As of 20 July 2025, the EU will discontinue the Online Dispute Resolution Platform (ODR Platform). This platform was primarily intended to assist consumers and businesses in resolving conflicts out of court.
About the Online Dispute Resolution Platform
With Regulation (EU) No. 524/2013, the Commission established an ODR platform to serve as a central point of contact for consumers and entrepreneurs regarding disputes relating to online sales contracts and online service contracts. Entrepreneurs in the EU member states as well as in Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein were required to provide information about the ODR platform on their website and in their general terms and conditions as well as an easy accessible link to the platform.
However, there was no obligation to use the OS platform or to process consumer complaints through it. Many companies therefore excluded participation in online dispute resolution in their general terms and conditions.
In its nine years of existence, only around 234,000 complaints were submitted via the ODR platform. According to the available statistics, the online dispute resolution platform was particularly used for cross-border complaints (53.7%). The leading industry with the most complaints was air transport, accounting for 24 percent of cases. Germany recorded the highest number of cases, with just over 50,000.
Lack of acceptance among businesses and consumers
Therefore, the ODR platform was never well received. Neither by entrepreneurs nor by consumers.
The Commission has therefore drawn a line under it. Regulation (EU) 2024/3228 will discontinue the ODR platform. Complaints can only be submitted until 20 March 2025 and the ODR platform can be used for resolving complaints until 19 July 2025.
Need for action for eCommerce companies
Accordingly, there is a need for entrepreneurs who are active in e-commerce to adapt their general terms and conditions and their websites accordingly and to adapt or even delete the information on the ODR platform in good time.
