The ECC-Net – made up of European Consumer Centres from 29 European countries – has published a new video entitled ‘Network eyes on 2030’ with the aim of raising awareness of the work carried out in defending the rights of consumers when they make cross-border purchases in any of the countries of the European Union, as well as in Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom.
Various professionals working in some of the Centres have participated in the video, and all of them have highlighted the important legal advisory work carried out in the field of consumer affairs, especially in increasingly digital markets where consumers must face new challenges every day raised by new technologies, particularly artificial intelligence.
To address these challenges, the ECC-Net network helps consumers residing in the EU, Iceland or Norway to defend their rights when they encounter problems with cross-border purchases made in these countries, as well as in the United Kingdom. To this end, the network has more than 150 legal advisers in 29 countries, who handle more than 130,000 cases per year across Europe.
The video also highlights the valuable information generated by the network, which contributes to improving European policies aimed at protecting consumer rights. It also highlights both the projects led by the Centres, which enable the development of fairer and safer markets for consumers, and their close collaboration with competent authorities and European stakeholders, which aims to combat online fraud and unfair commercial practices.
About CEC-Spain
The European Consumer Centre in Spain (ECC-Spain) is a public body that provides information, advice and assistance to help consumers residing in our country resolve any disputes they may have when purchasing goods or contracting services from companies established in another European Union country (with the exception of Spain), Iceland, Norway or the United Kingdom. Consumers may request assistance from ECC-Spain provided that they have made a cross-border purchase from a professional (company) as a private individual (consumer) and for their private use.
ECC-Spain does not have the power to issue binding decisions. Its role is to try to reach amicable agreements that put an end to the dispute between the consumer and the company through out-of-court channels. It also has no power to impose sanctions and its agreements are reached on a voluntary basis. The Centre has no jurisdiction to act in cases of crime (fraud, scams, etc.), nor if the purchase was made between private individuals (Consumer to Consumer) or between companies (Business-to-Business).
ECC-Spain handles complaints on the majority of consumer issues, acting on behalf of consumers with the aim of seeking an amicable solution to resolve their disputes. However, there are some exceptions where ECC-Spain does not have the authority to act and, depending on the sector, complaints must be addressed to other competent bodies.
>> ECC-Spain Videos.