About us: ZEV and private enforcement
The Centre for European Consumer Protection (Zentrum für Europäischen Verbraucherschutz e. V., ZEV) has been a central contact point for consumers with cross-border legal problems for more than 30 years.
Since being recognised as a qualified entity for EU representative actions, ZEV has also been able to enforce consumer rights through legal action.
This page provides more information about our responsibilities and powers in the area of collective redress.
ZEV as a qualified entity for private enforcement in Europe
The ZEV has been designated as a qualified entity for representative actions in Germany since 2023.
It was the first organisation in Germany to be designated to bring cross-border representative actions and, together with the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv), remains one of only two organisations with this authorisation.
This means that ZEV can bring actions for injunctions and redress in other EU countries to combat unfair and unlawful practices by companies and to enforce the claims of affected German consumers.
When does ZEV’s enforcement team act?
ZEV investigates consumer complaints and can bring actions against companies that violate consumer rights. Examples of relevant infringements are
- Illegal terms and conditions
- Non-transparent or misleading website design
- Subscription traps or unclear cancellation procedures
- Violations of EU consumer protection rules
Cooperation with other consumer protection organisations
ZEV works closely with other consumer protection organisations, including the Consumer Centres (Verbraucherzentralen) – qualified national enforcement bodies – and the European Consumer Centre (ECC) Germany. This cooperation makes it possible to represent the interests of consumers in a targeted manner and to pursue infringements of consumer rights more efficiently.
Funding of actions
ZEV’s enforcement activities are financed exclusively by public funds; ZEV is a non-profit organisation. ZEV is politically neutral and exclusively committed to the interests of consumers.
Further explanation of our role
The Centre for European Consumer Protection is a qualified entity for cross-border representative actions under § 4 d UKlaG and a qualified consumer association under § 4 UKlaG.
In this capacity, it acts exclusively in the interests of the consumers concerned.
ZEV takes collective action only against traders. The aim is to prevent them from violating consumer protection laws and to ensure that any losses incurred are compensated. The starting point is always ZEV’s own investigations or consumer complaints that lead the ZEV staff to believe that the law has been broken.
To avoid any possible conflict with the interests of third parties who finance procedures under Directive (EU) 2020/1828, the ZEV undertakes to use only public funds to finance measures under Directive (EU) 2020/1828.
The Board of the Association has signed a voluntary commitment to comply with these conditions.
In accordance with § 10, paragraph 1 of the Association’s Statutes, the Supervisory Board, as the controlling body, monitors the Board’s compliance with the voluntary commitment and the use of funds. It has the right to demand information from the Board and to inspect files. The Board’s actions are approved by the General Meeting in accordance with Article 8 b) of the Articles of Association. The funds are managed under a separate cost centre in accordance with the grant conditions of the public donors and are audited by them.
An overview of ZEV’s income and expenditure in the institutional budget and project expenditure can be found in the current annual report.
The host organisation – Zentrum für Europäischen Verbraucherschutz e. V.
Since 1993, ZEV has been supporting consumers with cross-border legal problems. The organisation provides a range of free advisory services, activities and projects in the field of European consumer protection.
Find out more about the organisation on the ZEV website (available in German and French).
