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.
