The European Consumer Centres Network

If you reside in the EU, the ECC Network provides free, confidential expert advice on your consumer rights if:

• You bought goods or services in person or online
• You travel to any of the other Member States of the European Union (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden) and associated EEA countries, Norway and Iceland.

We provide the following services:

• Information and education on consumer rights and protections under EU law
• Expert assistance to EU citizens and residents on cross-border disputes with businesses in other EU countries, Norway, and Iceland.
• Consumer surveys and reporting on consumer issues and trends that contribute to policy development.
• Research for the European Commission and national stakeholders on consumer policy enforcement.

The European Consumer Centre Network’s primary role is to increase consumer confidence with cross-border transactions by providing free information and advice on consumer rights, as well as assistance with complaints.

The European Consumer Centre Network offers consumers across the European Union advice on their consumer rights and legal protections when shopping and travelling in another European Union member state and some European Economic Area countries. We work as a transnational, closely aligned collaborative network with funding from the European Commission and co-financing from national governments.

From our 29 offices across the EU, our 150 legal experts provide advice and assistance in 24 different languages.

Read more about our services 

Both our network and our individual offices contribute expertise and proposals to consumer law policies created by EU institutions and national regulators. As the first point of consumer contact for cross-border transactions in Europe, we can quickly identify the challenges EU citizens face in other countries within the Internal Market and address these with EU policymakers.

The ECC-Net works closely with national consumer organisations, policymakers, academics and stakeholders, such as business organisations and NGOs.

You can find a selection of our national and cross-national reports here.

Nearly 30 years ago, the European Commission created the Euroguichets network, which operated offices in EU border regions. Over time, the European Commission network partners were added in each EU Member States, eventually becoming the 'European Consumer Centres.'

In 2001, the European Extrajudicial Network (EEJ-Net) of information and assistance centres was founded to refer consumer disputes to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) bodies. Some Member States entrusted their existing European Consumer Centre (ECC) with this task. By 2004, there were 13 ECCs, while the EEJ-Net covered 15 countries.

In 2005, the two networks merged into the ECC-Net, which now has offices in every EU country, as well as in Iceland and Norway. The ECC-Net continues to help consumers defend their rights, increase trust in the Internal Market, and maintain a high level of consumer protection in Europe. 

Learn about the last 20 years of the ECC-Network between on our anniversary page.

The ECC-Net‘s legal experts assist consumers in solving their cross-border problems free of charge by providing legal expertise in consumer rights and assisting with disputes through out-of-court methods.

The ECC-Net works closely with national consumer organisations, policymakers, academics, and stakeholders such as business organisations and NGOs.

Our unique continent-wide perspective on cross-border consumer rights and issues makes the ECC-Net a valuable partner to key stakeholders and collaborators, both at EU and national level. It helps shape consumer policy by providing first-hand information on the experiences of European consumers.

Our relationship with the media is essential to our work, as it helps us reach larger audiences and raise awareness on cross-border issues.

We contribute to enhancing consumer law protections for all EU citizens.
We remain committed to advancing and promoting consumer rights in our day-to-day work, as well as to conveying the real needs of consumers at the level of policy-making, implementation and enforcement.