ECC-Net Recovers 10 Million Euros for Consumers in 2022

118,000 consumer queries

Dana from Germany travels from Berlin to New York. She misses her connecting flight in Paris because of a delay. Although she is rebooked onto another flight, she arrives at her destination four hours late. According to European regulation on air passenger rights, Dana is now entitled to 600 euros in compensation. But what if the airline refuses to pay and does not reply to Dana’s emails?

Cases like this one are part of the ECC-Net's daily work. In 2022, our network answered around 118,000 consumer queries. These included flight delays, overpriced holiday homes, fake concert tickets, cancelled trains and much more. The aim of our specialised legal experts from 29 EU countries is always to find a fair and out-of-court solution.

ECC-Net was able to recover almost €10 million euros last year. In reality the economic benefit is even greater, as ECC-Net also helps to inform and warn European consumers. For example by telling consumers how to recognise and avoid subscription traps or other misleading practices.

Impulse generator

ECC-Net is a regular source of information for Members of the European Parliament, other consumer organisations and the press. It compares legislation across Europe and highlights best practices and challenges in consumer protection.

In 2022, for example, ECC-Net published a position paper on digital justice as input to the EU Fitness Check on this topic. The paper critically examines phenomena such as dark patterns, automatic contract renewals and in-app purchases. ECC-Net also published a position paper on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in cross-border disputes, based on a survey and its own practical experience with national ADR bodies.