Consumer's Telegram July/August 2023

Insert of n. 54 - Editorial office: Centro Europeo Consumatori (European Consumer Centre Italy - Bolzano office)
SUMMER HOLIDAYS 2023

The ECC Alongside Travellers

The summer of 2022 was marked by chaos in the aviation sector, with numerous cancellations, delays and baggage problems. This year will hopefully see a gradual normalisation of services in the sector, but it does not hurt to remember that consumers travelling in the EU benefit from a high level of protection of their rights as travellers: in the event of cancellations, delays and lost or damaged luggage, you may be entitled to compensation or damages. As always, the European Consumer Centre Italy (ECC) is at travellers' side this year again to assert their rights and clarify doubts in travel matters. For more information.

RAIL PASSENGER RIGHTS

What's New?

Regulation (EU) 2021/782 came into force last 7th June, replacing Regulation (EU) 2007/1371 and regulates the rights and obligations of rail passengers, making the previously applicable rules more detailed and clearer. For example, passengers continue to be entitled to compensation for delays of 60 minutes or more. Until now, this compensation was due regardless of the circumstances leading to the delay. With the new regulation, the European legislator has introduced circumstances that do not oblige carriers to provide compensation. These include extreme weather conditions, severe natural disasters and serious health crises, as well as the fault of the passenger and the behaviour of third parties. However, a strike of the personnel of the carrier is explicitly excluded as an exempting circumstance. Consequently, in the event of a staff strike, the carrier is still liable to pay compensation.
Further information on the changes is available on the ECC website.

ADR

The Dispute Settlement offered by the Transport Regulatory Authority (ART)

For some time now, it has been possible to resolve disputes relating to the rights of rail, ship, bus, and air passengers free of charge - via the ConciliaWeb platform - by asserting one‘s claims through ART conciliation. Consumers can request conciliation from the Authority only if they have already submitted a complaint to the economic operator (airline, railway, shipping company, or bus). If within 30 days the consumer has not received a reply from the economic operator, or the reply received is deemed unsatisfactory, they may submit a petition to the ART conciliation service. Beware, however: the conciliation request is not admissible if the dispute can be resolved before another conciliation body that complies with the requirements of the Consumer Code, which does not provide for any charges to be borne by consumers. For further information.

CASE OF THE MONTH
An Italian consumer had received a request from the Austrian motorway operator to pay the replacement toll in the amount of EUR 120. However, the consumer was convinced that she had done nothing wrong and turned to the ECC for help. She had paid the toll in the form of a sticker (the vignette commonly used in Austria) and had applied it to the inside of the windscreen in a clearly visible position, completely removing the backing film. The vignette was valid for one year and rather expensive, but despite the consumer's complaint, the motorway operator initially insisted on payment. The reason: remnants of previous stickers were still present on the windscreen. This was the case, however the remains of the previous stickers did not prevent the sticker from being readable. Following the intervention of the European Consumer Centres Network in this case, the motorway operator dropped the payment request.