Consumer Protection

Consumer Protection in Europe

Consumer Rights Directive Advantages

Advantages for Consumers

1. Tough new rules on delivery.
Delivery is the biggest problem for consumers in cross border shopping. At present the definition of delivery is not elaborated in EU consumer law. Different rules apply in different Member States. Now goods must be delivered in 30 days everywhere in the EU. Consumers are fully protected with new rules covering any damage which occur during transport. For late delivery, or non delivery – as a consumer you have a new right to get your money back in 7 days.
2. An End to hidden charges – no display no pay!
The new rules target hidden charges – a new plague for consumers – with tough new transparency requirements. The new directive makes it very clear where the consumer was not informed upfront, in pre-contractual terms, about extra costs and hidden charges they are not obliged to pa the charge and they are entitled to a refund. This breaks new ground for EU consumers.
3. A strengthened EU wide 14-day “cooling off” period and right of withdrawal for consumers.
Cooling off periods are strengthened to build confidence. The new 14 day right is a significant forwards from the situation (7 day minimum) It is essential for consumers to have peace of mind buying at a distance and under pressure. They need to be able to “cool off” and change their mind. For many member states this is a significant step forwards.
4. A new ban on default pre-ticked opt-in boxes.
There is new protection to crack down on default options which are being increasingly used deny consumers a real choice. All pre-ticked box which apply to payments are banned – for example, for travel insurance, priority boarding and baggage. Consumes have to expressly consent to such additional payments by for example ticking a consent box. Under the new rules consumers, for the first time, have a right to be reimbursed any the sums unduly paid using these default options.
5. New “see through clauses” – full pre-contractual information must be provided in all contracts.
Independently of hour a consumer concludes a contract – in the face to face situation, over the internet, on the phone or on the street, he will be entitled to the same information. For the first time, omissions in the information provided to the consumers will have a mandatory contractual remedy. Full information for consumers is essential not an-add on luxury. National courts will decide on the remedy depending on the scale of the omission– from refunds, to replacement or declaring a contract void.
6. A major crackdown on pressure selling.
The new rules significantly extend protection against pressure selling to cover all “off premises selling.” This has been one of the biggest areas of complaints for consumers. All direct transactions which are carried out (face to face), away from a business premises will be covered, compared to the old limited rules covering only “doorstep” sales at home. The loopholes exempting “solicited” visits and causing a very high number of complaints are closed.”
7.Closing loopholes for distance selling
New definitions means that ALL distance contracts are fully covered – closing existing loopholes. For example, contracts negotiated away from business premises, but concluded by means of distance communication will now be covered. In fact, all distance sales are covered.
8. New transparency obligations
New transparency to inform on any deposits or guarantees to be taken by the trader eg blocking a sum on a credit card or debit card and there is obligation to reveal if the trader is acting as an intermediary (as B2C rights do not then apply). These are two areas that have been causing a high number of consumer complaints.
9. New protection for Mobile-commerce and Tele-commerce:
EU Consumer rights are extended to cover m-commerce and tele-commerce for the first time. The new rules make it possible for traders selling – often using small screens – to provide only key information on price and product to the consumer. But they put in place a mandatory obligation for full information on the consumers rights to be provided via web link, or toll free number- so they are clearly available to the consumer.
Updating the existing rules, to allow modern technology such as Email, and pdf files (e.g. scanned letter) to be easily used by consumers to notify the trader They are now considered a “durable medium.”
10. New EU Black list and grey list of unfair and abusive contract terms –
so that consumers cannot be caught out by hidden clauses in the small print. These binding lists of unfair terms are a significant improvement for consumers compared to the current situation. Now some Member States have purely indicative lists – that in practice offer weaker protection to consumers.
11. New EU wide protection for online auctions:
Protection for online auctions for consumers is significantly strengthened across the EU. Now all online auctions are covered by the information provisions. The biggest problems online auctions come from the goods not being as described and consumers not being able to contact the trader.
12. Information for consumers rights at point of sale
There is a specific requirement in the directive for Member States to ensure that consumers are given clear information about their rights at point of sale. The low level of awareness about rights has been raised by consumer organisations throughout the consultation process. Rights are no good unless people know about them.

Advantages for European Business and Traders

Traders will be able to use the same contract terms in all countries. The Impact Assessment Report shows that for instance a distance seller already trading in his home country will be able to expand his sales to 26 Member States by incurring a cost, to comply with relevant legal requirements, of 2,153 euro instead of 70,526 euro. For a newly established distance seller the cost of setting up a new business that complies with the regulation of 27 Member States will diminish from 70,526 euro to 5,526 euro.

By incurring the cost of change, existing distance and off premises businesses will comply with the relevant legal requirements across the EU and will be able to trade freely in 27 Member States. This will result in a significant reduction of the burden for companies wishing to sell cross-border in the EU. For example, a distance or off premises seller already trading in his home country will have the same cost for trading in for instance 5, 10 or 27 Member States as in one, given that the rules will be the same. No additional burden is envisaged for face-to-face retailers.


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