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PRESS RELEASE
Brussels, 14 April 2014
Co-ordinated enforcement action leads to greater compliance with Consumer Rights on travel websites
In a concerted action by national consumer authorities co-ordinated by the European Commission an astonishing 382 out of 552 websites checked in 2013 did not respect European consumer law. As a result of vigorous enforcement action, 62% of the websites checked are now treating consumers as they should. The remaining 38% can expect further action against them as European authorities continue work to ensure that consumer rights are fully respected. "One in three internet users in the European Union book travel and accommodation on line. They deserve to know that an on-line booking is safe and reliable. Of the 552 travel websites we checked, 62% are now in line with EU consumer legislation, thanks to the joint efforts of Member States and the Commission. I will not rest until consumers' rights are fully respected and will seek to use the existing structures to achieve this." said EU Commissioner for Consumer Policy, Neven Mimica. Concerted screenings (also known as "sweeps") of websites are regularly coordinated by the European Commission and carried out by national enforcement authorities, to identify breaches of consumer law and to subsequently ensure its enforcement. In summer 2013, national authorities checked websites selling air travel and hotel accommodation, including websites of both traders and intermediaries. A total 552 websites were checked, Following checks and verification, national authorities found a total of 382 websites to be non-compliant with EU consumer law, while only 31% of the websites checked complied with EU rules. National authorities subsequently either contacted national companies which run the non-compliant websites in order to bring them in line with EU consumer law or for companies from other Member States asked the assistance of the competent Member State,. To date, 173 websites have been corrected, bringing the total number of compliant websites up to 62% of the total websites checked. 209 websites are subject to ongoing proceedings, including 52 commitments by traders to correct their websites.
IP/14/436
A lack of clear instructions on how to complain. 157 websites (28%) did not provide this information. Optional price supplements, such as baggage fee, insurance fee, priority boarding, are not on an opt-in basis. This problem occurred with 133 websites (24%). The total price of the service is not indicated up-front when the main elements of the booking are first displayed. 112 websites (20%) failed to give this information.
Background
A "sweep" is an EU-wide screening of websites, to identify breaches of consumer law and to subsequently ensure its enforcement. The sweep is coordinated by the European Commission and run simultaneously by national enforcement authorities based on the provisions of the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) regulation. The Travel Services Sweep took place in 27 EU Member States1, Norway and Iceland in June 2013. The "enforcement phase" is still on-going. This was the 7th sweep since 2007. Websites offering air travel and accommodation or both were checked; a website offering both services was counted twice. A growing percentage of European citizens purchase travel services online: in 2012, 32% of European consumers with access to internet booked air tickets or a hotel online (Eurostat data e-shopping survey 2012). Travel, tourism and related sectors account for roughly 10% of EU GDP. European citizens made in 2011 more than 1 billion holiday trips, out of which nearly 80% in the EU.
Croatia did not participate in this sweep, as the screening phase (June 2013) took place prior to its accession to the EU.
Contacts : David Hudson (+32 2 296 83 35) Andreana Stankova (+32 2 295 78 57) For the public: Europe Direct by phone 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 or by e-mail
Travel services sweep Country Websites checked2 Websites already compliant Websites with confirmed irregularities
6 17 0 10 9 3 9 10 33 14 8 3 10 21 8 12 5 6 7 40 4 5 4 7 7 12 24 14 74
Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom
9 28 17 14 14 10 11 10 33 33 10 8 10 26 17 12 16 11 10 41 32 17 10 10 9 14 32 14 74
3 11 17 4 5 7 2 0 0 19 2 5 0 5 9 0 11 5 3 1 28 12 6 3 2 2 8 0 0
Total
552
170
382
343
209
62%
Websites offering air travel and accommodation or both were checked; a website offering both services was counted twice. After the initial check 6 websites discontinued their operations and no longer exist: Cyprus 3, Poland 2, Slovakia 1.