Good news for consumers: if a consumer is not satisfied with an internet purchase the costs of delivery cannot be charged on him. This was recently decided by the EU Court of Justice in the case of the German email-order company Heinrich Heine.
Customers of Heine who exercised the right of withdrawal were charged with the costs of delivery. According to the Court of Justice this is a violation of the Distance Selling Directive. This directive provides that in the European Union a consumer may withdraw from a distance contract within a period of at least 7 working days free of charge. The Court of Justice decided that this means that the costs for delivering the product cannot be charged to a consumer who is not satisfied with the product. Based on the directive only the direct costs of returning the goods may be charged.
In its judgment the Court of Justice clarifies the rules of the directive that have been implemented in the Dutch Distance Selling Act. A lot of web shops will have to change their sales conditions!
Kim Braber
|
office Emerald House Jozef Israëlskade 48-G Amsterdam, the Netherlands t +31 (0)20 - 305 3066 www.hoogenhaak.nl |
post PO Box 76780 1070 KB Amsterdam e info@hoogenhaak.nl f +31 (0)20 - 305 3069 chamber of commerce 34314579 |
Good news for consumers: if a consumer is not satisfied with an internet purchase the costs of delivery cannot be charged on him. This was recently decided by the EU Court of Justice in the case of the German email-order company Heinrich Heine.
Customers of Heine who exercised the right of withdrawal were charged with the costs of delivery. According to the Court of Justice this is a violation of the Distance Selling Directive. This directive provides that in the European Union a consumer may withdraw from a distance contract within a period of at least 7 working days free of charge. The Court of Justice decided that this means that the costs for delivering the product cannot be charged to a consumer who is not satisfied with the product. Based on the directive only the direct costs of returning the goods may be charged.
In its judgment the Court of Justice clarifies the rules of the directive that have been implemented in the Dutch Distance Selling Act. A lot of web shops will have to change their sales conditions!
Kim Braber