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Rules of Procedure for the Internal Complaint-Handling System (ICHS) of idealo (idealo Shopping)

1. Access to the ICHS of idealo Shopping 

idealo has set up an electronic and free internal complaint-handling system (“ICHS”) for dealing with user complaints made against certain decisions taken by idealo.  

If you have submitted a notice of alleged illegal content through the electronic notice mechanism available for all users on any idealo Shopping Portal in the European Union and you do not agree with our decision regarding the reported content, you have the option of filing a complaint against this decision via our ICHS. 

If you have submitted information to idealo and such information is directly affected by a content moderation decision you also have access to our ICHS.  

In particular, the following content moderation decisions, which are made on the grounds that the information submitted constitutes illegal content or is incompatible with our applicable General Terms and Conditions, General Terms of Use or idealo Guidelines, are subject to appeal by the user that submitted the respective content:   

  • Removal of, disabling access to or demoting of product offers   

  • Removal of or disabling access to user reviews   

  • Partial or complete suspension of the provision of the idealo services    

  • Termination of the provision of the idealo services.   

The possibility of appeal in accordance with the above paragraphs exists for a period of six months from the date of the decision.  Only one complaint can be submitted for each content moderation decision.   

Business users may also use the ICHS to file complaints about other measures or behaviours of idealo that adversely affect them within the scope of the contractual relationship. 

2. Complaints Procedure 

We will inform you on a case-by-case basis if you have the option to lodge a complaint through our ICHS.

If we inform you by e-mail of a moderation decision pertaining to you or of the rejection of a notification you submitted through our notice mechanism, you may lodge a complaint informally by replying to said e-mail. 

As a retailer with an idealo business account, you can lodge a complaint utilising the form at the bottom of each page on your account. 

In order to process a complaint in a targeted and efficient manner, we require at least the following information: 

  • A clear explanation of which content moderation decision your complaint relates to.   

  • A clear and precise explanation of why you consider our decision to be incorrect.   

  • If applicable, further information and evidence to support your complaint.

Once a complaint is submitted through our ICHS we will review it in a timely, non-discriminatory, diligent, and objective manner. Once reached, we will notify you without undue delay of the result of our review. 

If a complaint contains sufficient substantiated reasons to conclude 

  1. that the decision not to act upon a notice is unfounded, or 

  1. that the information to which the complaint relates is neither illegal nor incompatible with our applicable General Terms and Conditions, General Terms of Use or idealo Guidelines, or  

  1. that the complainant's behaviour does not justify the suspension or termination of the provision of the idealo services, 

we will without delay reverse the respective decision or measure, insofar as it is both technologically feasible and reasonable. 

Otherwise, we will uphold our initial decision and reject your complaint. If you do not agree with our decision in the appeal proceedings, you have various legal remedies at your disposal, depending on the circumstances.     

Further information on the possible legal remedies can be found in section 4.

3. Complaints From Qualified Bodies, Organisations or Associations 

Complaints submitted in the name of our users by bodies, organisations or associations as referred to in Article 86 (1) DSA through the ICHS of any European Union idealo Shopping website will be processed and resolved with priority and without undue delay. 

4. Out-Of-Court Dispute Settlement Bodies and Mediation 

As part of our obligations under EU law, we work with out-of-court dispute settlement bodies to settle disputes related to content moderation decisions (e.g. rejection of a notice or complaint about illegal content or removal of illegal content).    

The procedure is open to all users who are directly affected by moderation decisions imposed on European Union idealo Shopping websites (currently comprising idealo.de, idealo.at, idealo.fr, idealo.es and idealo.it). 

If the option to engage in out-of-court dispute settlement is available in individual cases, we will inform the respective user about it.   

We recommend that users try to resolve their concerns using our ICHS before initiating a dispute settlement procedure in order to find a solution more quickly and do so free of charge. 

Requests to initiate dispute settlement procedures must be filed with a certified out-of-court dispute settlement body. Certification will be carried out by the Digital Services Coordinators of the EU member states. The details of the out-of-court dispute settlement procedure are governed by Article 21 DSA (see Regulation (EU) 2022/2065). 

The certified out-of-court dispute settlement bodies are not authorised to impose a legally binding dispute settlement on the respective user and idealo. 

We will update the information on this page once the out-of-court dispute settlement bodies have been certified and further information has been published by the Digital Services Coordinator responsible for idealo or by the Commission. 

In accordance with Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1150, business users are also entitled to engage in mediation for the out-of-court settlement of disputes that could not be resolved by means of idealo's ICHS. idealo cooperates with the mediators recommended by the German E-Commerce and Distance Selling Trade Association (Bundesverband E-Commerce und Versandhandel bevh e.V.) listed here. The mediation procedure may involve costs for the respective business user. 

idealo reserves the right to refuse to cooperate with a competent out-of-court dispute settlement or mediation body if  

  • a dispute concerning the same information and the same grounds has already been settled, or 

  • the respective user has neither filed a complaint through idealo's ICHS nor called upon a competent dispute settlement or mediation body within six months of idealo's notification about the contested decision.  

The right of affected users to assert any claims for redress, injunctive relief, damages, or compensation in court remains unaffected by the aforementioned options for out-of-court dispute settlement and mediation. 

5. Misuse of the ICHS 

If you submit a complaint through our ICHS, you must act in good faith and ensure that the information you provide is accurate and complete.    

If we find that individuals or entities are frequently submitting manifestly unfounded complaints, we are required by law to suspend the processing of complaints from these individuals and entities for a reasonable period of time after prior warning.   

When deciding on the suspension and, as applicable, its duration, we consider all facts and circumstances at our disposal. This includes in particular (i) the absolute number of manifestly unfounded complaints submitted within a certain period of time, (ii) their relative share of the total number of complaints submitted during this period, (iii) the nature of the complaints and the severity of the associated allegations, including their impact on other users, and (iv) the intentions of the complainant, if discernible.

 

Last updated: 05 July 2024