Cross-Border Shopping Gone Wrong? How Europe’s Consumer Centres Help – 135,000 Cases a Year
E-commerce & Digital Fairness · Based on the data from the Consumer Conditions Scoreboard 2025
When a cross-border purchase goes wrong, many consumers do not know where to turn. The European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net) exists exactly for this. This InfoCons Consumer Protection guide explains what it does and what its data reveal about online shopping problems.
InfoCons Consumer Protection Explains: What the ECC-Net Is
The European Consumer Centres Network gives EU residents free advice about their rights when shopping or travelling in another EU country, Norway or Iceland. It can also step in to help resolve disputes with traders based in another country. In 2024 it handled more than 135,000 consumer queries, the large majority – 73.4% – related to online purchases.
Source: ECC-Net. Based on the data from the Consumer Conditions Scoreboard 2025.
InfoCons Consumer Protection – More Cases Becoming Formal Complaints
The share of e-commerce queries that the centres escalate into a formal complaint to the trader has risen steadily – from 17.7% in 2020 to 22.8% in 2024. This suggests that online disputes are becoming harder to resolve with a simple piece of advice, and more often need formal action.
InfoCons Consumer Protection – Rising share of e-commerce queries escalated to a formal complaint. Based on the data from the Consumer Conditions Scoreboard 2025.
InfoCons Consumer Protection – What People Complain About: A Changing Picture
The kinds of problems people bring to the centres have shifted since 2020:
- Passenger transport – down from 30.4% to 21.7%
- Guarantees and warranties – up from 9.5% to 16.2%
- Contract terms – up from 8.6% to 13.7%
InfoCons Consumer Protection – How the nature of e-commerce queries changed, 2024 vs 2020. Based on the data from the Consumer Conditions Scoreboard 2025.
InfoCons Consumer Protection – Transport Down, Guarantees and Contracts Up
Complaints about passenger transport fell sharply as travel returned to normal after the pandemic. Meanwhile, problems with guarantees and warranties, and with contract terms, grew in importance – a sign that disputes over faulty goods and unclear contracts are an increasing concern for online shoppers.
InfoCons Consumer Protection – What This Means for You as a Consumer
If a cross-border purchase inside the EU, Norway or Iceland goes wrong and the trader will not help, you do not have to give up. InfoCons Consumer Protection encourages consumers to keep all order and contract details, contact the trader in writing first, and then turn to the European Consumer Centre in their country for free assistance. Knowing this service exists is half the battle.
Signature: InfoCons Consumer Protection Department