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🇧🇪 Belgium /Economy & Trade

Belgian companies to pay for customer complaint mediation

From VRT NWS · () Dutch

Translated from Dutch, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • Companies in Belgium will soon be required to pay a fee when an unhappy customer escalates a complaint to the Consumers' Ombudsman Service.
  • This new policy aims to make businesses financially responsible for resolving customer disputes.
  • Minister of Consumer Protection Rob Beenders stated that companies will bear the cost of mediation if they do not handle customer issues correctly.

Belgian companies will soon face a new financial obligation: they must contribute to the cost when a dissatisfied customer brings their case to the Consumers' Ombudsman Service. This move is designed to increase corporate accountability in handling consumer complaints.

Minister of Consumer Protection Rob Beenders announced the upcoming policy, emphasizing that businesses will be required to participate in the mediation process. "If companies do not treat their customers correctly, they will pay the bill for the mediation," Beenders stated, underscoring the government's intent to shift the burden of dispute resolution costs.

The initiative aims to streamline the complaint process and encourage companies to address customer grievances more effectively at an earlier stage. By imposing a financial penalty for unresolved issues, the government hopes to improve consumer protection and foster better business practices across Belgium.

If companies do not treat their customers correctly, they will pay the bill for the mediation.

— Rob BeendersMinister of Consumer Protection explaining the new policy requiring companies to pay for mediation services when customers escalate complaints.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by VRT NWS in Dutch. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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