Title: Mediation a Key to Increasing Consumer Rights Protection Author: Marijana Loncar–Velkova, MPPM, President, Consumer Organization of Macedonia
АМ: Do you think Macedonia’s consumer protection framework creates legal uncertainty for both consumers and businesses?
MLV: Consumer Protection legislation in its essence is quite dynamic, constantly evolving and covering many areasincluding those regulated by the Law on Obligations,the Law on Consumer Protection and other specialized laws (e.g., legislation on product safety, food safety, data protection, financial services, travel package, telecommunication services, e-commerce, public services at the national and local level). Experiences in this area suggest that the Consumer Protection requires further harmonization with EU’s consumer protection legislation. . Parallel to this process, it is necessary to connect and harmonize legislation on a national level, defining the responsibilities of institutions that are responsible to implement and enforce these legislation, which would create better legal environment and certainty both for consumers and businesses. Insufficiently regulated consumer rights give space to companies to make their own rules, which are not always to the advantage of consumers, and then problems often arise in such cases.
AM: You have been a proponent of mediation as the best method to settle most consumer rights-related disputes. How do you envision this functioning?
MLV: If alternative (amicable) dispute settlement (ADR) would fully function, it bring possibility to faster, simpler, cheaper and more efficient dispute resolution between consumers and companies, since it would bring out of court dispute settlement resolution. For this reason, the new EU Directive on ADR should be transposed into Macedonian legislation as soon as possible. This Directive applies to disputes solving between consumers and companies with respect to the sale of goods and/or services in all economic sectors, whether the purchase is made on- or offline. We also believe that even now consumers should be encouraged to use mediation in their disputes with companies (since this is already regulated by the Law on Mediation). Consumers often decide against going to court against companies, since they believe that their chances of winning are too small. If promoted properly, mediation could allow consumers to avoid costly and long lasting court proceedings and to be quickly compensated. This is especially recommended for larger groups of consumers who want to protect their collective rights with respect to the same company or group of companies.
AM: How do you assess the current legal framework’s coverage of consumer protection in public services?
MLV: One part of the Law on Consumer Protection already regulates public services. Our research shows that the Law needs to more clearly define: • What is meant by “public services”; • The rights of vulnerable consumer groups; and • The obligations of public service providers.
A new Law on Consumer Protection is planned for 2017. The new law will certainly have to set minimum standards for resolving complaints by consumers submitted to the companies and to provide an obligation for service providers to keep statistics of consumer complaints they receive, the status and outcome of proceedings, as well as options for ADR with consumers.
AM: In your opinion, are international companies helping raise consumer protection practices in Macedonia? Please elaborate.
MLV: Foreign companies entering our market are well-versed in the issues concerning consumer rights protection and they bring and apply positive experiences with the aim of increasing sales and satisfied customers. The entry of foreign companies in our market contributes to the development of new production methods, new standards and ways of managing companies, creating product lines aligned with developed markets and consumer rights, thus increase consumer expectations with respect to product and services quality.