MEPs approve new ways to settle increasingly frequent disputes over internet sales and avoid costly and lengthy court proceedings.

Online shopping disputes

At the European Consumer Centre  in Kehl in Germany,

a fresh case has just landed  on the legal desk.

A French consumer  of a dating agency based in Germany

has just been charged roughly 25 times  the 8 euros he was expecting,

probably the result, they think here,  of online automated payment systems.

Unfortunately, the consumer is usually  the weak part of the contract.

and if they do not receive  the product they bought

they have to do something  if they lost their money.

least of all over goods or services  bought from unknown traders online

The path to redress can be long,  bitter and costly.

More and more people buy online  and as a logical consequence,

it's not because traders are always bad,

but logically, statistically,  there are also more disputes.

But we have no common ground  concerning dispute resolution in Europe.

Two measures strengthening procedures  for consumers were passed by the EP.

One, Alternative Dispute Resolution,  helps avoid recourse to the courts

helps aggrieved consumers register  and manage complaints online,

Róża Thun has been steering  this part through Parliament.

Here we will have mediation.  No winner, no loser, no fight really.

It's a completely new attitude.  Friendlier, faster, cheaper.

Back at the European Consumer Centre,  it means a heavier workload,

but an advance in their work  fighting for consumers.

We are completely helpless  if they have to deal with fraudsters.

The advice is just to take care  to whom you are giving your money.

Usually all these offers  are just too good to be true.

Pending final agreement  with the states,

the new systems are expected to come into  operation within around a year and a half.