Despite attempts to create a single market, consumer rights still vary across the EU, writes Laura Slattery

Shopping is such an addictive activity for satisfaction-seeking consumers that we rarely take a break from it.

But despite the European Commission's push to bring about a single market for goods and services, national borders are still acting as a barrier to the free splurging of cash.

Cross-border shopping in the EU is on the increase, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey. In 2003, 12 per cent of consumers in the then 15 EU member states had made a cross-border purchase. In 2006, 26 per cent of consumers - one in four - in the 25 EU member states had bought something in another state, and two-thirds of those consumers spent more than €100.

Irish consumers are above the EU average when it comes to taking a chance on cross-border shopping, with one in three people having made an overseas purchase in the past year, and 43 per cent of these spending between €100 and €499.

But the European Commission's health and consumer protection directorate is concerned that the figures for cross-border shopping are still low, especially when compared to business-to-business activity.

"There are worrying concerns about how real this is for people," says director of consumer affairs Agne Pantelouri.

The single European market is not that much of a reality for the average bargain-hunting, product-seeking shopper, the European Commission fears, because consumers are concerned that they do not have the same rights as they do at home.

There are a staggering 450 million people in the EU. The Eurobarometer survey suggests that roughly two-thirds of these believe that, with cross-border shopping, there are more risks of difficulties when making a complaint or returning a product within the cooling-off period, of falling victim to fraud, or of experiencing delivery problems.

And despite consumers' growing familiarity with online commerce, most cross-border shopping is still done in person while on holiday.

Consumers are "partially right" to be wary, says Pantelouri. At the moment, consumer protection rules vary across Europe.

"The rules are not uniform across the EU because they give member-states a minimum floor and some states go beyond it, so consumer rights do vary," she explains.

In addition, the "acquis" or heritage of legislation dating back to the last century means that the EU's consumer protection rules are somewhat "patchy".

Changes are under way, however. The unfair commercial practices directive lays down common rules prohibiting a range of sharp business practices, including unfair advertising and intrusive or misleading marketing. It also outlaws specific consumer-unfriendly phenomena such as pyramid schemes and prize draw scams.

The directive will be transposed into Irish law when the Consumer Protection Bill, designed to give the National Consumer Agency legal status, is passed early next year.

The European Commission's consumer affairs directorate is also reviewing the rules on doorstep selling, package travel, time-share sales, unfair contract terms, distance selling, price displays, injunctions, sales of consumer goods and product guarantees.

Cooling-off periods are one area where confusion often arises, says Pantelouri. "When does the clock start ticking on a cooling-off period? Different periods apply in different areas, so you can't really blame consumers for hesitating," she says.

The consumer affairs directorate has also earmarked new areas such as consumer-to-consumer sales - meaning the likes of eBay and other auction sites - where consumers have little or no protection when things go wrong.

The EU is also working on harmonising contractual rights, "a big missing area" in common consumer protection law.

"The whole theory behind the internal market is that there will be more convergence, more competition and a downward drive on prices," says Pantelouri.

At the moment, the reason prices vary for the same products between member-states cannot always be explained by differing rates of VAT, she adds, which might sound about right to fervent believers in the concept of rip-off Ireland.

"It is harder work being a consumer these days than it used to be," says Pantelouri. It is also hard work protecting consumers, especially with a budget of less than €20 million, which in EU terms is "microscopic", she says.

Despite this, major initiatives are emerging, and next on the "to do" list is the establishment of a network of national enforcement authorities.

From the end of 2006, authorities will have to investigate fraudulent activities even if it is not the citizens of their own country who are being targeted.

"Before it was done on a voluntary and piecemeal basis," says Stefano Soro, head of product and service safety in the health and consumer protection directorate.

"There were no common powers, no obligations and sometimes there were legal hurdles."

Common problems include bogus holiday clubs (set up to avoid legislation cracking down on dishonest time-share sales practices), miracle health cure scams, "phishing" for financial details, lottery scams, advance fee scams, work from home scams and pyramid selling.

Cross-border co-operation is important because rogue traders frequently target people in countries other than the one in which they are based in order to avoid a crackdown on their activities by the local authority.

As Soro notes, people who make their living through dubious practices "move fast and hide well".

However, if the experience of the network of European consumer centres (ECCs) is anything to go by, many people encounter cross-border problems with supposedly reputable companies that aren't about to vanish, but which seem to feel that they can ignore the complaints of non-local customers.

Although sales of cars and electrical products typically lead to disputes, it is the airline and package travel industries in particular that have been found to display anti-consumer attitudes, accounting for a third of complaints to ECC Dublin last year.

Establishing a single market that consumers can trust is an "uphill battle" for internal market advocates like the ECC network, according to ECC Dublin, but the benefits of competition mean it is one that is worth fighting.

Consumers who have a dispute with a merchant in another EU member-state can contact the European Consumer Centre (ECC), 13A Upper O'Connell Street, Dublin 1 for help and advice.

It can be contacted by e-mail at info@eccdublin.ie or on 01-8090600.