With the entry into force on 13.06.2014 of the new European Directive on consumer rights ( Directive 2011/83/EU), the consumers shopping online enjoy a higher level of protection. The Directive introduces stricter requirements on traders and suppliers in order to reduce the fraud cases against the consumers.
The main changes introduced with the Directive, aimed at protecting consumers are:
Pre-contractual liability - pre-contractual information requirement which includes an obligation for the traders to provide a detailed information (full identification of the trader, address and contact details - email, telephone and fax numbers, etc..)
Extended withdrawal period of the order which from 7 became 14 days;
Refund within 14 days from the date on which is exercised the right of withdrawal;
Delivery of the goods within 30 days from the date of the contract;
Contracts concluded over the phone become binding for the customer only after signing the offer or its written acceptance;
Return goods - it is allowed to return goods, even when damaged, but in this case the customer receive a reduced payment because of the product loss of value;
The responsibility for damage or loss of goods is at the expense of the traders and passes a burden on the customer after the good's transmission in his possession except in cases when the customer has chosen a different from the proposed by the trader delivery agent;
Payments made by credit cards, debit cards and by other electronic ways shall not be subject to additional fees;
Prohibition of supplementary charge for the hotlines and pre-ticked boxes for additional payments on the sites ( for example the insurance when buying plane tickets ).
Special attention deserves two basic definitions (Article 2) paramount for the online contracts between consumers and traders:
"off-premises contract" - the concept is extended not only to contracts concluded in a place "different" from the premises, but also to contracts "on" the business premises of the trader in case this happened "immediately after the consumer was personally and individually addressed in a place which is not the business premises of the trader in the simultaneous physical presence of the trader and the consumer."
"commercial guarantee" is no longer only the guarantee of conformity of the goods and the related obligations for the trader but any additional obligation or any other requirements not related to conformity undertaken on the time of or before the conclusion of the contract.
The Directive 2011 / 83 / ЕU applies to any contract concluded between consumer and trader, also to contracts for the supply of water, gas, electricity or central heating, including by public providers.
Art. 3, para. 3 of the Directive lists the excluded from its scope contracts among which are, with some specifics: the contracts for social services, healthcare, gambling, financial services, contracts related to immovable property, package tourist services, established by a public office-holder, for passenger transport services, those concluded by means of automatic vending machines or automated commercial premises.
The new Directive aims to simplify the stipulation of online contracts while ensuring more extensive protection for consumers. The harmonization of the national legislation
in this area will lead to greater opportunities for the online entrepreneurs to outsource their business across the national borders.
The Bulgarian legislator has not yet implemented these significant changes in the Bulgarian consumer protection law, although the deadline for this long since expired, and while this does not happen the Bulgarian consumers and traders shall and will refer directly to the Directive 2011/83/EU .
Sabina Popova
© 2014 1Legal.Net Blog Copyright
Materials published on this blog are copyrighted. No part of them can be copied or used without the express permission of the author.
There are no comments at the moment.