Both the European Consumer Centre Finland and the Consumer Advisory Services of the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority have received consumer contacts from the Rekki.fi service, which sells and purchases second-hand clothes. Some 40 complaints were received by the European Consumer Centre Finland during the autumn. The complaints concern undelivered orders and the fact that the company has not provided consumers with the money for the products that consumers have sold through the company’s website. The company has not been willing to negotiate matters with the European Consumer Centre Finland.
The Rekki.fi service was previously Finnish-owned, but it is now backed by an Estonian company called Upty Nordic OÜ. In cooperation with the European Consumer Centre in Estonia, we sent a request for a reply to the company in October. However, the company has not responded to contacts from our network, which means that consumer complaints are not resolved through mediation.
Some consumer complaints have been referred to the Estonian dispute resolution body. The dispute resolution body makes recommendations for resolving disputes between consumers and traders. If the company does not comply with the decision of the body, the company is placed on the black list of the Estonian consumer authority.
Instructions for consumers
- Submit a written complaint to the company.
- If the company does not reply to you and you have paid for your order with a payment card, ask your credit card company or bank whether compensation can be claimed through them by virtue of creditor’s liability under the Consumer Protection Act. In the case of a debit card payment, check the terms and conditions of your own bank to see whether you have a similar right based on them. If you have selected an invoice or instalment as the payment method, contact your payment intermediary.
- If you are unable to make a card claim or turn to the payment intermediary, or if the company has not paid you the money for the products you have sold, you can wait for a later press release from the European Consumer Centre Finland on the progress of processing the matter in the Estonian dispute resolution body.
- If you do not participate in the proceedings in an Estonian dispute resolution body or do not want to wait for our subsequent press release, you can initiate the European order for payment procedure in the Helsinki District Court. The procedure is used for the recovery of financial claims from another EU country and is fully written and does not require a court presence. More information on the procedure is available from the European Consumer Centre Finland and its website: ecc.fi/en/our-services/court-proceedings-in-cross-border-trade-consumer-disputes/.
Our telephone services are available on 029 505 3090 Mon – Thu 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., and you can also use the online service at ecc.fi/en/our-services.
The European Consumer Centre Finland has also informed the Consumer Ombudsman of its observations, as Rekki.fi operates in Finnish and directs its services to Finns.