Austria's Consumer Appeal Adaptation: Strategies For Success

Austria has a number of consumer protection laws in place, including the Austrian Federal Act on Consumer Protection (Konsumentenschutzgesetz) and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act (Sag, Federal Law Gazette I no. 105/2015). The Austrian consumer watchdog (Verein für Konsumenteninformation) is vigilant in monitoring compliance with these laws and may bring legal actions against enterprises failing to comply. Consumers and retailers/manufacturers can appeal decisions made by the consumer authorities or by a court.

Consumer protection laws and regulations

Austria has a number of consumer protection laws and regulations in place. There is no uniform legal framework for consumer protection in Austria, but the Austrian Federal Act on Consumer Protection (Konsumentenschutzgesetz) is the most important source of consumer protection law in the country. This act contains non-sector-specific provisions protecting consumers' interests, while sector-specific provisions of consumer protection law can be found in laws regulating certain business activities. For example, the Austrian Federal Act on Payment Services (Zahlungsdienstegesetz) contains information obligations for traders, which are binding when dealing with consumers. The predominant general topics covered by Austrian consumer protection law include general contract law, damages, housing and tenancy law, financial services, unfair competition, telecommunications, utility services, legislation on the displaying of prices and product safety.

The Austrian consumer watchdog (Verein für Konsumenteninformation) is vigilant in monitoring compliance with consumer protection laws and may bring legal actions against enterprises failing to comply. It may, in particular, instigate proceedings against traders using non-compliant general terms and conditions. In such proceedings, the interpretation of a specific clause in general terms and conditions has to be the one that is most beneficial for consumers, which means that the threshold for violating consumer protection laws is very low.

There are a number of recognised dispute resolution offices in Austria, which are responsible for different fields. Since 9 January 2016, there has been an alternative dispute resolution office available in Austria for almost every dispute resulting from a contract between a consumer and a business. Directive 2013/11/EU on the alternative resolution of consumer rights disputes was implemented in Austria via the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act (Sag, Federal Law Gazette I no. 105/2015). Some of the recognised dispute resolution offices already existed previously, such as those in the areas of energy, telecommunications, passenger rights and the post office.

Consumers and retailers/manufacturers can appeal decisions made by the consumer authorities or by a court. Appeals may be filed against judgments of the court of first instance, and appeals against second instance judgments can be made to the Supreme Court.

Alternative dispute resolution

In Austria, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act (Sag, Federal Law Gazette I no. 105/2015) was implemented to follow the EU directive on the alternative resolution of consumer rights disputes. Since 9 January 2016, there has been an alternative dispute resolution office available in Austria for almost every dispute resulting from a contract between a consumer and a business. There are eight recognised dispute resolution offices, some of which existed previously, such as those in the areas of energy, telecommunications, passenger rights and the post office.

The Austrian consumer watchdog (Verein für Konsumenteninformation) is vigilant in monitoring compliance with Austrian consumer protection laws and may bring legal actions against enterprises failing to comply with those laws. It may, in particular, instigate proceedings against traders using non-compliant general terms and conditions. In such proceedings, the point of departure for an interpretation of a specific clause in general terms and conditions has to be the one that is most beneficial for consumers, which means that the threshold for violating consumer protection laws is very low.

The Austrian Federal Act on Consumer Protection (Konsumentenschutzgesetz) contains non-sector-specific provisions protecting consumers’ interests, whereas sector-specific provisions of consumer protection law may be found in laws regulating certain business activities, e.g. the Austrian Federal Act on Payment Services (Zahlungsdienstegesetz) contains information obligations for traders, which are binding for them when dealing with consumers.

Presenting the options for pursuing a complaint further to the person making the complaint is important. This could include referring them to an ombud or alternative dispute resolution body, such as the independent Joint Conciliation Board of the Austrian Banking Industry (unabhängige Gemeinsame Schlichtungsstelle der österreichischen Kreditwirtschaft), the information and complaints body of the Austria Insurance Association (Verband der Versicherungsunternehmen Österreichs), the customer ombud for the financial services sector (Ombudsstelle für Kunden der Finanzdienstleistungsbranche) or the Conciliation Body for Consumer Transactions (Schlichtung für Verbrauchergeschäfte).

