The European Commission has published a new consumer guide to a cross-border out-of court complaints network for financial services such as banking, insurance or securities, known as FIN-NET.
FIN-NET is based on co-operation between national dispute settlement bodies and claims to be the first fully functioning cross-border alternative dispute resolution (ADR) network in the European Union. The new Guide aims to help European citizens to understand and use the FIN-NET network and to boost consumer confidence about buying financial services in another Member State.
Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein said today:
"FIN-NET makes it much easier to complain 'cross-border'. It will help businesses and consumers to resolve disputes fast and efficiently without lengthy and expensive legal action."
The Guide gives consumers information about:
- what to do if they have a complaint against a financial services provider in another Member State;
- procedures for settling consumer financial services disputes out of court in the European Economic Area (the European Union plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein);
- how FIN-NET works; and
- how to contact the national complaint schemes participating in FIN-NET.
The guide is available by calling 00 800 6789 1011. At the time of writing, the guide was not available on-line.