EuroCommerce

Summary of the initiative

Name
EuroCommerce
Objective(s)
Increasing clients' trust in the quality of the products/services; Improving sector's image; Enhancing the level of information. The European Code of Conduct was drafted by Euro-Label in accordance with current and anticipated future European legislation (on Electronic Commerce, Distance Selling, Data Protection and on guarantees..). It covers in particular: The retailer and his legal and financial background; The protection of personal data; The pre-contractual information about products on sale, such as descriptions, specifications and pricing; The procedure for the conclusion of on-line contracts; The performance of the contract; The right of the consumer to withdraw from a purchase; The "money-back guarantee" and the after-sales service arrangements Euro-Label is the European electronic shopping Trustmark for consumers and retailers. To be awarded the Euro-Label Trustmark, the trader must implement the European Code of Conduct for retail transactions. The Euro-Label organisation is responsible for seeing that the trader adheres to this Code of Conduct. A mechanism ensures that the logo a trader displays on his website is authentic. When you click on the logo, Euro-Label verifies that the trader is certified and displays the certificate of the e-shop.

Description of the Initiative

    Sector

    Sector

    Contact Point - Commission
    GROW E4

    Self/Co-Regulation Basic Act

    PRIVATE ACT
    Year
    2001
    Title of Act
    European Code of Conduct for retail transactions

    Geographical Coverage

    Global coverage
    Participating Countries
    Austria

    Description

    Problems that lead to the introduction of Self/Co-Regulation and the adoption of the Founding Act
    -
    Target Group(s)
    Consumers, retailers
    Type of Instrument(s)
    Unilateral code of conduct
    Type of Financing
    Fees
    Type of Monitoring
    Conduct an initial survey of compliance capacity of future regulateesConduct regular visits and spot checksInitiate complaints proceduresMaintain database of those bounded by the normsProduce regular reportsReceive complaints and verify if norms were breached or notReflexive dialogue with the - stakeholdersOther
    European Commission
    National public authority
    International public authority
    Private regulator (code owner)yesyesyesyes
    Private independent party with a mandate (e.g. auditors)
    Self-appointed private parties (e.g. NGOs)
    Succinct description of the type of Monitoring
    -
    Type of Enforcement
    Faming, shaming and blamingJudicial sanctionsMembership suspension/exclusionPrivate finesOther
    Private Regulatoryesyes
    Private independent party with a mandate (e.g. auditors)
    Court system
    Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) / Online dispute resolution (ODR)
    Succinct description of the type of Enforcement
    <P>Article 11 Handling of complaints and out-of-court settlement of litigation </P>
    <P>The company shall provide the customer with detailed information on the handling of complaints and on out-of-court settlement of litigation, if available, in the language that the customer has chosen for consulting the website and for ordering. </P>
    <P>a) Handling of complaints </P>
    <P>In case of complaint, the customer must first apply to the Customer Service made available to him by the company. The company shall handle the complaint within 10 calendar days, counted from the day it was received by the company. Should the company be unable to find a solution during this period, it shall inform the customer accordingly and indicate the time-span necessary for dealing definitively with the complaint. This time-span shall not exceed 30 days. </P>
    <P>b) EURO-LABEL complaint form </P>
    <P>To facilitate the relationship between the customer and the company and/or the customer and the body responsible for out-of-court settlement of litigation, the company shall provide access to the Euro-Label complaint form. </P>
    <P>c) If the complaint handling with the customer service of the company fails, the consumer may submit a complaint to the national member who certified the shop. The time span to handle this complaint will not exceed ten calendar days from the day the certification body received the complaint. </P>
    <P>d) Out-of-court settlement of litigation </P>
    <P>Should the customer not be satisfied with the reply or the arrangement proposed by the company or by the certification body, the customer is free to bring the complaint before the body indicated by the certification body, which is in charge of settling litigation out of court. </P>
    <P>e) Cross-border litigation </P>
    <P>Should the customer resort to a settlement on the basis of personal agreement and/or out-of-court action, this does not deprive him of the right to access the competent legal authorities according to the international Conventions in force. </P>

    Results of Commission Monitoring

    Link / Reference of Evaluation
    -

    Downloads

    SMO self- and co-regulation database - private code 50