Consumer enquiries in Denmark

The number of consumer enquiries was unusually high in 2020, both in our Danish office and across the network.

Record number of complaints in Denmark: 112% increase

In 2020, the European Consumer Centre Denmark received 6,439 cases from consumers who experienced problems with purchases of goods or services. That is more than double the 3,034 reports we received in 2019 – more accurately, an increase of 112%.

The total number covers all cases that were started in 2020. It covers both cases against Danish traders that we received from our sister offices, along with cases from Danish consumers against traders in other EU countries, Norway, Iceland and the UK. It also includes cases we have shared with other offices, together with the consumer enquiries we have handled over email, chat and our hotline.

In this figure, you can compare how our caseload developed over 2019 and 2020:

Most cases in 2020 were with Danish consumers who had problems with traders in other EU countries, and in the vast majority of cases, we were able to guide the Danish consumers without having to involve our sister offices. In total, we dealt with 5,951 cases by guiding Danish consumers.

We shared 488 cases for starting a conciliation process from Danish consumers with our sister offices around Europe, and only 193 cases were shared with us from our sister offices against Danish traders.

The coronavirus pandemic was a common theme of most cases

A large portion of our cases were related to the pandemic. In 2020, 4,116 cases were related to the pandemic, representing approximately 63% of the total caseload.

More than half were related to transport services – mostly aviation

As many as 3,373 of cases were categorised under “transport services”, which covers travel by air, train, bus and ferry, representing around 52% of our caseload in 2020. The number in this area increased by 152% from the 1,339 cases we received in 2019.

The vast majority of this group – nearly 98% of transportation cases – concerned air travel.

Due to pandemic-related flight cancellations over the summer, many of the cases involved reimbursements related to cancelled or rescheduled flights. Many consumers had difficulty contacting airlines or ticket agencies, and handling the large amount of refund requests was a challenge for the airlines. In addition, there were cases from consumers who felt pressured to accept a voucher instead of a refund of the ticket cost.

But there were also a number of issues that were not directly related to the coronavirus pandemic:

“One of the issues we have seen, which has been highlighted by the many flight cancellations due to coronavirus, is the challenges consumers face when having booked a flight through a ticket agency, e.g. one of the many sales agents selling airline tickets,” says Lars Arent, Director of European Consumer Centre Denmark.

“These are cases where the consumer gets passed off between the airline and the booking site – where fees are charged for refunding the ticket – and cases where the consumers are offered a voucher with the travel agency rather than the airline.”

Example: Airline threw the case out

In this case, a Danish consumer’s flight from Hungary to Romania was cancelled due to Covid-19. He was first promised a refund of the cost of the fare within 20 days, but nothing happened. He chased the airline twice for the missing refund. The first time they said that they could not set a date for the refund, and the second time the airline stated that there was a few months’ delay on all refunds.

However, as still nothing had happened four months after the original flight was scheduled, he turned to European Consumer Centre Denmark. With our help, the consumer managed to get through to the airline and receive the full refund of approximately 850 kroner.

Read about your rights concerning air travel

Package holidays and package deals 

950 enquiries in 2020 involved package holidays, representing almost 15% of total cases. Compared to 2019, where we received 97 cases in this area, this is almost a tenfold increase.

In some cases, this related to classic charter flight packages put together by a traditional travel agency, while in other cases it was the new type of package holiday, where the consumer packages flights and hotels in the same transaction using an operator such as an online travel agent.

“One of the recent issues we have heard about from consumers is that their online travel company did not recognise the trip as a package holiday, which otherwise triggers extra protection in the EU. But in some cases, our assessment has been that although consumers have put together their own transport and accommodation online, they still have been entitled to be covered by the package travel rules,” says Lars Arent.

In 2020,the European Consumer Centre Network issued a notice to the authorities about various unfair practices such as hidden fees, unreasonable waiting times and misleading information on a number of travel booking sites.

Example: Online travel company did not respond to the consumer’s enquiries

A Danish consumer approached European Consumer Centre Denmark after several attempts to get money back from an online travel company that was not responding to her enquiries. European Consumer Centre Denmark initially suggested that she requested a refund via her bank, as this can be a faster way to get the money back. However, this case was rejected by her bank due to too long a reaction time, after which we picked up the case.

