The End of the European Online Dispute Resolution Platform
Written By
Associate
Netherlands
I am an associate in Bird & Bird's Retail & Consumer group and use my broad knowledge of commercial contracts and e-commerce legislation to advise our clients on varying commercial matters.
Senior Associate
Spain
I am a senior associate in the Bird & Bird's Commercial and Privacy & Data Protection department in the Madrid office.
On 30 December 2024, Regulation (EU) 2024/3228 of 19 December 2024 repealing Regulation (EU) No 524/2013, and amending Regulations (EU) 2017/2394 and (EU) 2018/1724 with regard to the discontinuation of the European Online Dispute Resolution Platform, was published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Regulation (EU) 524/2013 established the European Online Dispute Resolution Platform (“ODR Platform”) at European Union level, offering a single point of entry to consumers and traders seeking the out-of-court resolution of disputes arising from online sales or service contracts.
The reason behind this decision is the low consumer use of the system coupled with the even lower acceptance of the system by traders: only 2% of the complaints submitted received a positive reply from traders, which means about 200 cases per year across the Union.
The ODR platform shall be discontinued, and no new complaints shall be accepted as of 20 March 2025.
Regarding the information related to cases in the ODR platform, they shall be deleted, including personal data, by 20 July 2025 the latest. Therefore, anyone who wish to retrieve data related to their cases must request it before that date1.
With the discontinuation of the ODR Platform, the requirement to refer to the ODR Platform is no longer in force. Repealing the Regulation, therefore, means that all current references to the ODR Platform must be removed as of the entry into force date of the Regulation. This includes the information currently provided to consumers about the existence of the ODR Platform and the possibility of using the ODR Platform for resolving disputes as included in terms and conditions and/or on websites, including the weblinks to the ODR Platform which were required under the Regulation.
In practice, this means that terms and conditions and website wording on your website must be updated. Depending on the applicable local legislation, the regulations in relation to changing terms and conditions might be applicable here. Also, it should be considered, depending on local legislation, whether consumers should be informed about other (local) means of dispute resolution.
