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| 04/03/2010 |
| Make your voice heard |
| The European Commission is asking consumers to fill in a questionnaire which will allow to give some consumer views on the topics that will be discussed at next European Consumer Summit organised by the European Commission on 18-19 March 2010. |
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| 18/12/2009 |
| ECC calendar 2010 |
| After the big success of our calendars for the year 2008 you can get the new ECC calendar 2010 in our offices. |
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| 30/09/2009 |
| EU acts to limit health risks from exposure to noise from personal music players |
Consumers will benefit from new default settings on personal music players set at safe exposure levels, as well clear warnings on the adverse effects of excessive exposure to high sound levels, following a decision by the European Commission today. In October 2008, the EU Scientific Committee SCENIHR 1 , warned that listening to personal music players at a high volume over a sustained period can lead to permanent hearing damage. 5-10% of listeners risk permanent hearing loss. These are people typically listening to music for over 1 hour a day at high volume control settings. It is estimated that up to 10 million people in the EU may be at risk. The European Commission today sent a mandate to CENELEC (the EU standardisation body) requiring new technical safety standards to be drawn up.
EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva, said, "It’s easy to push up the sound levels on your MP3 player to damagingly loud levels, especially on busy streets or public transport. And the evidence is that particularly y oung people - who are listening to music at high volumes sometimes for hours each week- have no idea they can be putting their hearing at risk. It can take years for the hearing damage to show, and then it is simply too late. These standards make small technical changes to players so that by default, normal use is safe. If consumers chose to override the default settings they can, but there will be clear warnings so they know the risks they are taking."
Bridget Cosgrave, Director General of DIGITALEUROPE, said, “Consumers’ safety has the highest priority for the digital technology industry. DIGITALEUROPE welcomes the approach of the European Commission by using a science-driven process for development of standards. It is important that users have accurate information in order to make informed choices about how they enjoy personal music. DIGITALEUROPE looks forward to working with the European Commission and standards bodies to serve consumer interests.“
The current rules
Existing EU standards currently prescribe no maximum sound limit nor require any specific labelling in respect of volume levels but require that a statement be put in the instruction manual to warn of the adverse effects of exposure to excessive sound level.
The new proposals – the mandate for new safety standards
The mandate, proposed by the European Commission with 27 Member States, covers all personal music players and mobile phones with a music playing function. It provides that:
Safe exposure levels shall be the "default" settings on products. The mandate does not prescribe specific technical solutions in order not to stifle the capacity of industry to innovate. Instead it requires manufactures to provide that the default settings for normal usage meet safety requirements.
The mandate makes it clear that safe use depends on exposure time and volume levels. At 80 dB(A), exposure should be limited to 40 hours/week. At 89 dB(A) exposure should not exceed 5 hours/week.
The safe exposure levels defined above shall be the default settings on products. Higher exposure levels can be permitted, provided that they have been intentionally selected by the user and the product incorporates a reliable means to inform the user of the risks.
Adequate warnings for consumers on the risks involved, and on ways to avoid them, including the situation when the original set of earphones is replaced with another type and this causes higher unsafe sound levels. The mandate is not prescriptive in terms of how this is done. Industry solutions could include for example – labels or digital information on the screen.
What happens next?
EU standards are drawn up by CENELEC (European standard setting body) in a process, involving scientists, industry and consumer groups as well as other stake holders, it can take up to 24 months. EU standards are not mandatory, however if the new standard is approved by the European Commission and published in the Official Journal of the European Union, it "de facto" becomes the industry norm. Products meeting those standards are presumed safe – otherwise manufacturers have to go through costly independent testing for products. The new safety standards will apply only to future products.
What can consumers do?
Personal music player users can already take certain very practical precautions, such as checking their device to see if a maximum volume can be set so as to keep the volume lower, or they can lower the volume manually, and they can take care not to use the personal music player for prolonged periods in the interest of their hearing.
Background:
In recent years sales of personal music players have soared, in particular those of MP3 players. Overall, in the EU, it is estimated that roughly 50 to 100 million people may be listening to portable music players on a daily basis. In the last four years, estimated units sales range between 184-246 million for all portable audio devices and range between 124-165 million for MP3 players. Across the EU, many millions of people use personal music players daily and, if they use them inappropriately, they put themselves at risk of hearing damage.
