The Netherlands - Dutch Consumer Empowering Website wins Best Government Website prize

The Dutch website ConsuWijzer.nl (www.consuwijzer.nl) - run jointly by the Netherlands Consumer Authority, the Netherlands Competition Authority and the Independent Netherlands Post and Telecommunications Authority - has been elected "Best governmental website 2010" by the general public. This was announced by the organisation behind the Website of the Year election, which is the most important Dutch online prize based on a popular vote. ConsuWijzer.nl scored the highest average scores on content, navigation and design. The website offers consumers a first step in the solution of issues they confront in the sales of goods and services. Consumers will find legal advice made accessible in plain language. Also, ConsuWijzer.nl offers practical tools for consumers such as sample letters, that allow consumers to easily claim their rights.

The webiste was launched in 2006. Currently 2 million consumers visit the website annualy (on a population of 16,5 million). The website receives 100.000 queries and complaints on an annual basis, thus being a major source of intelligence for the Consumer Authority. Every month 40.000 sample letters are being downloaded from the website. The most popular ones are on: terminating contracts and on claiming repair or replacement of non-conform products. The best visited pages are on: telemarketing, guarantees, comparisons on energy supply and sms-services. Since recently ConsuWijzer.nl also offers a website for mobile phones (http://m.consuwijzer.nl/), thus enabling consumers to have access to practical advice at any place, aslo in the shop.