Frequently asked questions about our services

We provide information on cross-border trade issues and assist in finding an amicable solution in individual disputes where the seller is located outside Finland but within the EU, Norway, Iceland or the United Kingdom.

Our service is intended for all EU citizens who have made purchases as consumers in the EU outside of Finland. The goods or services must therefore have been purchased for private consumption.

We can help consumers deal with individual problems, while supervisory authorities oversee the general lawfulness of business practices, including contractual terms. In Finland, the Consumer Ombudsman is responsible for the general oversight of lawfulness.

We aim to promote reaching a settlement between the parties. Rulings binding on the parties may only be issued by a court of law.

We deal with individual complaints concerning cross-border consumer trade.
On EU issues like this, you can find information and advice instead of us on the YourEurope website and advisory service.

We do not. If an EU citizen encounters difficulties with authorities in another country that misapply EU laws, they can contact the SOLVIT network.

At the European Consumer Centre, we cannot promote such contacts.

Explore EU citizens’ channels of influence in the EU:

 

European Citizens’ Initiative

Complaints and appeals options in the EU

The processing of your case at the European Consumer Centre is free of charge.

If the form does not work, you can e-mail us at ECCNET-FI@ec.europa.eu or call us on 029 505 3090, Mon–Thu 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

3 to 4 months on average if the counterparty is reached. During holidays, processing times are longer.

We will inform you of the steps in the process by e-mail or phone.

The clarifications required vary by subject group, but we usually need an order confirmation, a payment receipt and a complaint sent to the seller and their response that you have received. For flight complaints, we also need copies of flight tickets and a passenger complaint form. Never attach original documents to your complaint but always keep them for yourself.

You cannot. You can initiate your complaint at the European Consumer Centre either by using an online form, by phone or by e-mail.

You cannot, because we will strive for a settlement in your case. In this work, we use our contact points in other EU member states.

The matter will be taken up for processing within five working days of its arrival. Often we will ask you for further clarification. However, as a rule, we do not directly contact the other party. Instead, we will investigate your matter with the foreign company through a local ECC office. If necessary, a local case handler will contact the counterparty. This approach is an integral part of our system and is based on the guidelines set out for our network by the European Commission, which partly finances our activities.

If you have made a payment with a credit card, you may, under certain conditions, require a refund from the credit company pursuant to chapter 7, section 39 of the Consumer Protection Act. Typical situations covered by this regulation include those in which the goods or service paid have not been delivered or the product is defective, and the seller for some reason has not responded to your complaint. In addition, according to most banks’ contractual terms, similar principles are also observed in debit card payments.

Our expert will find out if an alternative dispute resolution body is available in the target country that could deal with your complaint, and provide guidance on how to proceed. If you want a binding decision on the matter, you can consider launching a small claims legal process against a company in another member state at the Helsinki District Court. However, Denmark is outside these schemes. A prerequisite for the small claims legal process is that your claim does not exceed €5,000. The processing is affordable and very fast. However, the enforcement of the rulings has proved problematic in practice. The European Consumer Centre cannot assist in the legal process in question. Instead, the consumer will initiate the proceedings independently.

The European Consumer Centre does not provide advice or investigation in cases of gambling aimed at Finland without a licence. Betting and gambling are regulated by the Lotteries Act in Finland and assigned to Veikkaus Oy as of 1 January 2017, whose statutory task is to implement gambling safely and responsibly.

If you have purchased the item online or otherwise have the terms and conditions of delivery of the seller, refer to them for help in case of an error. File a complaint with the seller without delay and state your claim on how you would like the fault to be remedied. If you have paid by credit card, make a claim to your credit card company. For possible investigation, please visit the US Better Business Bureau website at www.bbb.org. Search the site for a Better Business Bureau in the seller’s locality. The Finnish consumer protection system cannot help in these situations. You can report companies operating inappropriately to an international database monitored by the consumer authorities at www.eConsumer.gov.

The activities of the network of European Consumer Centres extend only to EU countries, Norway, Iceland and the United Kingdom. We cannot use reconciliation to help with matters concerning sellers outside our area of activity. If you paid for the purchase with a credit card, contact your bank for a refund. Similar protection may also be provided for debit card payments depending on the bank or card. Read our newsletter story about Chinese online stores.