We managed to get through to the tour operator, who initially failed to refund approximately 1,250 kroner. When we contacted the supplier again to get the last of the money back, we succeeded, and the consumer finally received the full refund of approximately 17,700 kroner.

Read more about your rights regarding package holidays

Hotels, holiday homes and other accommodation

In 2020, we received 396 cases concerning hotels and other types of accommodation. Compared to 2019, where we received 144 cases, this is an increase of 175%. As a general rule, you are not entitled to a refund for a hotel room you have booked unless the hotel cancels your stay.

However, that are a number of online booking sites and hotels that offer free cancellation – often with a fee. In these cases, we have helped consumers to go through their contractual requirements.

“The cost of accommodation in a hotel, holiday apartment or similar is often a large part of the total price you pay for a trip. And if you put together the trip yourself, there is generally not a statutory requirement to cancel the accommodation if you can’t get there,” explains Lars Arent. 

“2020 made it clear to us all that it is a good idea to insure yourself against unforeseen situations where you cannot travel when you book your accommodation online yourself.”

Example: A Polish consumer was helped with a refund for a Danish holiday home via a booking site

In this case, the consumer was resident in Poland and had booked accommodation in a Danish holiday home via a booking site. The consumer managed to make a free cancellation via the booking site, but as he hadn’t received the money after four months, he contacted European Consumer Centre office in Poland.

They shared the case with us, and after contacting the Danish holiday homeowner, they managed to get the full amount of approximately 880 kroner back to the consumer.

Subscription traps and other goods and services

2020 also featured cases that did not include pandemic-related travel issues. European Consumer Centre Denmark received 308 cases in the category “miscellaneous goods and services”, covering a wide range of areas, including general online purchases, but also the well-known subscription fee traps and other cases of online deceptions. 

“Subscription fee traps are far from a new phenomenon, and unfortunately new types of cases keep popping up. We are used to shopping online safely and securely by now, but there is some general advice to follow if you want to avoid scam websites and other types of traps online. And always pay with a credit card, which often makes it possible to reverse the payment if things go wrong,” says Lars Arent.

Example: Dating service did not respond to subscription cancellation request and sent a bill of over 2,000 kroner

The consumer signed up for a subscription dating service, but had second thoughts a few days later. It turned out to be harder than he thought to get out of the contract. He sent both faxes and several emails, as required by the company, but they were not answered.  Instead, the German company sent him a bill for several thousand kroner.

Although he objected, they stuck to their demands. After having contacted the European Consumer Centre Network, we got hold of the trader, who accepted the consumer’s original request of withdrawal, and cancelled the payment claim of EUR 282, amounting to more than 2,000 kroner.

Read more about online subscriptions.

Events and tourist attractions

In 2020, European Consumer Centre Denmark received 190 cases categorised under “leisure activities”, which includes cases about concert tickets, events, sporting events and tourist attractions that had been cancelled, postponed, or that consumers were unable to use due to travel restrictions. Compared to 2019, when we received 74 cases in this area, the number increased by 157%.

Many organisers chose to postpone rather than just cancel, and in this situation, whether the terms of the agreement covered changes to the date was crucial. In addition, the rules of the country where an event is held affects how far into the future the event can be postponed before the consumer is entitled to a refund.

There is also a difference in consumer rights depending on whether the event or activity is part of a package holiday or purchased separately. 

“The rules for refunding tickets, including within the EU, are largely regulated on a national basis. What are you entitled to if you have tickets to a concert in Italy that may not have been cancelled, but simply postponed? And what if you have bought a ticket to a tourist attraction in Germany, which is closed due to restrictions? These are some of the issues we have helped consumers with,” says Lars Arent. 

Example: Consumer received a voucher for the TV tower in Berlin instead of money

A Danish consumer had a ticket, including dinner, for the Berlin Television Tower. When the tower closed, they cancelled his reservation and offered a voucher or refund. Despite choosing to get a refund, he was sent a voucher by email. When it turned out to be very difficult to get hold of the Berlin Television Tower, he turned to European Consumer Centre Denmark.

We shared the case with our sister office, who got hold of the trader. Shortly afterwards, the consumer received an email saying that he could return the voucher and receive a refund.

Read more about concerts and events