The European Union's internal market is digitizing with each passing year and has become vital for both consumers and traders. For some of them, it represents daily purchases, reservations, and trips, and for others - new opportunities. But for this market to develop it also needs their trust - on one hand, to remove unjustified barriers, and on the other hand reliable methods for resolving discrepancies between them. These methods should be just as easy and inexpensive to make all participants feel confident and protected.
The European Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform offers simple, effective, fast, and cheap out–of–court possibilities for online dispute resolution in connection with cross-border online deals. In general, it is a website where a consumer or a trader might resolute their dispute without interference from a judicial authority. The goal is to be one additional possibility through which a consumer and traders might find a fast and amicable resolution to problems between them. This website is administrated by the European Commission and its usage is entirely free.
Page: Online dispute resolution
Procedure
All complaints are filed through a form. They must be only for goods or services purchased online from traders from Bulgaria or another EU/EEA country.
After being filed, a one month period starts in which the trader can:
A/ Designate a resolution body to resolve the dispute, or
B/ Choose not to participate in the process
If the trader does not answer in this period and just does nothing, the complaint will be automatically closed! In those cases, you can contact the National contact points for more information.
Important!
The traders first designate a resolution body and a consumer can then accept it. After being accepted, the resolution body starts working on the case through the platform and in three months it should issue a resolution - an amicable agreement. It does not bind the sides if they don’t accept it.
Advantages:
- Complaints are filed online and the case is handled online
- The website supports 25 languages – your messages automatically are translated to the chosen language
- Fixed terms of the action of the parties
- It symbolizes trust
- All complaints are anonymized after 6 months
You can check all the resolution bodies on this page.