Compliance with consumer protection laws

Austria has implemented a number of measures to adapt to consumer appeal and protect consumers' rights. There is no uniform legal framework for consumer protection law in Austria, but there are a number of laws in place that protect consumers' interests. The most important source of Austrian consumer protection law is the Austrian Federal Act on Consumer Protection (Konsumentenschutzgesetz), which contains non-sector-specific provisions. In addition, there are sector-specific provisions of consumer protection law found in laws regulating certain business activities, such as the Austrian Federal Act on Payment Services (Zahlungsdienstegesetz), which contains information obligations for traders when dealing with consumers.

The Austrian consumer watchdog (Verein für Konsumenteninformation) is vigilant in monitoring compliance with Austrian consumer protection laws and may bring legal actions against enterprises failing to comply. It may, in particular, instigate proceedings against traders using non-compliant general terms and conditions. In such proceedings, the interpretation of a specific clause in general terms and conditions has to be the one that is most beneficial for consumers, which means that the threshold for violating consumer protection laws is very low.

There are also a number of alternative dispute resolution offices available in Austria for disputes resulting from a contract between a consumer and a business. These offices are responsible for different fields, including energy, telecommunications, passenger rights and the post office. Consumers can also appeal decisions made by the consumer authorities or by a court, and both parties can appeal against judgments.

The FMA is another body that acts in the interests of collective consumer protection. It is unable to obtain an individual solution for a specific complaint, but it can refer complainants to an ombud or alternative dispute resolution body, such as the independent Joint Conciliation Board of the Austrian Banking Industry or the customer ombud for the financial services sector.

Non-sector-specific consumer protection provisions

In Austria, there is no uniform legal framework for consumer protection law. The Austrian Federal Act on Consumer Protection (Konsumentenschutzgesetz) contains non-sector-specific provisions protecting consumers' interests. The Austrian consumer watchdog (Verein für Konsumenteninformation) is vigilant in monitoring compliance with consumer protection laws and may bring legal actions against enterprises failing to comply. The threshold for violating consumer protection laws is very low.

The predominant general topics covered by Austrian consumer protection law include general contract law, damages, housing and tenancy law, financial services, unfair competition, telecommunications, utility services, legislation on the displaying of prices and product safety.

There are a total of eight recognised dispute resolution offices which are responsible for different fields. Some of them already existed previously, such as those in the areas of energy, telecommunications, passenger rights and the post office.

The FMA is obliged to act in the interests of collective consumer protection, i.e. for consumers as a whole. The Joint Conciliation Board of the Austrian Banking Industry, the information and complaints body of the Austria Insurance Association, the customer ombud for the financial services sector and the Conciliation Body for Consumer Transactions are some of the independent bodies that can be referred to for pursuing a complaint further.

Consumer complaints

In Austria, there is no uniform legal framework for consumer protection law. The Austrian Federal Act on Consumer Protection (Konsumentenschutzgesetz) contains non-sector-specific provisions protecting consumers' interests, while sector-specific provisions of consumer protection law may be found in laws regulating certain business activities. For example, the Austrian Federal Act on Payment Services (Zahlungsdienestegesetz) contains information obligations for traders, which are binding when dealing with consumers.

The Austrian consumer watchdog (Verein für Konsumenteninformation) is vigilant in monitoring compliance with consumer protection laws and may bring legal actions against enterprises failing to comply with those laws. It may, in particular, instigate proceedings against traders using non-compliant general terms and conditions. In such proceedings, the interpretation of a specific clause in general terms and conditions has to be the one that is most beneficial for consumers, which means that the threshold for violating consumer protection laws is very low.

Since 9 January 2016, there has been an alternative dispute resolution office available in Austria for almost every dispute resulting from a contract between a consumer and a business. There are a total of eight recognised dispute resolution offices, some of which already existed previously, such as those in the areas of energy, telecommunications, passenger rights and the post office. Other bodies that consumers can be referred to include the independent Joint Conciliation Board of the Austrian Banking Industry (unabhängige Gemeinsame Schlichtungsstelle der österreichischen Kreditwirtschaft), the information and complaints body of the Austria Insurance Association (Verband der Versicherungsunternehmen Österreichs), the customer ombud for the financial services sector (Ombudsstelle für Kunden der Finanzdienstleistungsbranche) or the Conciliation Body for Consumer Transactions (Schlichtung für Verbrauchergeschäfte).

Consumers and retailers/manufacturers can appeal decisions made by the consumer authorities or by a court. Appeals may be filed against judgments of the court of first instance, and appeals against second instance judgments can be made to the Supreme Court.

Frequently asked questions