In 2023, over 206,000 EUR was recovered for consumers

More than € 206,000 is the amount that the five-member ECC Bulgaria team has managed to recover or win as compensation for consumers in 2023. The real economic benefit is undoubtedly even more significant because we have saved many people money, time and effort with preventive information and advice. Our help is focused on cross-border consumer issues with merchants from other EU countries, Iceland, or Norway.

ECC Bulgaria is part of the ECC-Net network and works with 28 other centres to help with delayed or delayed flights, lost luggage at the airport or problems with online orders or warranties. We can assist tourists who need help with accommodation abroad or with car rental companies. Sometimes, people search for us because they get spam in their emails, even though they have opted out multiple times as instructed by the merchant. Other times, users are looking for help from us because they can't reach the seller, or they need a little guidance to continue resolving a case on their own. In the third case, they are offended by the trader's attitude and want him to apologise. However, such assistance cannot be put a price on.

In 2023, the ECC Bulgaria team, which consists of five women, considered around 2,700 complaints and questions. Often, in a single case, there is a problem affecting more than one person, and when we succeed in helping, we actually help the whole family or group of friends.

Our statistics show that in nearly 62% of complaints, we have reached a solution that satisfies the consumers. In other cases, the traders have not agreed to offer a solution, have faced severe financial problems, including bankruptcy, or have refused to participate in the voluntary negotiations we are conducting.

The analysis of the feedback we received from users indicates that over 91% of those who participated in our survey are satisfied with the assistance provided by ECC Bulgaria's employees.

However, the work on complaints is far from exhausting the duties of the ECC Bulgaria team. Last year, we conducted various online and in-person information campaigns nationwide and gave lectures to students, schoolchildren, and online traders. The goal is to provide proactive information and help consumers before they get into trouble with traders.

ECC Bulgaria is co-financed by the European Commission, and in our country, it functions under the Commission for Consumer Protection.

You can see more about what we did in 2023 in our report.