NAIS and Bulgarian ECC were at a meeting in connection with the current situation with consumer ADR in Bulgaria

The meeting between the National Association for Out-of-Court Settlements and the European Consumer Center in Bulgaria took place on 16 March 2022. It is always a great pleasure for us to contact our colleagues from the European Consumer Center (ECC). Their extensive experience in resolving cross-border consumer disputes always has something to teach everyone interested in the subject.

We discussed the success of the alternative resolution of consumer disputes in general in Bulgaria, the interest in it as a procedure. We shared that there was a huge increase in disputes filed in its electronic system and by e-mail, but extremely low interest from traders to respond to the invitations of the complainants. At the same time, complaints submitted with the EU's online ODR platform are attracting more interest from traders and greater success in reaching agreements. Center for ADR NAIS has not refused to consider any case submitted as a complaint to their e-mail address or in any of the online platforms - nais.bg or the EU ODR.

The colleagues from the ECC shared that through their system for internal communication with the other ECCs of the EU passes 10 times more volume of cases compared to the ODR platform of the EU. They have over 70% successful dispute resolution. Congratulations for the great job!This shows that the ADR procedure is effective and really benefits both traders and consumers.

According to the colleagues from the EPC, most Bulgarian traders respond, but there are small companies that are more difficult to communicate, sometimes even to find, but these are extremely few cases.

We from NAIS shared that ADR in Bulgaria is still not very popular as a procedure for resolving consumer disputes. There is no motivation on the part of Bulgarian traders to participate in ADR, although they have been offered to test how it works for free. They prefer to respond to consumer complaints, but unfortunately, if no agreement is reached in direct negotiations, the complainant chooses to escalate the case to the CPC, which is a judicial body and then reconciliation is impossible and the risk of fines is huge. In the NAIS platform, if direct negotiations do not work, both parties can very easily and quickly, at the touch of a button, request the participation of a third party, a mediator, to help them resolve the dispute. This is a completely different and reasonable approach, preserving the relationship between the two parties, compared to the intervention of a judicial body, which is obliged to only refer and make inspections.

NAIS shared that ADR in Bulgaria is still not very popular as a procedure for resolving consumer disputes. Many traders to react to complains by consumers directly but unfortunately, in the absence of an agreement in direct negotiations, the complainant is sent to the CPC, which is a judicial body and then reconciliation is almost impossible and the risk of fines is huge.

The cooperation of NAIS with the ECC and the CPC in general has always been essential, we wish good health to our colleagues and still great energy to succeed in its mission to help consumers seek their rights and retailers to improve their practices.

If you are a Bulgarian consumer and want to file a complaint against a Bulgarian trader, you can do it completely free of charge in the online platform of the ADC Center nais.bg and negotiate with the trader there via chat. The rest of the EU citizens can do it in the ODR platform of the EU.

If you are a Bulgarian trader and you want to resolve disputes with your users fast easy and completely online, you can register as a trader in the online platform of NAIS on nais.bg - here.

Follow the News section of nais.bg for the latest in the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) between traders and consumers.

Published on 17.03.2022 Back to news