Consumers Telegram-Special: Internet Purchases
October 2015 ECC Bolzano/Bozen: focus on e-commerce
The European Consumer's Centre (ECC) Bolzano/Bozen makes clear that in the field of e-commerce – whether national or border crossing – there is only one real means that consumers may have: the means to use information. In October the European Consumers Centre Bolzano/Bozen focuses on e-commerce in order to increase the number of informed consumers. For this reason the Centre published press releases and a newsletter regarding this topic. Moreover, two consultants of the European Consumers Centre had the possibility to provide information for the elderly within the framework of a project about consumers' rights concerning online purchases, common difficulties, frauds and how to avoid them. The project was organized by the “Katholischer Verein der Werktätigen” Bolzano/Bozen. If you want to know more about consumers and e-commerce please consult the website of the ECC Bolzano/Bozen.
“Chargeback” or how you receive your money after all
On the website of a German seller you finally found the mountainbike you always wanted and you payed it by credit card. However, the bike is not deliverable any more and since weeks the seller has been promising to refund the money. In such cases you should think about the possibility of a „chargeback“. However, necessarily required for a „chargeback“ is the fact, that the good or service must be payed by credit card. More and more consumers shop online and pay by credit card. Therefore the network of the European Consumer's Centre (ECC-net) conducted a survey about „chargeback“ in single EC-countries in the year 2014. All the results of this study you'll find in the English language on the website of our colleagues of the ECC Norway.
Internet purchase outside of the EU - same rights?
You ordered a pair of shoes from a Swiss online shop. The colour of the shoes is different to the picture on the website or you simply do not like the shoes any more. Now you want to exercise your right of cancellation. Is this possible at all? In June 2014 the consumer directive (directive 2011/93/EU) came into force and therefore all consumers' rights have been enforced so far within the EC (as well as in Norway and Iceland).
The new directive implies a standardisation of the deadline for withdrawing from a distance contract, thus also internet shopping, on a European level: Now in all EC-countries the period is 14 calendar days (since now in Italy there have been only 10 working days). However, consumers should consider that these rights can only be applied for purchases within the EC. For any further information the ECC in Bolzano/Bozen remains at your disposal under the phone number 0471-980939 or E-mail: info@euroconsumatori.org.
Case of the month
In April 2014 an Italian consumer ordered through a Spanish website a pram. According to the Italian product description the consumer must get an infant carrier in addition. The consumer opened the package and had to note that the infant carrier was missing. He contacted the Spanish company that told him that there was a mistake in the Italian product description: In the Italian version as well as in the Spanish version there should not be included a free infant carrier. The company offered the consumer a refund in the amount of 20 Euro. Though, the consumer was not satisfied because the infant carrier was worth about 100 euro. The consumer contacted the ECC Bolzano/Bozen that sent the case to the ECC-Spain. The intervention of the Spanish colleagues was successful: the company refunded 100 Euro to the consumer.