UK European Consumer Centre and its post-Brexit future In this feature | consumer protection | UK ECC | post-Brexit landscape The good, the bizarre and the unknown The UK European Consumer Centre celebrated its 10th anniversary recently. Here, Susan Tolman looks back at its first decade and asks what a post-Brexit future might hold for UK consumers in dispute with EU traders Types of cases There are three types of cases that the UK European Consumer Centre deal with. They are: Information requests: consumers are given general advice; crossborder advice is not needed Advice cases: consumers are given cross-border legal advice and go on to pursue their own case Assistance cases: where we feel its necessary to share a case with our ECC-Net counterparts for them to contact the trader on behalf of the affected consumer The UK ECC has done its part to improve the UK consumer landscape and boost peoples confidence to make crossborder purchases. We hope this willcontinue afterBrexit here are very few printable answers to the question: Whatconnects ghost-hunting, a hair transplant, flowers, amasturbation aid, and human fingers in dog food? but, the UK European Consumer Centre (UK ECC) has one of them. All of these items and activities have featured in cases dealt with by the consumer advice and dispute-resolution service over the past 10 years (see panels), although more prosaically complaints about timeshares, package holidays, air passenger transport and train travel, plus furniture and electronic equipment, are its bread and butter. Since November 2007, the UK ECC has played a vital role in making people more aware of their consumer rights and enabling them to take full advantage of the internal European market. Part of the 30-strong European Consumer Centre Network (ECCNet), the UK Centre has grown from a team of four, offering just oneservice, into a 12-strong concern covering a variety of services. It is co-funded by the European Commission and the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and its services which are free to consumers are delivered by CTSI. We are often able In its first decade, the UK ECC has responded to cross-border to negotiate complaints from more than 84,000 UK consumers, and played a refunds and significant role in improving the laws that govern such disputes. These compensation, include: the streamlining of online distance-selling laws; the broadening and frequently of timeshare legislation to tighten up common loopholes; and the get a more expansion of Sale of Goods and services-related legislation, to include positive response statutory rights for digital contact. from the trader It offers information and advice to people on consumer law, publishes than the leaflets and when necessary refers consumers to specialised consumer alone organisations that can give more tailored advice on resolving complaints. TheUK ECC usually gets involved in cases when people would have done have exhausted their own options for resolving a dispute with a trader directly. Often, it consults with its ECC-Net counterparts, who can contact traders based in other parts of the EU on behalf of UK complainants. We are often able to negotiate refunds and compensation for consumers, said Andy Allen, UK ECC service director. Even though we are not always successful, we frequently get a more positive response from the trader than the consumer alone would have done. Our aim is to help as many UK consumers as possible to achieve a positive result a refund, replacement, repair, or cancellation of their contract. As we only give advice and assistance, we cannot force a Laura Johnston, UK ECC trader to give the consumer what consumer adviser they want. We can, however, advise Previously at the UK governmentthe consumer of any other steps funded Consumer Direct advice they could take to enforce their service, Laura Johnstons current rights. role as a consumer adviser at In 2016, the top three areas in UK ECC involves giving advice which consumers sought help from to people via telephone, email the ECC-Net were: and letter. If they need further legal nTransport (37.4 per cent of advice, she offers ongoing support and assistance cases) this was the keeps them updated on the progress of their case. UK ECC handles many legal cases and this, says sector most complained about Johnston, presents numerous issues in particular, by UK consumers, and includes how to pass on information to consumers and traders air passenger transport, car in an easy-to-understand way. rental and luggage transport Translating something legalistic into something byair thats easily understandable is the biggest challenge nRecreation and culture (17.4 within my role, she adds. To tackle this, UK ECC per cent) includes package advisers actively try to avoid using jargon we holidays, and audio-visual, ensure the advice we provide is clear and practical. photographic and informationOne of the most satisfying aspects of the job processing equipment is resolving a case and seeing, for example, the nRestaurants, hotels and consumer get their money back, says Johnston. That is so rewarding. accommodation (17.3 per cent) As well as offering advice, Johnston monitors includes timeshares and trends such as the types of cases UK ECC handles discount holiday clubs, and the regularly and gives this information to the EUs resale of both Consumer Protection Cooperation Network of So, what does the future hold for consumer authorities, as well as to the relevant UK cross-border complaints by UK trading standards service. consumers after Brexit? People will continue to fall foul of scammers from the continent, either online or when travelling abroad, said Allen. Currently, mechanisms allow fraudsters from the EU to be investigated, and UK consumers to seek advice about cross-border purchases and how to avoid scams. There are also ways in which people can pursue EU companies through the UK courts. There is considerable concern that these mechanisms will no longer function once the UK leaves the EU. There is some doubt, for example, about whether UK consumers will be able to make a claim through the European Small Claims Procedure this may no longer be an option. It could mean getting a lawyer and taking a court case in the country where the trader is based, incurring high fees and a lengthy delay. Obviously, this is something we would not like to see for consumers. Its fantastic that our advisers have been able to help so many people since we started. The UK ECC remains one of the busiest centres within the European Consumer Centre Network, and has done its part to improve the UK consumer landscape and boost peoples confidence to make cross-border purchases. We sincerely hope this will continue afterBrexit. Consumers can contact the UK ECC on 01268 886690, between 9am and 5pm, or via the website www.ukecc.net Case studies: The types of complaints dealt with by the UK ECC during its first 10years have been as varied as the countries within the EU, as the following examples show. Hair tr ans pl ant Masturbation aid Fingers in dog food Ghost- hunting Flowers Credits Susan Tolman is an information and communications officer for the UK ECC. Images: iStock.com/CurvaBezier/ Milkos To share this page, in the toolbar click on You might also like UK ECC call centre celebrates 10-year anniversary December 2017