The European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net) celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The system provides assistance in around 130,000 cross-border consumer cases across Europe every year – and the Hungarian centre has already handled 21,000 reports since it was launched, recovering a total of 620 million forints for consumers.
The Hungarian European Consumer Centre (ECC) has been operating within the National Trade and Consumer Protection Authority since 2006. The service supports Hungarian consumers free of charge if they have a dispute with companies operating in other EU countries, Norway, Iceland or – due to the remaining cooperation – in the United Kingdom. The center also provides complaint management, legal support and foreign language assistance, in cooperation with foreign partner organizations when necessary.
The majority of reports are related to e-commerce, online services, airlines, car rentals and hotel reservations. 60% of Hungarian consumer complaints are successfully resolved, which is an outstanding rate in the handling of cross-border cases.
The center also provides personalized advice in 3,500–4,000 cases per year to consumers who have purchased or booked services in non-EU countries – such as China, Switzerland or the United States.
According to the NKFH statement, the goal remains for Hungarian consumers to feel safe when shopping and traveling abroad. The EFK is continuously available at www.magyarefk.hu.
