Consumer Disputes Board

The Consumer Disputes Board is an impartial and independent expert body that resolves disputes between consumers and businesses.  Established in 1978 as the Consumer Protection Act entered into force, the Board is integral to the legal protection of citizens. The Board offers an alternative to legal proceedings in a court of law and is free of charge for both parties to a dispute.

Disputes handled by the Board involve consumer goods and services of all kinds, from shoes to banking and home appliances to real estate agents. In addition to consumer goods, the Board handles disputes between two private persons on sales of housing and real estate. Disputes involving rented and right-of-occupancy housing also fall within the Board's remit.

The Consumer Disputes Board's work is heavily focussed on legal matters, based on the broad spectrum of consumer rights legislation. The Board has a staff of 29, including 15 referendary lawyers, ten employees responsible for the preparation of cases, two office employees, a Chairman and a Deputy Chairman. These staff are divided into four groups: goods, motor vehicles, intangible services and housing.

The Consumer Disputes Board has fourteen sections, to which lawyers present their cases and which make the actual decisions. The members of these sections constitute a balanced representation of consumers and business. Cases are handled by each sections in accordance with the product involved, but the most significant cases are resolved in plenary sessions.

Since the Board's decisions are recommendations only, they cannot be enforced through coercive measures. However, compliance with such decisions is very common, accounting for around 80 percent of all cases.