Consumer's Telegram May 2023
Insert of n. 38 - Editorial office: Centro Europeo Consumatori (European Consumer Centre Italy - Bolzano office)TRAVEL
Passport, visas, vaccinations & Co.
Did you know that anyone wishing to enter the United States still needs to be vaccinated against Covid? And that to enter a lot of countries you need a passport valid for at least 6 months longer than the duration of the trip itself? And that a trip to the UK will soon require not only a passport but also an electronic entry permit available against payment of a fee? If you decide to organise your holiday yourself, do not forget to inform yourself in good time about the various provisions for travelling, such as passport requirements, visas, necessary insurance, compulsory vaccinations and other formalities. For more information.TRAVEL
ECC Italy provides a guide to more environmentally friendly tourism
Living sustainably and consciously. Reduce your carbon footprint. Contribute to climate protection. It is a need for many. But how to reconcile this need with the need for travel, holidays and relaxation? A dilemma that is by no means easy to answer. The European Consumer Centre (ECC) Italy tries to give some suggestions on how to make one's travel habits more sustainable.E-COMMERCE
Beware of online scams
Online scammers often have it easy: they invent a plausible false identity and often manage to get paid several hundred, and sometimes thousands of Euros, by unsuspecting consumers who think they are in contact with real sellers of designer clothes, real brokers of financial products, real owners of flats to rent, and then disappear into thin air. Before accepting an offer, passing on personal data or making advance payments, it is always important to check who you are entering into this contractual relationship with, whether you know all the necessary contact details of the seller and whether you are dealing with a company or a private individual. Read on the ECC website what else to look out for.CASE OF THE MONTH
In March 2021, an Italian consumer purchased an audio speaker from a German online shop. In September 2021, problems arose with the product and the consumer complained in writing to the seller, as required by law. The seller demanded the return of the item, repaired it and sent it back to the consumer. After a few months, the same defects reappeared. The consumer contacted the company again, which repaired the loudspeaker a second time. Finally, in November 2022, it was found to be faulty for the third time. Since the two previous repair attempts had failed, this time the consumer asked the seller for a new device or a refund of the purchase price. The seller, however, would not hear of it. The consumer therefore turned to the European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net) to assert her rights under the legal guarantee (replacement or refund). The company was convinced by the arguments of ECC Germany and refunded the purchase price to the consumer.