As of 13 May this year, the possibility to have Direct Talks with companies with which consumers have had any kind of mishap related to online purchases has been removed from the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Platform. The other services of the Platform will continue to function as before in order to try to help consumers with their complaints. However, the European Commission explains that the discussions opened before 13 May will remain operational and recalls that the deadline for the designated bodies to resolve the complaint remains 90 days and that, once the complaint is closed, consumers will be able to access the information for a maximum period of 6 months. After this time, the data will be deleted, so if the consumer wishes to keep it, he/she will have to download it and save it in a personal file.
Despite this change, consumers residing in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway will still be able to use the ODR Platform to try to resolve their complaints quickly, easily, cheaply and confidentially, without having to go to court, whether they buy from a company in their own country or in any of the countries mentioned above. To do this, the consumer and the business must choose a body to act as a neutral intermediary who will be responsible for reaching a mutually satisfactory out-of-court settlement. This solution may be binding or non-binding, depending on the body chosen.
Source of the information: European Commission.