OCU issues a warning regarding the European on line dispute resolution platform

Madrid, 15 February, 2016.  OCU give a hesitant welcome, with some important reservations, to the European Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform. While necessary to improve the level of consumer protection, it is, in OCU's opinion, still inadequate. The ODR platform allows consumers and businesspeople to file complaints via an electronic form, made available in all of the EU's languages, for any issue related with e-commerce or online services.  

More and more, consumers make their purchases via the Internet and an increasing number of businesses sell or manage their orders online.  According to data from the CNMC (National Commission for Markets and Competition), in 2014, Internet sales reached 15.8913 billion Euros, an increase of 24.8% from the previous year.  OCU feels that this growth has inevitably led to an increase in the number of complaints and disputes. Of special note are those cases involving the delivery, return or loss of the item purchased or due to the language, among others reasons. Along these lines, OCU also believes that remitting the conflicts that arise in this regard to the courts is not an advisable action for consumers to take seeing as how the amount of the transactions is, in many cases, very low and citizens must also pay legal fees, prolonging the legal proceedings.  Due to this, and for many other issues, the affected consumers do not, in many cases, file legal complaints. For this reason, OCU is of the opinion that a guaranteed, swift, alternative dispute resolution method is needed.

However, this new platform has its disadvantages. OCU reminds consumers that the ODR system does not refer to an email address to be used, but rather is a differentiated platform. The businessperson is obliged to inform consumers of its existence.  Moreover, this obligation, imposed upon the company, becomes nothing more than a paper tiger. The obligation of informing customers of the existence of this resource is worthless when the businessperson can refuse to accept its intervention, thus preventing the complaint from being submitted for this means of resolution.

OCU also reminds consumers that they can only resort to the platform after having previously raised the issue with the company involved directly and their complaint has not been satisfactorily resolved.  By means of this platform, international conflicts related with e-commerce can be settled.  

OCU  points out that online businesses must provide a link to the ODR Platform on their website so that consumers can begin the conflict resolution procedures.  Once begun, the parties involved are the ones who decide themselves which alternative conflict resolution entity will settle the complaint.  This entity must resolve the case in question within 90 days.  Various resolution methods, which could affect the judicial validity of the decision made, are possible, such as, for example,  mediation, arbitration or conciliation. OCU will be on guard to ensure that the implemented systems are impartial, fair, transparent and effective.

The ODR Platform is registered within the framework of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Directive. This directive has yet to be implemented in our country.  Additionally, in OCU's opinion, the proposed alternative conflict resolution legislation which the aforementioned directive is attempting to implement contains measures that are damaging to consumers. For this reason, OCU will address parliamentary groups for the purposes of requesting a series of measures to strengthen citizens' rights. Lastly, OCU denounces that the delay in the implementation of this Directive in Spain, which should have happened before July of last year, has resulted in the list of alternative conflict resolution entities currently not being made available to consumers as established in article 20.4 of the Directive, to which the Regulations for the effective application of the system constantly reference. 

For more information, please contact Eva Jiménez (media). Telephone: 917226061 prensa@ocu.org

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