The European Consumer Centre (ECC) in Dublin secured refunds of over €100,000 from businesses across the EU on behalf of consumers last year, with air travel disruptions accounting for most of the complaints it handled.
In its annual report, ECC Ireland - which is part of an EU-wide network of consumer advice centres - said it had investigated more than 3,900 complaints last year.
It recorded a sharp rise in queries from air passengers whose flights were disrupted by in the wake of the Icelandic ash crisis of last April and May.
The centre, which is jointly funded by the European Commission and the Government to deal specifically with cross-border transactions, said it had succeeded in getting €105,848 in refunds for consumers last year.
Air travel was responsible for 46 per cent of the complaints it received, up 11.2 per cent from 2009. Faulty electronic goods, car rental, entertainment including satellite television, mobile phones and internet services were the other areas it was most frequently asked to intervene.
"With global recession and unprecedented travel disruption, 2010 was a difficult year for consumers," the centre's manager Ann Neville said, adding that even in difficult circumstances "consumer rights continue to apply".
Its success rate in resolving cases involving a complaint against an Irish trader by consumers from other European countries was over 80 per cent while the success rate for cases involving complaints by Irish consumers against other European traders was 64 per cent.
The centre said it had secured an average refund of €340 per resolved case.
Amongst the successful cases highlighted in its report was that of a group of 11 Swedish people who booked flights with an unnamed Irish airline.
They stipulated in their booking that one piece of luggage per person should also be included. However, after completing the booking process, they discovered that the airline had charged them for 32 pieces of luggage instead, at an additional cost of €210.
They contacted the airline but were denied a refund until the ECC intervened. It forced the airline to apologise and issue a refund.
The centre also cited the example of an Irish consumer who rented a car in France, which was hit by another vehicle when parked. The other driver admitted liability at the scene.
The car hire company assured the Irish driver that no charges would be made over the incident but she was hit with a damage surcharge of €315 and a administration fee of €41. ECC Ireland alerted ECC France and the consumer was refunded in full.
