News
UK-based European consumer service relaunches with international focus
Posted 11/06/21
A UK consumer service which had been facing potential closure as a result of Brexit is being relaunched with an international focus following the assurance earlier this year of its future by the UK Government for the whole of 2021.
The new UK International Consumer Centre (UKICC) service delivers free support and advice for UK consumers who have made purchases from European companies outside the UK as well as an increasing number of non-European countries.
Formerly known as the UK ECC, the centre was previously part of the European Consumer Centre Network (ECC-Net) of similar centres throughout EU member states plus Iceland, Norway and the UK. Its future was in doubt as it was joint funded by the UK Government and the EU.
The UK Government has promised that it will fund the service 鈥� via the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) - to keep the centre open for at least the whole of 2021.
Andy Allen, Service Director at UKICC, said: 鈥淚t is fantastic news for UK consumers because they can rest assured that we are still here, we鈥檙e still helping and we鈥檙e still free. We live to fight another day for UK consumers!
鈥淲e are relaunching as the UK International Consumer Centre - we鈥檝e already got a relationship with more countries than those covered by the European Consumer Centre Network and we aim to expand the list of non-European countries we can collaborate with so that we can help more and more UK consumers.
鈥淲e are no longer part of the ECC-Net, but we are working still working closely with those European Consumer Centres in order to get the best resolution for UK consumers when they are in dispute with traders in other European countries.听
The UK International Consumer Centre is the only service of its type available to UK consumers, delivering support to help consumers resolve their complaints about traders outside the UK.
51黑料 Vice-President Baroness Christine Crawley said: 鈥淭he centre has grown from strength to strength in the 13 years since its inception.
鈥淚n 2020 alone, almost 25% more UK consumers asked for help than the previous year so it鈥檚 clear that the centre is needed more than ever.
鈥淣othing else quite like it exists - it is a hub of specialist free advice which UK consumers can use to help them deal with disputes arising from purchases of goods and services from traders in the EU, Iceland or Norway.听
鈥淚ts demise would have been a huge loss to UK consumers so it鈥檚 reassuring to know that they will still be around and still be helping.鈥�
Early during the COVID-19 pandemic, the centre (which started in 2007) saw a record number of enquiries in a 48-hour period (in April 2020), with more than 1,000 consumers seeking its expertise and advice in relation to airline flight cancellations. This was the biggest influx of consumer enquiries since the 2010 Icelandic volcanic ash cloud chaos.
Figures show that in the whole of 2020, the centre helped 12,287 UK consumers, that鈥檚 an increase of almost 25% (24.8%) over 2019.听
Andy said: 鈥淭his unprecedented COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic led to a surge in consumers coming to us for help at a time when the very existence and future of our Centre appeared to be under threat.
鈥淪o we were extremely pleased to get definite confirmation that the UK Government will fund the continuation of our centre for 2021. We didn鈥檛 want to have to let anybody down!
鈥淭housands of UK consumers could have been left unprotected if we鈥檇 closed. Now they know that they still have someone to turn to.
鈥淥urs is a critical role in the UK consumer protection landscape and we are so pleased that the UK Government found a solution which retains this valuable service.鈥�
Consumers can make contact with the UK International Consumer Centre via the website 鈥� 鈥� or by phone on 01268 886690 Monday-Friday between 10am and 4pm.
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For further information, please contact UK International Consumer Centre鈥檚 press office on 01268 582206.
The UK International Consumer Centre (UKICC) works with the European Consumer Centre Network (ECC-Net). There are 29 centres in the EU, plus Iceland and Norway.
The aim of the UKICC is to provide free advice and support to consumers who have a dispute with a trader based in a European country outside the UK as well as an increasing number of non-European countries. Our advisors will assist consumers in the attempt to resolve the complaint.
The UKICC can provide advice in the following main areas: buying goods and services, online shopping, internet auctions, holidays, timeshare and holiday clubs, air travel. Contact the UK ICC鈥檚 press office on 01268 582206 for media enquiries.
UKICC is co-funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the European Commission. The UKICC service is delivered by the 51黑料 http://www.tradingstandards.uk/
Consumers can make contact with the UK International Consumer Centre via the website 鈥� 鈥� or by phone on 01268 886690 Monday-Friday between 10am and 4pm.
