The Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU[1] is a consumer protection measure in EU law.[2][3] It was due to be implemented by 13 December 2013.[4]
Scope
The Directive applies to most contracts between traders and consumers[5] and applied to all contracts concluded after 13 June 2014.[6] Exceptions include financial services, gambling, healthcare by regulated professionals, package travel,[7] property transactions, social services, timeshare[7] and most aspects of passenger transport.
Content
The Consumer Rights Directive contains provisions on:
- Information to be given before a consumer buys goods or services on the trader’s premises
- Information to be given before a consumer buys goods or services away from the trader's premises (e.g. at home or at a fair), or at a distance (internet, telesales)
- Cancellation rights and responsibilities where the consumer buys goods or services away from the trader's premises or at a distance
- Delivery times for goods – clarifying what deadlines for delivery should be and where responsibilities lie if there is a problem
- Post-contract customer helplines, where existing customers must be charged no more than the basic rate for phone calls[8]
- Additional payments (on top of the main price of a purchase) which would need to have active or express consent of the consumer. An example is that pre-ticked boxes which the consumer must 'untick' will no longer be allowed
- Fees charged for a particular method of payment (e.g. credit card surcharges).[9]
Implementation
The UK government held a consultation in 2012.[10][11] The new laws overhaul a number of consumer protection measures originally enacted long before the rise of internet shopping[12][13] and fit together with a number of other changes[14] to form a new Consumer Bill of Rights replacing more than a dozen older, often overlapping and inconsistent laws.[15]Outdated Spanish mortgage laws have already been shown to be in breach of the new rules and must conform.[16]