Shopping rights website launched

Complaints over goods and services bought abroad have risen

Charity Citizens Advice has launched a website to help shoppers who encounter problems with goods and services bought in another EU country.

The website will include a guide to consumer rights and tips on how to best get complaints resolved.

The launch follows a two-thirds rise in complaints received by Citizens Advice about goods and services bought abroad in the past year.

Timeshare and holiday clubs were the cause of four out of ten complaints.

Half the complaints related to goods or services bought on the trader's premises but the rest were on purchases made via the internet, fax or by phone.

According to the European Commission, some 12% of Europeans have bought goods or services from sellers in other EU member states with over half of these purchases made on holiday.

Ruth Bamford, manger of the European Consumer Centre, an advice network run by Citizens Advice said that problems with goods bought abroad were common.

"We think the problems seen by the European Consumer Centre are just the tip of the iceberg - many more consumers simply give up because they wrongly feel there's no redress once they've left the country concerned," Ms Bamford said.