National Energy Ombudsmen Network
NEON
NEON is the European network of independent, not-for-profit consumer dispute-resolution services and ombudsmen active in the energy sector.
ID: 412752013756-49
Lobbying Activity
Response to Targeted revision of EU consumer law directives
20 Jun 2018
NEON, the European network of independent, not-for-profit consumer dispute-resolution services and ombudsmen active in the energy sector, welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Commission proposal to amend the consumer protection directives under the New Deal for Consumers.
As entities in charge of treating consumer complaints, our members have observed a large increase in issues related to unfair commercial practices, especially in doorstep selling (aggressive commercial practices, misleading or missing information). We therefore welcome the possibility for Member States to further regulate doorstep selling, especially in view of protecting the most vulnerable consumers, which are often more strongly affected.
In this context, we also welcome that the proposal allows consumers to request redress whenever they have been harmed by unfair commercial practices by a trader, including the possibility of compensation for damages suffered by the consumer, as well as the strengthened provisions on penalties in case of infringements to all four directives (Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, the Consumer Rights Directive, the Price Indication Directive and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive).
On the less positive side, we are worried that certain proposed amendments could make it more difficult for consumers to complain with the trader and leave the consumer unprotected in case of problems. We specifically refer to the narrowed information requirements related to the complaint handling process and the contact information of the trader:
• According to the proposed amendment to Art. 7.4 of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, traders will no longer be forced to provide information on their complaint handling policy in the case of an invitation to purchase. As stated before, complaints data from our members (related to unfair commercial practices) show that consumers do already may need to complain even before a contract is signed.
• In addition, in the case of distance and off-premises contracts, the traders will only need to provide their geographical address and their telephone number, e-mail address or other means of online communication (as it stands now, the same sentence in Art. 6 of the Consumer Rights Directive says “and”).
Read full responseResponse to A New Deal for Consumers – revision of the Injunctions Directive
28 Nov 2017
NEON, the network of Energy Ombudsmen and Alternative Dispute Resolution bodies, believes that:
1. Sectoral Ombudsmen and ADR entities have a crucial role to play to help launching the initiatives and build cases which will lead to collective redress procedures. Ombudsmen have a particular expertise that will help identifying systemic issues and mass problems and comprehend the positive outcomes, and through their work they have the ability to build synergies.
2. All sectoral regulatory agencies and generic public consumer enforcement authorities should have redress powers as part of their enforcement toolboxes, subject to appropriate oversight mechanisms. Since their role is to enforce rules and regulations and imposing supervision for the benefit of the population at large, they keep the best interest of consumers at heart, without the risks of commercial political interference.
3. The power to seek damages —individually and collectively— should only be exercisable by approved independent entities that do not have a commercial conflict of interest, i.e. regulatory authorities or not-for-profit approved ombudsmen.
4. In order to make the compensation/reimbursement process more efficient and attractive for consumers, the process has to be simple. Ombudsmen, through their ability to work as middlemen among the relevant parties can act as coordinators, will stimulate the cooperation among stakeholders and will accelerate the length of the procedures. They will help the regulatory agencies build their cases and lead to collective redress procedures.
5. A single point of contact for qualified entities is useful for consumers, since often consumers do not know where or how or where to complain. Ombudsmen could naturally fill this role, given that they act as the one-stop-shop for consumer complaints.
6. To improve cross-border collective redress, we should build on existing networks of regulators and of ombudsmen/ADR entities. Existing networks are solid platforms of discussions and have extensive understanding of the challenges of the various markets. This will help to address several key aspects of diverging procedural rules that currently hamper the system.
Read full responseResponse to Targeted revision of EU consumer law directives
3 Jul 2017
A Targeted revision of EU consumer law directives is very timely and should go beyond the scope of the previous directives.
Unfortunately, what is clearly missing here is a straight reference to out-of-court dispute resolution mechanisms, in particular with an ADR entity (2013 directive) or with an ombudsman.
Access to redress and (alternative means of) justice is made complicated by cross-border and language issues on the one hand, and on the lack of resources and empowerment of the ADR/Ombudsman entity on the other hand. In order to ensure proper redress, the body in charge of such a service must be easily accessible for consumers, free of charge and able to proceed efficiently, i.e. without administrative burdens or prescriptive language barriers.
Throughout Europe, it seems that ADR/Ombudsmen schemes suffer from a lack of visibility and resources to address always more complex challenges. The EC should encourage Member States to fund those services and enable them to address cross-border and cross-sectoral issues.
Last point, the use of those ADR/Ombudsmen schemes must be made compulsory to use by traders, in order to avoid cherry-picking and create a true culture of efficiency and enable the collection of data.
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