David Byrne, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, said “the EEJ-net marks an important milestone to give consumers access to simple, low cost and effective means of resolving cross border conflicts.”
The aim is in part to boost consumer confidence in cross-border internet transactions and trade. The EEJ-net will, says the Commission, reduce costs, formalities, time and obstacles such as language barriers. The network will cover any consumer dispute over goods and services. Problems over deliveries, defective products, or products or services not matching their description should be dealt with by a single, one-stop national contact point, or ‘clearing house’ in each Member State.
This clearing house will help the dissatisfied consumer with information and support in making a claim to the out-of-court dispute resolution system in the country where the business supplying the products or services is located. The Commission hopes that Member States will have these clearing houses up and running ready to deal with consumer complaints by the second half of this year.