Must every online seller offer a consumer mediator?

Yes. Any professional selling goods or services to consumers must guarantee them effective and free-of-charge access to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme with a view to the amicable resolution of a dispute (Consumer ADR Directive 2013/11/EU, harmonised across the EU). To do so, the professional must sign up to an approved ADR entity: a sectoral scheme, a listed ADR body, etc. In Ireland these are the ADR bodies approved and listed by the CCPC.

What must I display under the mediation obligation?

You must communicate to the consumer the details of the competent ADR entity or entities: their name and the address of their website. This information must appear visibly and legibly on your website (in practice in your legal notices or your terms of sale), in your general terms and conditions of sale, and on your order forms or contractual documents (Consumer ADR Directive 2013/11/EU).

Is consumer mediation free of charge?

Yes, mediation is free of charge for the consumer: it is the professional who funds the mediation scheme. Recourse to the mediator remains optional for the consumer, who retains the right to take legal action at any time.

When can the consumer refer a matter to the mediator?

Mediation only comes into play after a prior written complaint by the consumer to the professional that has gone unheeded or unanswered. The consumer must then refer the matter to the mediator within one year of that written complaint.

Which disputes are excluded from consumer mediation?

Excluded in particular are disputes between professionals (B2B), complaints brought by the professional against the consumer, and direct negotiation between the consumer and the professional. Consumer mediation only concerns disputes between a consumer and a professional.

What does an online seller risk without a mediator?

Failure to sign up to an ADR scheme or failure to communicate the ADR entity's details is liable to enforcement by the national consumer-protection authority (in Ireland, the CCPC). Getting compliant is therefore above all a preventive measure, to be built into your legal notices, your terms of sale and your order forms.

The e-commerce seller’s guide

Consumer mediator: your obligation as a seller

Last reviewed on July 22, 2026

Do you sell online to individuals? In the event of a dispute, you must offer them a mediator: a free-of-charge third party who seeks an amicable solution, and display their details on your site. Any professional selling to consumers must guarantee them effective and free-of-charge access to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme (Consumer ADR Directive 2013/11/EU, harmonised across the EU). In concrete terms, you must sign up to an ADR entity and display its details on your site, your terms of sale and your order forms. It is a substantive obligation, which applies to any online shop, independently of any dispute.

What the mediation obligation consists of

Consumer mediation is a means of resolving disputes amicably. Arising from the Consumer ADR Directive 2013/11/EU on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes, harmonised across the EU, it imposes two cumulative obligations on the seller.

•Guarantee effective and free-of-charge access. You must allow your consumer customers to use, free of charge, an ADR scheme with a view to the amicable resolution of a dispute (Consumer ADR Directive 2013/11/EU).
•Sign up to an ADR scheme. You must come under an approved ADR entity: a sectoral scheme (specific to your line of business), a listed ADR body (in Ireland, one approved by the CCPC), or any other approved dispute resolution scheme. It is the professional who funds the scheme.

What you must display

This is the most concrete compliance point for an online seller. You must communicate to the consumer the details of the competent ADR entity or entities you come under: their name and the address of their website (Consumer ADR Directive 2013/11/EU).

These details must appear:

→on your website, visibly and legibly (in practice in your legal notices or your terms of sale);
→in your general terms and conditions of sale;
→on your order forms and other contractual documents.

This obligation is standalone: even a seller who has never had a single dispute is in breach if they have not joined a mediation scheme or if they do not display the details of the competent mediator.

How a mediation unfolds

Mediation is not a counter open at all times: it presupposes that a prior dialogue has failed. Several rules govern how it is carried out.

•A prior written complaint. Mediation only comes into play after a written complaint by the consumer to you that has gone unheeded or unanswered.
•A one-year window to refer the matter to the mediator. The consumer must refer the matter to the mediator within one year of their written complaint.
•Free of charge and optional for the consumer. Mediation is free of charge for the consumer (you fund the scheme). Recourse to the mediator remains optional: the consumer retains the right to take legal action.
•Exclusions. Excluded in particular are disputes between professionals (B2B), complaints brought by the professional against the consumer, and direct negotiation between the parties.

The risk in the event of a breach

Failure to sign up to an ADR scheme or failure to communicate the ADR entity's details is liable to enforcement by the national consumer-protection authority (in Ireland, the CCPC). Beyond the fine, failing to offer a route to mediation deprives your customers of an amicable remedy and exposes you to disputes that could have been settled at lower cost. Getting compliant is therefore above all a preventive measure.

One obligation can hide another

A badly handled withdrawal often ends up on your mediator’s desk

The dispute that most often reaches a mediator is a contested refund: the customer says they withdrew, the merchant has no record. Handling withdrawal properly upstream therefore means drying up a good share of mediation cases. Since 19 June 2026, withdrawal goes through a dedicated button: a European obligation (Directive (EU) 2023/2673), in force since 19 June 2026 across the 27 EU member states. BackToMe sets up this button and keeps, for each request, an acknowledgement of receipt on a durable medium and archiving with evidential value: enough to settle a disagreement before it becomes a case.

Start getting compliant Am I concerned by the button?

Read the full withdrawal button guide

To go further

E-commerce compliance

The overview of your obligations as an online seller

The legal guarantee of conformity

Your seller obligations on defects of the goods (2 years)

Pre-contractual information

What you must communicate before the online sale

Legal notices and terms of sale

What your shop must display to be compliant

This page provides general information and does not replace personalised legal advice. For the exact and up-to-date text of the provisions cited (the Consumer ADR Directive 2013/11/EU), refer to EUR-Lex, or to the CCPC (ccpc.ie) for the list of approved ADR bodies in Ireland.