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Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Competence of the Consumer Complaint Committee

The Consumer Complaints Committee is an independent institution, which operates at the Estonian Consumer Protection Board and settles disputes between consumers and traders. Committee functions as the ADR, being competent to settle disputes arising from contracts between consumers and traders if the parties have not been able to settle the disputes by agreement and if the value of the disputed goods or services is at least 300 EEKs (ca 20 euros).

The Consumer Complaints Committee consists of a chairman of the committee and members in the form of representatives appointed by business organizations, professional associations, the Consumer Protection Board and the consumer associations or the federation of consumer associations. In order to hear a complaint, there must be at least three members in the composition of the committee. One of them must necessarily be the representative of the professional association from the same field of activity, what kind of goods or services are dealt with. This unconditional requirement forms up the restriction, which makes possible to hear complaints only about certain goods and services, for what the specific professional association exists in Estonia.

In accordance with the Estonian Consumer Protection Act §22, the committee shall not settle a dispute if the claim arises from an event of death, physical injury or damage to health. Such disputes shall be settled in court. Also, the committee shall not settle disputes relating to the provision of health services or legal services or the transfer of immovables or buildings, or disputes for which the settlement procedure is prescribed by other Acts. Such disputes shall be settled by the competent institution or court.

Settlement of complaints by the Committee

A consumer or his/her representative can submit a written complaint to the Committee through the Consumer Protection Board or the European Consumer Centre if a trader has refused to settle a complaint made by the consumer or the consumer does not consent to the solution proposed by the trader. If the representative of a consumer submits a complaint on behalf of the consumer, the unattested authorisation document of the representative shall be annexed to the complaint.

A complaint shall set out:

the name, residence and other contact details of the consumer;
the name or business name of the trader and the address of the place of business;
the content of the complaint, the clearly expressed claim of the consumer submitting the complaint, and the circumstances substantiating the claim.
Documentary evidence, including a copy of the document certifying the purchase and, if possible, copies of the complaint submitted to the trader and of the reply received, shall be annexed to a complaint.

A complaint shall not be forwarded to the committee if:

settlement of the dispute is not within the competence of the committee, or
the same dispute on the same grounds and between the same parties is currently before a court, or
a court judgment concerning the same matter has entered into force.
A complaint submitted to the committee shall be heard at a committee session within one month as of the date following the date on which the complaint is forwarded to the committee. If necessary and if the parties to the dispute consent thereto, the committee has the right to order an expert assessment of the disputed goods or services.

The trader has no right to refuse the ADR proceedings. In accordance with the Estonian Consumer Protection Act §31 (2): failure of the parties to a dispute or their representatives to appear at the session does not prevent the complaint from being heard.

Decision making by the Committee

The committee shall make a decision within five working days as of the date of hearing a complaint. The decisions of the committee shall be reasoned and be based on Acts and other legislation. Decisions shall be made by majority vote. The conclusion of a decision must set out the position of the committee concerning the satisfaction, partial satisfaction or dismissal of the complaint. All decisions of the committee are published on the website of the Consumer Protection Board .

In accordance with the Estonian Consumer Protection Act §37: a decision of the committee shall be complied with within one month as of the date following the date of receipt of a copy of the decision unless a different term is specified in the decision. At that the decision is not binding for a trader, it has a nature of recommendations.

In the event of failure to comply with a decision of the committee, the Consumer Protection Board has the right, with the consent of the consumer and as the representative of the consumer, to file an action with a county or city court for the same dispute to be heard if the dispute is relevant to the application of the Consumer Protection Act or other legislation or to the general interests of consumers.