What is ODR?

ODR means online dispute resolution or it is the most modern type of ADR based on modern technical means.

In Bulgaria, the only web-based ODR systems are those of the European Union and NAIS's own electronic platform.

NAIS resolves consumer disputes in both systems.

Online platform of NAIS- nais.bg

NAIS has created an electronic platform especially and solely for Bulgarian consumers and traders, in which quickly, conveniently, easily, from anywhere in the country and at any time, the disputing parties can participate in resolving the dispute between them. For this to happen, both parties need to register with it. It is possible for a user to register a trader himself, if they want to file a complaint to one who has not yet registered in the NAIS platform.

In the NAIS platform, countries can find a solution in two ways, for which two separate modules have been developed. One way is direct negotiations and the other is mediation. It is also possible for the parties to first try to agree directly and then, if they are unable to come to a win-won solution, to switch to mediation, by pressing the START MEDIATION button. The communication is done via chat, and for each new event in the system, the parties receive an email notification.

The deadline for concluding the direct negotiations is 30 days, and for mediation 90 days from its start. In case any of these deadlines expires, the system automatically terminates the case. In direct negotiations, even if the deadline has expired, if the parties consider that they want to conduct mediation, they can start it at any time.

Important! In the online platform of NAIS, the Center for ADR NAIS considers disputes only in Bulgarian language, for Bulgarian citizens and companies. Consumers can file complaints via it only in Bulgarian in connection with purchases made both online and offline.

European Union online platform - ec.europa.eu/odr

The European Online Dispute Resolution Platform (ODR) is provided by the European Commission to ensure safer and fairer online shopping within the European Union. In it, any EU citizen can submit a complaint in their own language, in connection only with online purchases, to traders from all EU countries, as well as Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein.

In the EU ODR platform, consumers and traders can negotiate directly through messages. At any time, they may choose to turn to an ADR body to assist them in the negotiations. Traders indicate the local structure they want to contact and the consumer agrees or disagrees with the choice. The term for negotiating a body to consider the dispute is 30 days. The full list of local ADR structures can be found here.

The parties need to be registered in the system and the consumer can register the trader when filing a complaint, if the latter does not yet have an account in it.

If you are a trader, you can learn more about why the platform is important to you at this link. In case you don't have a registration in it, you can do it here.

Consumers who want to file a complaint against a trader on the platform can do so from this link.

Important! In the EU's online platform, ADR Center NAIS handles complaints only related to online purchases, in all European languages, including Norwegian and Icelandic, related cross-border and local disputes, i.e. the consumer and the trader may be from different countries.

Both systems allow the attachment and uploading of documents and send automatic notifications for new events to the email addresses of the parties.

And one more thing: In the EU's ODR platform, traders can submit complaints against consumers residing in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg or Poland.