The Internet Ombudsman reported on Wednesday that out-of-court dispute resolution has proven to be a useful tool for settling disputes related to online shopping, especially when it comes to low values. In 2022, exactly 3164 cases were handled there, ten percent more than the year before. Top cases are disputes about the statutory right of withdrawal, missing deliveries and warranty issues.
8738 submissions were submitted to the team, in exactly 3164 out-of-court dispute resolutions between consumers and businesses were carried out. In 4,617 cases, the Internet Ombudsman advised consumers on specific problems or legal issues related to online shopping and the use of digital media.
The reasons for complaints in 2022 are no longer exclusively related to the classic purchase of goods: this still accounts for half of complaints, services such as travel bookings, courses and dating platforms (33 percent) as well as digital services such as social media platforms and streaming. However, services and hosting (17 percent) are catching up.
Consumer Protection Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens): “Online shopping, using streaming offers or buying services on the Internet are already part of everyday life for most Austrians. This brings many new challenges for consumer protection. From the fake store to the subscription trap, there’s a lot to consider. The Internet Ombudsman and the Watchlist Internet are making an increasingly important contribution to digital consumer protection in Austria.”
Source: Krone
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