By Martin Banks - 16th March 2011
We want to address this
John Dalli
EU commissioner John Dalli has confirmed the executive will propose legislation designed to make it easier for consumers to settle disputes with traders.
Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, the official said the commission will table a legislative proposal for a roll-out of so-called 'alternative dispute resolution' schemes later this year.
Dalli, who is responsible for consumer policy, was speaking ahead of a 'summit' in parliament on ADR schemes.
ADR schemes, also known as "out-of-court mechanisms", have been developed to help citizens caught up in a consumer dispute who have been unable to reach an agreement directly with the trader.
The schemes usually use a third party such as an arbitrator, mediator or ombudsman to help the consumer and trade reach a solution.
Dalli said such schemes could provide "cheaper and easier" means of settling disputes between a consumer and trader.
"Everyday people who have a complaint about a good or service they have purchased give up. We want to address this," he said.
Currently, he said there are about 700 such schemes operating in Europe, most often in the telecoms and energy sectors.
"However, 40 per cent of traders do not even know about ADR schemes and this shows that it has not reached its full potential," said Dalli.
"One of the challenges we want to address is the absence of such schemes in certain market sectors and regions."
He said the commission will consider the results of a public consultation exercise on the issue, which had just concluded, before drafting legislation.
His comments were echoed by UK Tory deputy Malcolm Harbour, who chairs the internal market committee.
Speaking at a briefing with Dalli, Harbour hailed ADR schemes as a "significant advance" for consumers.
Harbour, who chaired the summit, added, "It may be a bit dry but this is very important for consumers."
The meeting, organised jointly with the commission, was due to assess how ADR can best work at EU-level.
