by Matthew Austin February-17-2016 in Commercial & Business, Retail
From 15 February 2016 new legal obligations are placed upon traders established within the EU which sell goods and/or services to consumers online. These obligations arise by virtue of new Irish regulations which trace back to European requirements for the promotion of alternative dispute resolution. Matthew Austin reports.
The new regulations provide for a European Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform “facilitating the independent, impartial, transparent, effective, fast and fair out-of-court resolution of disputes between consumers and traders online.”
The ODR platform allows consumers to fill out an online complaint form in relation to goods or services they have purchased online. The complaint form is then sent to the trader. The service is free of charge. The ODR platform is up and running and can be accessed at: http://bit.ly/1Q1iPxP.
The regulations require all traders established within the EU which sell goods and/or services to consumers online to do provide:
- an easily accessible electronic link to the ODR platform
- the trader’s email address on the trader’s website.
In the event that a complaint is submitted to the ODR platform a process is then engaged whereby the complainant and respondent are required to seek to agree upon an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) entity to resolve the dispute. There is no requirement that dispute be ultimately resolved by the ADR entity.
The new regulations also impose certain new obligations on online traders that are committed to, or are obliged to use, an ADR entity to resolve disputes with consumers. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission is responsible for processing and authorising registered ADR entities in this jurisdiction and this process is ongoing.
Traders established within the EU who sell goods and/or services to consumers online and who are committed to, or are obliged to use, an ADR entity to resolve disputes with consumers must:
- inform consumers about the existence of the ODR platform and the possibility of using the ODR platform for resolving their disputes
- provide an electronic link to the ODR platform on their websites
- provide an electronic link to the ODR platform in an email if a commercial offer is made via email
- provide information regarding the ODR platform in their general terms and conditions applicable to online sales.
Failure by a trader to comply with any of these new requirements can result in penalties, including a fine for each offence of up to €5,000 and/or 12 months’ imprisonment.
Please contact the Hayes Commercial & Business team for help and advice on compliance with the regulations.
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About the Author
Matthew Austin
Matthew is a partner in the Commercial & Business team and has considerable expertise in a range of practice areas, having acted for Irish and International clients in domestic and multi-jurisdictional issues. Matthew has advised in civil and administrative law disputes and in regulatory and advisory matters including insolvency/restructuring, IP, defamation and media law, competition and consumer protection and data protection.