The European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net) experience a sharp increase in consumer queries since mid-February 2020 which reflects the widespread COVID-19 related concerns and unprecedented disruption to travel and shipping.
The European Consumer Centres (ECCs) are EU co-funded bodies providing advice and assistance to EU citizens about their consumer rights in cross-border shopping in the Single Market.
In March 2020 they answered 15,000 consumer queries, many of which related to the impact of coronavirus on a service or a good they purchased. This is around 5,000 more queries than the same month in 2019. The weekly trends recorded since the beginning of the year have increased continuously since mid-February.
The major areas affected are passenger transport, accommodation services (such as hotels and B&Bs), and package holidays; but many other business sectors are also generating consumer queries related to the pandemic.
Data relates to queries received before 30th April 2020.
