This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Following a dialogue with the European Commission and national consumer authorities (CPC network), Edreams ODIGEO, Etraveli Group and Kiwi.com committed to better inform consumers of their rights in case of flight cancellations by airlines and to transfer ticket refunds within seven days after receiving […]Consumer protection: major online travel agencies commit to refund within 14 days for cancelled flights
June 27, 2023 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Following a dialogue with the European Commission and national consumer authorities (CPC network), Edreams ODIGEO, Etraveli Group and Kiwi.com committed to better inform consumers of their rights in case of flight cancellations by airlines and to transfer ticket refunds within seven days after receiving […]Consumer protection: Nintendo agrees to offer free repairs of irresponsive Nintendo Switch controllers
April 5, 2023 by 2 Comments
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Following an alert from the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), the European Commission and EU consumer authorities (Network of Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Authorities) contacted Nintendo to address a recurring technical problem with irresponsive controllers. Following this action, Nintendo has agreed to offer all consumers […]Consumer protection: WhatsApp agrees to comply fully with EU rules, informing users better and respecting their choices on contract updates
March 6, 2023 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Following a dialogue with EU consumer protection authorities and the European Commission (CPC network), WhatsApp committed to being more transparent on changes to its terms of service. Moreover, the company will make it easier for users to reject updates when they disagree with them, […]Consumer protection: manipulative online practices found on 148 out of 399 online shops screened
January 30, 2023 by 6 Comments
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Commission and national consumer protection authorities of 23 Member States, Norway and Iceland (CPC Network), released the results of a screening (“sweep”) of retail websites. This check covered 399 online shops of retail traders selling products ranging from textiles to electronic […]Consumer protection: Google commits to give consumers clearer and more accurate information to comply with EU rules
January 26, 2023 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Have you ever struggled to understand whether you were buying directly from Google or from a different brand, or had difficulty finding information about final costs? In order to further align its practices with EU law – mainly on lack of transparency and clear […]Consumer protection: Shopify commits to new practices to make it safer for consumers buying from web stores on the platform
October 10, 2022 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Following dialogues with the Commission and the network of national consumer protection (CPC) authorities, multinational e-commerce business Shopify has committed to making several improvements to make shopping safer for customers, bringing it in line with EU rules. The dialogue first originated following the receipt […]Consumer protection: Airlines reimburse over 500,000 flight vouchers as result of Commission and consumer authorities action in COVID-19 pandemic
July 8, 2022 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The Commission and national consumer authorities have just received the confirmation from 16 major European airlines, that they reimbursed over 500,000 flight vouchers that they had imposed on consumers for cancelled flights during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the result of the dialogue that […]Consumer protection: Commission adopts stronger consumer rules for online financial services
May 12, 2022 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Commission has adopted a reform of the current EU rules on Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services, which govern financial services sold at a distance. The Proposal will strengthen consumer rights and foster the cross-border provision of financial services in the […]Consumer protection: Commission welcomes political agreement by Council on the Representative Actions Directive
November 29, 2019 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The Council has today adopted a general approach on the Commission proposal for a Directive on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers. Once in force, the new rules will enable consumers to claim their rights not only individually but also through collective actions. It will empower reputable organisations (so-called ‘qualified entities’) to launch actions […]Consumer protection: Deal on EU-wide rules for those sold faulty products
January 30, 2019 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Consumers buying online or in a brick and mortar store will be entitled to equal remedies if they purchase faulty products, under new rules agreed on Tuesday. The directive on the sale of goods aims to ensure a high level of consumer protection throughout […]Consumers to be better protected against misleading and unfair practices
January 24, 2019 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Updates to EU consumer protection rules to tackle misleading rankings in online marketplaces and dual quality of products in the EU were approved on Tuesday. Online marketplaces and comparison services (e.g. Amazon, eBay, AirBnb, Skyscanner) will have to disclose the main parameters determining how […]The impact of mobile and rapid digital adoption on how India consumes
January 11, 2019 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Amit Adarkar, Managing Director and Country Head, Ipsos India India is well-known as the world’s largest democracy, one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, and a young nation set to reap demographic dividends over the next few decades. What is […]First EU collective redress mechanism to protect consumers
December 7, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Rules allowing groups of consumers harmed by illegal practices to launch collective actions and seek compensation were approved by Legal Affairs Committee. Currently, only 19 member states provide some form of legal remedy to victims of mass harm and proceedings can often be lengthy […]Safer products: stepping up checks and inspections to protect consumers
September 4, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Rules to ensure better checks and safety of goods sold in the EU were approved by the Internal Market Committee on Monday. The “Goods package” contains two legislative proposals: one on compliance and enforcement and the other on mutual recognition. Together they aim to […]How did Facebook fool the Commission that easily during the WhatsApp acquisition?
December 21, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The European Commission announced yesterday that a Statement of Objections was sent to Facebook accusing the company of providing incorrect or misleading information during the investigation under Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp. The aforementioned information was that Facebook had initially reassured the EC that it was not possible to match the user accounts of Facebook and WhatsApp. However, […]EU-US trade deal: Europe to Americanize its social model?
February 20, 2014 by Leave a Comment
It can’t be both. Either the EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht hadn’t recovered from the transatlantic trip hangover, while speaking in Washington on Tuesday, or he thinks we are all morons. He said: “I invite all Europeans to also discuss their concerns about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) (free trade deal)… Because […]No better year for the EU’s weak chain links
January 9, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The European Parliament issued a Press release this week with the ambitious target to inform us all about what is bound to change in our lives this year, resulting from the application of EU laws. It mentions the mercury ban in thermometers and some new rules in recycling of electrical and electronic equipment, the legislation […]
