New international website for enforcement authorities and consumers

Today, on World Consumer Rights Day, ICPEN (the International Consumer Protection Network), the international organisation of consumer enforcement authorities, is launching its new website, www.icpen.org. The aim of the website is to allow consumer enforcement authorities from across the world to cooperate more effectively with one another. They are able to inform one another about their activities using this website, which helps to protect consumers across the world more effectively, even when cross-border purchases are being made. The website contains a section with information for consumers, a section for enforcement authorities and a section for consumer rights experts.

ICPEN, international umbrella organisation for consumer enforcement

In ICPEN, over forty consumer enforcement authorities, including the Consumer Authority, collaborate with one another across the entire world in order to combat misleading or unfair practices that adversely affect consumers' interests. This happens both within national borders and across them.
The website contains information for consumers about how they can avoid becoming victims of deception. Consumers will also be able to find information on the website as to how they can make secure purchases online and where they can submit complaints if they have become victims of unfair commercial practices outside of the Netherlands.

For consumer enforcement authorities, the website contains information about the two most important activities carried out by ICPEN in which the national enforcement authorities participate:

• The international internet sweep: the annual joint campaign to search the internet for unfair commercial practices
• Fraud Prevention Month: every year in the spring, a campaign is organised to inform consumers about their rights in order to prevent them from becoming victims of unfair practices. In this context, the Consumer Authority will begin its information campaign on doorstep selling on 22 March.

Furthermore, the website contains an educational section and a section detailing 'best practices', where the various participating countries are able to share knowledge with one another.