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Summaries of EU Legislation

Alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes

SUMMARY OF:

Directive 2013/11/EU on alternative resolutions for disputes between traders and consumers

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE DIRECTIVE?

  • Directive 2013/11/EU ensures that European Union (EU) consumers can submit their contractual disputes with an EU trader1 or, under certain conditions, with a trader established outside the EU over a product or service to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) entity ‒ a recognised body whose role is to resolve disputes by means of ADR procedures, i.e. without going to court.
  • Following the transposition of the amendments (Directive (EU) 2025/2647), consumers will be also able to submit complaints against traders established outside the EU (under certain conditions), and over the broader set of consumer contracts.
  • The directive sets out binding quality requirements for ADR entities and procedures to ensure aspects such as transparency, independence, fairness and effectiveness. Compliance is ensured by the national competent authorities designated by EU Member States.
  • Member States decide on fees, whether participation in ADR is voluntary or mandatory for the traders and whether the outcomes are binding or not.
  • Traders who are obliged to use or committed to using ADR must inform the consumers accordingly, especially when a dispute cannot be settled bilaterally.
  • New ADR contact points in the future will assist consumers and traders in cross-border ADR disputes.
  • The European Commission manages the multilingual Consumer Redress Portal, which aims to provide information on available redress mechanisms.
  • The review of the ADR Directive aims to boost consumer trust and trader participation in ADR and to keep ADR as an effective option to resolve consumer disputes in the digital age.

KEY POINTS

  • Member States must ensure that all contractual disputes that arise from the sale of goods or the provision of services ‒ between consumers residing in the EU and traders established in the EU or traders established outside the EU who direct their activities towards a Member State ‒ can be submitted to an ADR entity. It applies to both online and offline sales and services.
  • The goal of this directive is to ensure the proper functioning of the EU’s single market.
  • Member States must have measures in place to promote the participation of traders and consumers in ADR procedures.
  • ADR offers consumers an affordable, simple and fast way of resolving disputes, such as when a trader refuses to repair a product or to provide a refund to which a consumer is entitled.
  • ADR procedures may also cover disputes relating to contractual obligations arising before a contract is concluded or after a contract has ended.
  • ADR entities involve a neutral party, such as a mediator, ombudsman or complaints board, that attempts to resolve the dispute through an ADR procedure. Depending on the form of ADR procedure that a given ADR entity employs, the neutral party can either:
    • propose or impose a solution; or
    • bring the parties together to help them find a solution.
  • All ADR entities must meet binding quality requirements, guaranteeing that they operate in an effective, fair, independent and transparent way.
  • Each Member State must designate one or several competent authorities, which have national oversight over ADR entities and ensure their compliance with the quality requirements. The competent authorities establish national lists of ADR entities and notify them to the Commission. Competent authorities are to submit a national ADR report on the application of ADR in their Member State to the Commission every four years.
  • Traders who agree or are obliged to use ADR must inform consumers about ADR on their websites and in their general terms and conditions in a clear, prominent and easily accessible manner. They must also inform consumers about ADR when a dispute cannot be settled directly between the consumer and the trader.
  • When a dispute is referred to an ADR entity, traders are obliged to inform the ADR entity (duty to reply) within a specified time limit on whether they agree to participate in the ADR procedure, unless their participation is mandatory.
  • Member States must ensure that ADR entities allow consumers to access inclusive ADR procedures in a digital or non-digital format and, where automated means are used in the ADR decision-making process, inform the parties in advance and allow them to request a review by a natural person.
  • ADR entities may, under conditions laid down in national law, bundle similar disputes against the same trader.
  • In the interest of transparency, Member States must ensure that ADR entities’ websites provide clear and understandable information. This includes contact details and the types of disputes that these entities can deal with, along with costs and the average length and legal effect of the outcome of the ADR procedure. ADR entities must also make publicly available on their websites regular activity reports containing information on the disputes that they have handled.
  • ADR entities must cooperate in the resolution of cross-border disputes within the EU. Member States are to designate national ADR contact points to provide customised assistance to consumers and traders in cross-border disputes.
  • The Commission is to make available a user-friendly digital tool by April 2026 that provides information on consumer redress and access to ADR, including lists of ADR entities and ADR contact points.
  • This directive applies to all market sectors, with the exception of health and higher education.

FROM WHEN DO THE RULES APPLY?

The directive had to be transposed into national law by .

Amending Directive (EU) 2025/2647 has to be transposed into national law by . The rules contained in the amending directive should apply from .

BACKGROUND

For further information, see:

KEY TERMS

  1. Trader. A person or business that sells a product or service.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Directive 2013/11/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes and amending Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 and Directive 2009/22/EC (Directive on consumer ADR) (OJ L 165, , pp. 63‒79).

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