The European ODR platform

Website:  

http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/

What is het European ODR platform?

ODR is the abbreviation of Online Dispute Resolution. This internet platform was created by the European Commission for the settlement of disputes arising from e-commerce.

The whole out-of-court dispute resolution processes takes place on the internet, which means that long and expensive trials are avoided and that the European consumer’s trust in cross-border shopping is strengthened.      

For which problems?

The ODR platform deals with:

• Consumer disputes arising from e-commerce.

Example:

• As a Belgian consumer, I purchase a laptop from a French web shop, but the product does not work properly. The seller does not help me, so I decide to use the European ODR platform to settle the issue out of court.

Fees

The fees are freely determined by the out-of-court  dispute resolution bodies qualified to take action. Qualification can only be obtained if the bodies limit the costs (if they charge fees). The FPS Economy is responsible for the awarding and control of this qualification.  

The web page Out-of-court consumer dispute resolution (available in Dutch and French) features more information on this qualification.

Languages

Languages in which online dispute resolution can take place:

• All European languages are accepted.

Geographical competence

• The European platform deals with disputes within Europe arising from e-commerce;
• The Belgian platform, Belmed, deals with disputes arising between European consumers and companies registered with the Crossroads-Bank for Enterprises or with business-to-business disputes. If the seller is not registered with the Belgian CBE, Belmed cannot be of any help. Belmed can also deal with all commercial disputes, irrespective of whether they arise from e-commerce or not.

Access conditions

The European ODR platform can only deal with disputes arising from e-commerce between consumers and companies. 

How does it work

• This depends on the procedure rules of the out-of-court dispute resolution body selected to take action in the conflict.
• The procedures of these bodies have to be communicated in a transparent way.

ODR contact point

The ODR contact points shall provide support to the resolution of disputes relating to complaints submitted through the ODR platform. In Belgium, this contact point is the European Consumer Centre (ECC):

Hollandstraat 13 
1060 Brussels 
+32 2 892 37 12    
odr@eccbelgium.be

Form

Use the standard form.