One third of all complaints lodged at the European Consumer Centre in Sofia are connected with online shopping, followed by transportation and hotels. If we don’t know our rights as European consumers it is very easy to find ourselves in a situation that will cost us money but also a lot of nerves. There are consumer centres in every EU country, plus Iceland and Norway. It is them we should address if we think our rights have been breached and we can do that in any country of the EU. But do we know what we should do in such cases?

A problem may arise even with… curling irons purchased online. “We have had many interesting cases,” says Ignat Arsenov, Director of the European Consumer Centre in Sofia. Eighty percent of all complaints are lodged at the Centre by Bulgarian nationals, who have a problem with foreign dealers; the rest are by foreign nationals against Bulgarian tradesmen.

“One case in point is that of a Bulgarian consumer who decided to buy curling irons from a Romanian dealer online,” Arsenov says. “But once the irons were plugged in, they hardly heated up. The dealer refused to accept the commodity back for reasons of hygiene. We intervened and the woman returned the curling irons and was refunded. She was entitled to her money back within seven days. There was another case we handled – a Bulgarian consumer bought electrical appliances for his kitchen from a Polish dealer online. Upon delivery it transpired they were not exactly what he had expected. They fitted the description but he had got it wrong and they did not fit his kitchen. He wanted his money back but didn’t want to return the appliances for fear of being left without both. We advised him that there was no way he could get his money refunded if he did not return the goods within seven days. After negotiations with the dealer, the consumer returned the appliances and got his money back.”

There are quite a few complaints at the European Consumer Centre, connected with delayed or cancelled flights, damaged or lost luggage. Quick reaction and contacts with the airports’ complaints desk are a must – that is where lost luggage protocols are issued. If the luggage is not found within 21 days it is considered lost and the passenger must claim damages. If a flight is delayed, Ignat Arsenov says, consumers are entitled to two telephone calls free of charge. If the flight delay is more than two hours the airline company is obliged to provide hotel accommodation and consumers are entitled to an overnight stay, says Arsenov and adds:

“The airline company must redirect when the flight has been cancelled or when access to boarding the aircraft has been denied. Passengers must be offered another convenient flight, e.g. using another airline company whose flight is two hours later or on the following day. All this costs consumers nothing. If the passenger in question does not wish to fly on the next day or the day after, he or she can refuse the flight and get a refund. In such cases and under given circumstances consumers are entitled to compensations amounting to 250 to 600 euros, depending on the flight destination and the length of delay. Compensation is not due in two instances: first when the airline company has informed passengers 14 days prior to the flight and second, when the flight is delayed for objective reasons but not if the responsibility lies with the airline company – for example bad weather conditions, flight bans, strikes etc.”

Foreign citizens complain most often of the quality of the service offered when they are on holiday in Bulgaria – of the hotel conveniences, the hygiene or the services being below standard. Or in cases when a price higher than that when the booking was made is being demanded. Sometimes there may be a catch, Ignat Arsenov adds. There are cases of duplicate payment – the sums are withdrawn from the credit card once even though the consumer wants cash payment. The European Consumer Centre in Sofia is currently looking into a complaint lodged by a Latvian citizen who bought herb remedy products from a Bulgarian dealer. She paid using a credit card but never got the products.

English version: Milena Daynova