More information |
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| 20/08/2009 |
| Annual ECC-Net Report 2008 |
European Consumer Centres – transport remains the number one problem sector for consumers, accounting for one third of complaints
The European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net) handles over 62.000 contacts with EU consumers who turn to them for advice or for help with problems affecting cross-border shopping, both in person and online. The European Commission supports the network and today published the ECC-Net Annual Report for 2008, which saw a 22% increase in the number of Consumers turning to them directly for help. In 2008 most complaints tackled by ECCs concerned transport (33%, of which 80% related to air transport), recreational services (25%) and hotels and restaurants (13%). The problems concerned product and service (25%), delivery (18%), contract terms (16%), and unfair commercial practices (14%). Over half of the problems reported referred to online shopping. The report highlights many examples of how the centres have helped individual consumers, provides information on joint projects, such as on air passenger rights, and also includes summaries of activity per country.
EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said: "It is during recessions that consumers are most vulnerable to the appeal of suspiciously cheap offers and falsely attractive promotions. When they fall victim to a scam in another country, problems multiply. What matters is not just the consumer laws in place, but that consumers can benefit from these laws in their daily lives, whether at home or abroad. I want to reassure them that when a trader violates their rights while they are shopping in another EU country, the ECCs are there to help them".
Vice President Antonio Tajani, in charge of Transport said "I am not surprised that transport is the sector in which European Consumer Centres are more frequently asked questions. Transport is a sector which is by definition cross-border. I am personally very happy that air passengers are more and more aware of their rights under Community law and they use European Consumer Centres to have their rights respected and enforced. I have made passenger rights one of my top priorities and I’ll ensure that passenger rights will be into force in all modes of transport as soon as possible"
The European Consumer Centres – direct help to consumers
An Irish consumer hired a car in France, returned it to the car hire company at the end of the rental period, and the car was checked by all parties and confirmed it had no problem. Later on, an employee from another car hire company crashed into the consumer’s hired car. Some days later, the consumer discovered that he had been charged €310 for the damage. After almost a year exchanging correspondence, the issue remained unresolved and the consumer asked ECC Ireland for help. Following the intervention of the ECCs in Ireland and France, the trader returned the full amount which had been charged for the damage.
ECCs help consumers to use out-of-court solutions to problems with a trader. In 2008, the ECCs work in guiding consumers to such schemes increased by 40 %. ECCs also review key issues relevant to consumers, so that their experience can be fed back into policy initiatives and enforcement of the rules. In 2008, they reviewed air passenger rights complaints, the European online marketplace, and organised campaigns on consumer rights, for example in the energy market.
One of the tangible products of the ECCs’ joint work is ’Howard’ the online shopping assistant. It is a web tool which helps online shoppers to avoid fraudulent web traders, find serious web traders, and get good advice on shopping online.
Main services of the ECCs
The services provided to consumers by the ECC-Net concentrate on problems consumers have with traders when shopping cross-border, either in person or via distance purchase (mainly online): The ECC-Net advises consumers on their rights in cross-border shopping. It also provides information on both EU and national consumer rules.
The ECC contacted by the consumer works together with the ECC of the country where the product or service was bought.
Mostly the ECC-Net helps consumers reach an amicable solution with the trader.
ECCs provide advice on out-of-court settlement for consumers who could not reach an agreement with the trader.
Consumers can ask ECCs for help either by visiting or calling the centre or by using an on-line complaint form available in all languages on the ECC websites.
The ECC-Net cooperates with other EU-wide networks, such as SOLVIT, which addresses problems arising from misapplication of internal market rules by national authorities, and FIN-NET – an out-of-court network for financial services.
Main findings
In 2008 most complaints tackled by ECCs concerned the following sectors: transport (33 %), recreational services (25 %) and hotels and restaurants (13 %). In the transport sector, 80 % of problems concerned air transport (delays, cancellation, luggage problems). In general, the bulk of complaints relate to dissatisfaction with products or services – 25 % (defects – 44 %, non-conformity with the order – 30 %, unsafe products – 9 %). The second most common problem concerned delivery – 18% (delayed – 15 %, partial delivery 7 %). The third most common problem concerned contract terms – 16 % (rescission of contract – 60 %, cooling-off period not respected – 21%). 47 % of complaints concerned online purchases, and 24 % concerned other distance selling methods such as mail orders (15 % more than in 2007). |
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