Collective redress can serve a purpose by allowing consumers to bring small claims, which they would otherwise not have pursued mainly for reasons of cost, and thereby strenghten their confidence as market actors. The role of an EU initiative must be to ensure that such claims are brought in a fair and transparent manner and in the interest of reparation - to put right a situation where consumers have truly been harmed - not for profit reasons. the governing principles must be legal certainty and fair process.
To ensure that collective redress serves a reparation purpose and strenghtens trust by ensuring legal certainty and fair process, we firmly believe that a number of minimum safeguards must be in place.
It should be reminded that a number of EU legislative instruments already exist in this regard, and that efforts should be put into, first of all, avoiding and solving disputes in the least costly manner. Secondly, an accurate collective redress process should ensure that only certain qualified bodies are able to bring claims on behalf of a group and that mediation should be a mandatory first step. Finally, it should guarantee standing and certified action, and fair outcomes.