site.btaOne in Three Complaints Received at European Consumer Centre Bulgaria Is about Air Travel

One in Three Complaints Received at European Consumer Centre Bulgaria Is about Air Travel

Sofia, December 20 (BTA) - Approximately one-third of the complaints submitted to the European Consumer Centre (ECC) Bulgaria between January 1 and December 18, 2015  were about cancelled or delayed flights and lost or damaged luggage, and another third concerned online shopping, EEC Bulgaria Director Ignat Arsenov told a news conference at Sofia Airport on Sunday.

Since the beginning of the year, the ECC has received 990 complaints and queries, 10 per cent more than in 2014. Problems with air travel have been the subject of 194 complaints and queries, and damaged or lost suitcases of 55 complaints and queries (slightly fewer than the 76 in the same period of 2014).

Judging from statistics, 41 per cent of air travel complaints end in an amicable settlement with the airlines, no settlement is reached in 40 per cent, and 9 per cent of the cases are referred to another body. As a rule, airlines worldwide are reluctant to pay compensation, Arsenov explained.

In the first half of 2015, 3,450 persons submitted complaints about air travel. About a tenth of them (396) had problems with their luggage.

In 2014, the most frequent complaints came from consumers living in Italy, Belgium Poland, Spain and France. Bulgarian air passengers ranked 15th among the complainants from 30 countries.

The largest number of complaints submitted in the first half of 2015 were from consumers living in Austria, Italy, Poland, France, the UK and Belgium. Bulgaria ranked 17th.

On Sunday, the ECC Bulgaria and the Commission for Consumer Protection (CCP) opened a one-day "passenger desk" at Sofia Airport providing useful information on passenger rights and advice on particular cases, Konstantin Arabadjiev of the CCP explained.

As from 2016, the ECC initiative for consumer desks will be implemented on a monthly basis. Such desks functioned during the summer in the large seaside resorts, enabling consumers to submit complaints on the spot.

The CCP has opened its first reception centre in the winter resort of Pamporovo (Southeastern Bulgaria). The Commission is most often approached with complaints about mismatches of the star rating of an establishment and the service that it actually provides. An increasing number of alerts concern misleading online offers of tourism products, said Commission member Kostadin Raikov.