The European ODR platform would be an interactive website offering consumers and traders a single point of entry for out of court resolution of certain disputes – contractual disputes arising from the cross-border online sale of goods or the provision of services by a trader established in a Member State to a consumer resident in another Member State. The platform would be free of charge and available in all official languages of the EU.
The 92-page Report presents a number of proposed amendments. Among others, it intends to extend the scope of the draft ODR Regulation to make the ODR platform available to complaints filed not only by customers but also by traders, in cases of, for example, non-payment or refusal to accept delivery of goods. It is argued that while the scheme would be voluntary, it is essential to provide for incentives for traders to commit to ADR.
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