The Consumentenbond (CB, "Consumers association") is a Dutch non-profit organization which promotes

consumer protection Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

History

The Consumentenbond was established in 1953. As of 1997 it had 650,000 members and represented one out of nine Dutch families, which made it the consumer organization with the highest level of penetration in any nation. Just as other on membership based organisations, the number of members has declined significantly since the beginning of this century. For the last five years the membership count stabilized on or around 480.000 members. The name of the Consumentenbond is sometimes shortened as "CB". In 1960, the Consumentenbond was one of the five founders of what is now called

Consumers International Consumers International is the membership organization for consumer groups around the world. Founded on 1 April 1960, it has over 250 member organizations in 120 countries. Its head office is situated in London, England, and has numerous region ...

. Until 1993 the headquarters of the organization was hosted in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. The Consumentenbond has, with Consumers International, emphasized the need to assist consumers in

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

. In 1962, the Consumentenbond participated in the foundation of the European Consumers' Bureau (BEUC). In 1970, the Consumentenbond along with representatives of commercial industries established the Foundation for Resolution of Disputes (SGC), which was an organization which had the mission to address consumer complaints for member companies in those industries. Whenever a consumer had a complaint the complaint would be heard by a panel consisting of a chairman with legal expertise, a representative of the industry, and a representative selected by Consumentenbond. In 1974, the Consumentenbond and Konsumenten Kontakt (an other Dutch consumerorganisation) used government funding to establish the Foundation for Scientific Research on Consumer Affairs (SWOKA) to guide government policy.

References

External links

{{Consumers International Consumer organisations in the Netherlands Members of Consumers International