Consumers and firms work on trust-mark scheme

Date: 14/06/01

By Peter Chapman

GROUPS representing employers and consumers are working together to ensure that goods sold on the Internet meet the same rigorous standards as those sold in shops.

Employers' lobby UNICE and its consumer counterpart BEUC have set a 4 July deadline for creating a system of online 'trust-marks' which would let customers know they have a full right of redress in the event of a dispute - for example, when goods arrive damaged to the buyer.

The move follows concerns that consumers are worried about buying online because they may have no way of making an effective complaint.

BEUC director Jim Murray said: "These are 'badges of approval' that a company could wear. We are trying to agree criteria for the trust-marks and a system for approving them."

He said the two groups were likely to agree a system by which third parties monitored the way firms adhered to trust-mark schemes - instead of setting up a costly bureaucratic network of national offices.

The groups agreed to work together after talks with industry and consumer bodies set up by Commissioner David Byrne foundered earlier this year.

A UNICE expert said the groups had set a tight deadline to agree a system that would enable Byrne to take it into account when he publishes a paper on the issue later this year. It is expected to recommend how member states can set up their own trust-mark schemes.

Groups representing employers and consumers are working together to ensure that goods sold on the Internet meet the same rigorous standards as those sold in shops.