Consumer rights relating to online purchases

Two recent judgments delivered by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) have clarified the breadth of protection afforded to consumers by EU law when entering into distance contracts.

The EU’s Consumer Rights Directive endows the consumer with various rights when entering into contracts with traders, be they distance or off-premises contracts, or ones concluded in brick-and-mortar shops or offices.

Two salient rights relate to the type and extent of information to be provided by the trader to a consumer, as well as the right of withdrawal. The latter applies solely in the case of distance or off-premises contracts.

As a general rule, a consumer who enters into the latter type of contract has a period of 14 days to withdraw from such a contract, without giving any reason and without incurring any costs other than those specifically specified in the directive.

However, the directive itself provides for a number of exceptions to this general rule. By way of example, a consumer who enters into a distance or off-premises contract for the supply of goods made to the consumer’s specifications or clearly personalised, is not entitled to withdraw from such...