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Consumer's Telegramm European Edition
If you wish to be informed monthly about European consumer news, just subscribe our free newsletter.Consumer's Telegram July - August 2007
Insert of n. 49 - Editorial office: Centro Europeo Consumatori (European Consumer Centre, Bolzano - Italy)Air Transport
Club Air is not Allowed to Resume Flying
The license of the airline Club Air has been suspended since December 2006. The Italian Civil Air Office ENAC recently announced that the procedure of investigation, in the course of which will be decided if the airline fulfils the conditions for regaining the license, is still going on. At the moment it is not clear in which way and when the procedure will find an end.Thus, Club Air is not allowed to sell its own tickets. If the company arranges the purchase of tickets, it must be clear which airline is definitely going to carry out the flight. The ENAC also stresses the fact that the connection Crotone - Bergamo, which is offered by Club Air, is only to be carried out by the airline Air One.
Since at the moment Club Air cannot be considered an airline company as a matter of fact, its passengers do not have their usual rights and protection. Therefore, it is advisable to check if the airline has regained its licence and right to retake flying operations before buying a corresponding ticket.
For further information see our web site.
Timesharing
The European Commission Proposes Revision of the Regulation
The basic idea of timesharing is without doubt quite interesting: Several people share the ownership of an apartment in some holiday paradise and are therefore allowed to spend a certain period of time - like one or a few weeks - there. However, very often there can be problems like high costs of maintenance, for example, or when one wants to sell his part of the ownership.An EU regulation from the year 1994 contains the actually valid rules for the concept of timesharing. However, the market has developed and changed rapidly in the last few years. Therefore, on the 7th of June the Commissioner for consumer protection Meglena Kuneva presented a package of proposals to improve the valid regulations.
The proposals contain, for instance, the involvement of regulations for new products of timesharing like boats or caravans or the membership of so-called holiday clubs. Moreover, the official rules shall also be valid for contracts with a shorter period of validity - under three years. There will also be concrete regulations for the sale and exchange of timesharing objects.
Mobile Phones
Lower Roaming Rates
In spite of repeated appeals to mobile companies in the past to reduce the costs of international calls, the rates for the use of your mobile phone in other EU-countries were up to four times as high as in your own.With the end of June, there is going to be a new regulation concerning the EU roaming: In future a call made in another EU country can cost up to 0,49 Euro per minute, a call taken on abroad at most 0,24 Euro per minute.
What is more, the new roaming regulation tries to improve the transparency of mobile rates as the consumers have to be informed regularly about the up-to-date costs: the consumers can ask the roaming rate information for free (by SMS or call) and the companies must inform new clients about the rates as soon as the contract is made. The new regulation is valid for contract clients as well as for consumers with a phone card. The consumers will profit from the new maximum prices (called Euro rate) in the course of the summer. In the years 2008 and 2009 the Euro rate is going to be lowered again.
Customs
New Regulations for the Import and Export of Money
Who travels from an EU member state to a non- EU member state or vice versa and has got more that an amount of 10,000 Euro in his baggage must declare that at the customs office and fill in a special declaration since the 15th of June 2007.The same is true for means of payment like travellers cheques, cheques or other documents on the name of the bearer. This is laid down by the regulation (EC) No 1889/2005.
Within countries of the EU the amount of 12,500 Euro established by the national regulation stays the same.
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