Consumer's Telegram May 2016

Insert of n. 34 - Editorial office: Centro Europeo Consumatori (European Consumer Centre, Bolzano - Italy)


E-COMMERCE

Online Ticket Purchase for Sports Events... Beware of Tempting Offers!

Sport fills people with enthusiasm! However, one should not be dazzled by enthusiasm because forged tickets and spurious outlets are waiting! Here you will find some tipps by the European Consumer's Centre – office Bolzano/Bozen – in order to avoid unpleasant surprises: Print out a copy of your records of the booking process records and keep them or save the appropriate screenshots. One must be distrustful of last-minute-tickets offers and of so callad secondary ticketing. Furthermore, one must only buy from official sites and pay tickets by credit card. ECC Germany provides all need-to-know for consumers about Euro 2016.
More information is offered by the European Consumer's Centre – office Bolzano/Bozen.


E-COMMERCE

Credit Card Payment for Online Purchase – Proposals for Legal Changes

An increasing number of consumers uses the internet for their purchases and pay by credit card. Consumer advisors conclude that online payment by credit card need more protection. Since now Italian law has provided a refund of the money to the cardholder in only two cases: Unlawful deductions and lawful but incorrectly executed deductions from the credit card.
Therefore, the European Consumer's Centre Bolzano/Bozen and the European Consumer's Centre had elaborated jointly a proposal for statutory change and presented it to the responsible Ministry for Economic Affairs and Finance. If this proposal is accepted, in future the consumer paying by credit card will be able to claim refund also in case of non-delivery of an already payed good or service within an agreed date. In case of bankruptcy of the company the consumer will be able to insist on chargeback, that is the refund through the credit card company. More information you will find here.


E-COMMERCE

Reducing Roaming Charges

The European Union has been aiming a realisation of the internal market in the field of telecommunication to protect consumers from exorbitant mobile phone fees since years. Since 30 April roaming charges have been reduced in order to abolish them completely from 15 June 2017 onwards. Raoming means that the consumer uses the net of a foreign mobile phone provider. More information and advice you will find on the homepage of the European Consumer's Centre Bolzano/Bozen.


Case of the Month
For the first time in his life Mister M. decides to go on holiday by plane together with his beloved four-legged companion. It is not a large animal but a lapdog for whom a small cage and an appropriate flight ticket would do. Mister M. orders the tickets for the whole family: Wife, son and dog. He uses the possibility to perform an online check-in for saving time. However, as soon as he finds himself at the departure gate, the ground staff of the Spanish airline tells him that online check-in is not possible. Mister M. is wondering why this possiblity was granted at all and sends a complaint to the airline demanding a refund of the ticket and all other expenses that were caused returning back home and renewing the ticket for the dog the next day (this time without any online-check-in!). The airline was prepared for refunding the ticket but not the further expenses.