Information is vital for empowering consumers

Two MEPs discuss consumer protection.

Zuzana Roithova

A Czech consumer bought a plasma TV set from a German webtrader at an internet auction. He paid the requested amount in advance to the webtrader’s bank account including the transport costs (€79), but the trader suddenly demanded an extra €45 for delivery to the Czech Republic. Alhough he protested against the supplementary charges he paid in order to avoid problems. A German client bought clothes totalling €300 from a UK trader. When he discovered it was a different size from what he had ordered, he returned the jacket following the instructions of the trader but did not receive a refund of money (in fact he has the right to change his mind within seven days). Those are just two examples of infringing consumers rights in the European Union - in the first case the trader imposed additional charges, in the second the cooling-off period was not respected. Citizens have to know their rights, how to use them and how to take informed decisions.

The Consumers Defence Association of the Czech Republic (SOS) together with the European Commission is running a project called ‘Insist on your rights’, which informs Czech consumers about their rights in this area. Thanks to this campaign, the number of claims increased by more than 100% in one year (15,494 claims in 2005, 34,223 in 2006) so Czechs are more aware of their rights than before the campaign. The consumer organisations also point out the most serious problems (for example, half of the Czech sellers do not inform consumers about the right of withdrawal from the contract within two weeks).

I have taken part in several projects, mainly those concerning e-confidence - and I am preparing the report on consumers’ confidence in the digital environment for the European Parliament. Together with BEUC (the European consumers’ organisation) I also launched the European declaration of consumers’ rights in the digital environment in 2005. The truth is that Europeans are more and more getting used to shopping online, but they do not trust it enough to buy goods abroad (of 1 billion people shopping online only 25 millions made a cross-border purchase). The EU has to respond to the high-speed progress in the IT sector and change the ways in which different national laws block the effectiveness of the internal market. I have proposed launching an e-confidence initiative which would concentrate on solving horizontal problems common to various areas of the new technologies. Together with tackling the long-standing obstacles to e-trade (like language barriers), some brand new complications have appeared and we, the European decision-makers, are obliged to solve them (for example, PayPal restricts its services for some member states, such as Slovakia, the online music shop iTunes is accessible only for the EU15 and so on).

It seems that the consumers from the new member states face many more problems in cross-border commerce - the old member states are a bit more used to cross-border transactions and the traders are also more willing to sell their goods within the EU15. We have to think about the fact that most of the new member states are former communist regimes. People used to be afraid to claim their rights - that is what we have to teach them beyond improving the quality of online communications and increasing the reliability and safety of e-commerce.

Maybe we should start with the youngest generation. In June I will invite a group of middle school students to the European Parliament - winners of a contest in which they are working on various consumer-oriented projects (up to now they have found out that it is not just consumers but also sellers who do not know consumers’ legislation).

Greater consumer confidence and awareness is not only desirable but also needed because a well informed consumer who knows how to claim his or her rights would help in better implementation and enforcement of consumer protection laws.

• Czech centre-right (EPP-ED) MEP Zuzana Roithova is vice-chairwoman of the Parliament’s internal market and consumer protection committee.

Arlene McCarthy

My constituents often ask me: "What has Europe ever done for us?" Consumer legislation demonstrates how we are making a difference to the quality of people’s lives and to their rights, wherever in the EU they live or work.

The EU has a good track-record of protecting consumers, from laws ensuring the safety of products, to outlawing misleading advertising and giving compensation for passengers ‘bumped off’ an overbooked flight. A recent example of new protection for consumers is the unfair commercial practices directive, which cracks down on con merchants and aggressive dodgy dealers and bans the scourge of bogus prize draws and scam lotteries. So if the four-star hotel in the brochure turns out to be a building site, or an elderly person is faced with threatening behaviour from a salesman on his or her own doorstep, EU law is there to help.

But are consumers really aware of their rights and how to get redress? Without good and accessible information consumers are not exploiting the full advantages of EU membership. A recent survey shows that more than half of all EU citizens faced with an unsatisfactory response to a formal complaint took no further action. At the same time 50% of citizens are less confident when purchasing goods from another EU country and only 6% take advantage of online shopping from other countries. More needs to be done to raise awareness by the European Commission, member states and members of the European Parliament.

Member states and national consumer organisations can play a key role in providing information and advising citizens on how they can access their rights and get redress. In my own city of Manchester, the Citizens’ Advice Bureau has merged with the European Consumer Centre to provide a comprehensive consumer support organisation, whether the problem is in the UK or elsewhere in the EU. A local contact point is often the best way to connect with consumers.

To help consumer organisations play their vital role, capacity building and training courses are being provided by the Commission, with 56% of participants coming from the newer member states. Given the importance of these organisations and the specific challenges in our new member states, the Parliament’s internal market and consumer protection committee (IMCO) will hold a public hearing with consumer organisations in new member states later this year.

More use needs to be made of new technology to inform consumers. As part of this, an interactive web-based education tool has been developed for adults, which can be used by educational institutions, government bodies and consumer associations or can be accessed by individual citizens directly on the internet (www.dolceta.eu). The internet is particularly important in reaching Europe’s younger citizens.

In fact, the most important initiatives for the future are those that focus on Europe’s next generation. The European Consumer Diary has proved a successful way of informing 15- to 18-year-olds of their consumer rights, containing information on shopping at home and abroad. It has already been delivered to some 9,000 schools across Europe and should be sent to more schools in more countries. Innovative ways to reach young people must remain a priority. That is why IMCO will hold a public hearing in 2007 on improving access and information on consumer rights for young people. We will consult with young people from different member states across the EU to hear their experiences.

The Parliament has fought hard to further the cause of consumer education. Knowledge and information is power. Empowering consumers to take advantage of their rights is crucial to growing business in the internal market. Consumers who feel safe in the knowledge that they have rights and redress if something goes wrong are more likely to purchase goods and services from beyond their national borders. Much more needs to be done to get information out to consumers. In 2007 we need to face up to the challenge of providing information in a more user-friendly way that will enable people of all ages and backgrounds to exercise their consumer rights across the internal market.

• UK Socialist MEP Arlene McCarthy chairs the Parliament’s internal market and consumer protection committee.

Two MEPs discuss consumer protection.