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Consumer travel protections in the US are much stronger than in Europe. I’m not really sure what regulations you’re thinking of. Source: American expat in Euro

Consumer travel protections in the US are much stronger than in Europe. I’m not really sure what regulations you’re thinking of. Source: American expat in Europe.

herbst 5y ago
How so? Afaik you don't even have proper laws for normal online purchasing returns. It's kinda hard to believe that in this section the US somehow managed to actually protect their people better than Europe.
- qeternity 5y ago
  > It's kinda hard to believe that in this section the US somehow managed to actually protect their people better than Europe. Well, I don't know what to tell you. For instance, in the US you have 24 hours to cancel a flight booking for any reason if booked more than 7 days out. In Europe, you might get a 4 hour window if you're lucky, but often times not (especially with the vicious European LCCs).
vinay427 5y ago
I would tend to agree with this. I’ve rarely received a refund or other compensation at least in Switzerland (not in the EU) for things that would immediately be handled in the US, particularly for retail purchases. The Costco and Amazon effect is far more prominent in the US whereas I feel much more constrained as a consumer in many European countries.
- adwww 5y ago
  I've lived in NY, CH and UK (where I'm from) and think Switerland is the odd one out in this respect. Quality of life is highest in most respects there, but only really so long as you're happy to go along with things and not rock the boat. Get paid well, enjoy the contryside, but know your place were the vibes I got ha.
- zwaps 5y ago
  In the EU? For the first 6 months, the legal assumption is that any defect was present at purchase which means - in practice - you can return pretty much any defective item no questions asked. What did you want to return and could not?
  - vinay427 5y ago
    > In the EU? Most instances were in Switzerland as I mentioned, although a few were in the EU. Some weren't defective items but rather unneeded items. Returns based on changing one's mind, even if the item is in unused condition and remains re-sellable, seems to not be a "thing" in at least several European countries whereas American consumers typically expect these consumer protections not by law but by convention. Another electronic device was defective, and even after selecting this in the online purchase return form I was charged a restocking fee despite returning the item within a few weeks of purchase. Not budging on this and refunding the fee would be unheard of for any serious US retailer.
    - zwaps 5y ago
      You have, by law, two weeks to return any item you bought online for any reason whatsoever, and you have 6 months essentially "no questions asked" return for defective items - on top of the actual warranty periods (that, again, are by law). As far as conventions go, I check some larger retailers from Europe, like Zalando, and they offer a 100 day return policy [1] by convention. Maybe Switzerland is the outlier here? [1] https://en.zalando.de/faq/Returns-and-Refunds/About-our-100-day-return-policy.html https://en.zalando.de/faq/Returns-and-Refunds/About-our-100-...
      - vinay427 5y ago
        Zalando is famously an exception in multiple countries I’ve been in, to the extent that some shop there because of their lenient return policies. I’m not sure how unique Switzerland is here. It seemed relatively similar in Germany, for instance.
        5y ago

Consumer travel protections in the US are much stronger than in Europe. I’m not really sure what regulations you’re thinking of. Source: American expat in Europe.

herbst 5y ago

How so? Afaik you don't even have proper laws for normal online purchasing returns. It's kinda hard to believe that in this section the US somehow managed to actually protect their people better than Europe.

qeternity 5y ago
> It's kinda hard to believe that in this section the US somehow managed to actually protect their people better than Europe. Well, I don't know what to tell you. For instance, in the US you have 24 hours to cancel a flight booking for any reason if booked more than 7 days out. In Europe, you might get a 4 hour window if you're lucky, but often times not (especially with the vicious European LCCs).

vinay427 5y ago

I would tend to agree with this. I’ve rarely received a refund or other compensation at least in Switzerland (not in the EU) for things that would immediately be handled in the US, particularly for retail purchases. The Costco and Amazon effect is far more prominent in the US whereas I feel much more constrained as a consumer in many European countries.

adwww 5y ago
I've lived in NY, CH and UK (where I'm from) and think Switerland is the odd one out in this respect. Quality of life is highest in most respects there, but only really so long as you're happy to go along with things and not rock the boat. Get paid well, enjoy the contryside, but know your place were the vibes I got ha.
zwaps 5y ago
In the EU? For the first 6 months, the legal assumption is that any defect was present at purchase which means - in practice - you can return pretty much any defective item no questions asked. What did you want to return and could not?
- vinay427 5y ago
  > In the EU? Most instances were in Switzerland as I mentioned, although a few were in the EU. Some weren't defective items but rather unneeded items. Returns based on changing one's mind, even if the item is in unused condition and remains re-sellable, seems to not be a "thing" in at least several European countries whereas American consumers typically expect these consumer protections not by law but by convention. Another electronic device was defective, and even after selecting this in the online purchase return form I was charged a restocking fee despite returning the item within a few weeks of purchase. Not budging on this and refunding the fee would be unheard of for any serious US retailer.
  - zwaps 5y ago
    You have, by law, two weeks to return any item you bought online for any reason whatsoever, and you have 6 months essentially "no questions asked" return for defective items - on top of the actual warranty periods (that, again, are by law). As far as conventions go, I check some larger retailers from Europe, like Zalando, and they offer a 100 day return policy [1] by convention. Maybe Switzerland is the outlier here? [1] https://en.zalando.de/faq/Returns-and-Refunds/About-our-100-day-return-policy.html https://en.zalando.de/faq/Returns-and-Refunds/About-our-100-...
    - vinay427 5y ago
      Zalando is famously an exception in multiple countries I’ve been in, to the extent that some shop there because of their lenient return policies. I’m not sure how unique Switzerland is here. It seemed relatively similar in Germany, for instance.
      - 5y ago