You wish to be advised on your purchases in the European Union? To have a faulty product bought in another country of the Union repaired?
What can the European Consumer Centre (ECC-Net) do to help you?
- Offer you information and advice.
- Intervene in your cross-border disputes.
- Refer you to an alternative body for dispute resolution (ombudsman, litigation commissions).
The ECC-Net advises you on your purchases in the EU and, if necessary, offers legal assistance in the event of a dispute.
The network was set up by the European Commission in order to increase consumer confidence in the internal market by providing information about rights as a European consumer and by providing assistance in cross-border consumer disputes.
Contacting ECC-Net
Visit the website: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/redress_cons for more information. You can also go straight to the Belgian network via www.eccbelgium.be. The Belgian centre is run by Edith Appelmans and the contact details are as follows:
Rue de Hollande 13, 1060 Brussels, BelgiumTel: +32/2 542 33 46
Tel: +32/2 542 33 89
Fax: +32/2 542 32 43
info@eccbelgium.be
They got in touch with ECC-Net
Tiscali refunds money deducted after termination of the contract.
Ms H. lived in England for almost 8 years. She went back to live in Belgium a little over a year ago. When she was living in England, Ms H. paid Tiscali for an Internet and telephone subscription. When she moved to Belgium, she notified Tiscali of this. She provided proof of her move to the English operator and also confirmed the termination of the contract by telephone. In spite of this, Tiscali continued to take money for 9 months. Ms H therefore asked for our assistance. Our English colleagues were able, after several attempts, to obtain a refund of the amounts wrongfully debited. A cheque for £352.67 was sent to Ms H. Termination of the contract was finally effective after 1 year.
Mr V obtains a refund of the VAT paid on purchasing a new car in France.
Mr V bought a new car in France at the beginning of 2009 and had to pay VAT on the spot. Indeed, the French vendor did not want to sell him the vehicle net of VAT, even if it was going to be imported to Belgium. On returning to Belgium, Mr V had to pay the VAT on his car once again. For this reason he contacts the vendor again in order to recover the VAT which he paid him in France. No response from the vendor. After several fruitless attempts, Mr V calls on ECC Belgium. We examined his file and sent it to our French colleagues who contacted the vendor. Mr V finally received a cheque refunding him the French VAT.
Recent publications
- Communication from the European Commission on the consumer markets scoreboard, January 2008
- Second Edition of the consumer markets scoreboard