Mail: ena@ena.is
www.ena.is

ECC Ireland:
EUROPEAN CONSUMER CENTRE
Tel: +353-1-80-90-600
E-Mail: info@eccireland.ie
www.eccireland.ie

ECC Latvia:
EIROPAS PATĒRĒTĀJU INFORMĒŠANAS CENTRS
Tel : +371-738 8625
E-Mail : info@ecclatvia.lv
www.ecclatvia.lv

ECC Lithuania:
EUROPOS VARTOTOJŲ CENTRAS
Tel : +370-5-2650368
E-Mail : info@ecc.lt
www.ecc.lt

ECC Luxembourg:
CENTRE EUROPEEN DES CONSOMMATEURS-GIE LUXEMBOURG
Tel : +352-26-84641
E-Mail : info@cecluxembourg.lu
www.cecluxembourg.lu

ECC Malta:
EUROPEAN CONSUMER CENTRE
Tel : +356-21-22 19 01
E-Mail : ecc.malta@gov.mt
www.eccnetmalta.gov.mt

ECC Netherlands:
EUROPEES CONSUMENTEN CENTRUM
Tel: +31-30-232 64 40
E-Mail: info@eccnl.eu
www.eccnl.eu

ECC Norway:
FORBRUKER EUROPA
Tel: +47-23-400500
E-Mail: post@forbrukereuropa.no
www.forbrukereuropa.no

ECC Poland:
EUROPEJSKIE CENTRUM KONSUMENCKIER
Tel: +48-022-5560118
E-Mail: info@konsument.gov.pl
www.konsument.gov.pl

ECC Portugal:
CENTRO EUROPEU DO CONSUMIDOR
Tel: +351-21-3564750
E-Mail: euroconsumo@dg.consumidor.pt
cec.consumidor.ptc

ECC Romania:
CENTRUL EUROPEAN AL CONSUMATORILOR
Tel: +40-21-315-7149
E-Mail: office@eccromania.ro
www.eccromania.ro

ECC Slovakia:
EURÓPSKE SPOTREBITEL'SKÉ CENTRUM
Tel: +421-2-4854-2019
E-Mail: ecc@economy.gov.sk
www.economy.gov.sk

ECC Slovenia:
EVROPSKI POTROŠNIŠKI CENTER
Tel: +386-1-4323035
E-Mail: epc@epc.si
www.epc.si

ECC Spain:
CENTRO EUROPEO DEL CONSUMIDOR
Tel: +34-91-8224555
E-Mail: cec@consumo-inc.es
cec.consumo-inc.es

ECC Sweden:
KONSUMENT EUROPA
Tel: +46-54-194150
E-Mail: info@konsumenteuropa.se
www.konsumenteuropa.se

ECC United Kingdom:
EUROPEAN CONSUMER CENTRE
Tel: +44-8456-040503
E-Mail: ecc@tsi.org.uk
www.ukecc.net

Status 02-2009


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