Case law

  • Case Details
    • National ID: link
    • Member State: France
    • Common Name:link
    • Decision type: Other
    • Decision date: 07/12/2004
    • Court: Cour de Cassation (Supreme court)
    • Subject:
    • Plaintiff:
    • Defendant:
    • Keywords:
  • Directive Articles
    Doorstep Selling Directive, Article 1, 1.
  • Headnote
    No Headnotes available.
  • Facts
    The company Entretien service auto concluded a contract for the provision security surveillance on its premises with another company Compagnie européenne de télésécurité (CET) as well as a hire contract of surveillance equipment from the company Socréa location, which became the company KBC x France (KBC).
    KBC brought a civil action for payment of CET’s outstanding debts. CET contended that the contracts were void because there was no detachable slip for withdrawal.
    In the lower courts the contracts were declared null and void.
    KBC appealed the decision on the grounds that, first, the doorstep selling provisions cannot be made applicable to the type of transaction in question which falls outside its frame of reference. In the alternative, the simple reference in a print-out to the provisions of the Consumer Code concerning doorstep selling is not sufficient to apply the legal rules of those provisions which would, were it not for the reference, have been inapplicable to the type of transaction contracted.
  • Legal issue
    In the absence of statutory intention to the contrary, contractual parties are free to have their commercial transactions governed by provisions in the Consumer Code relating to doorstep selling which would otherwise not be applicable.
    The Court of Appeal had found as a matter of fact that the contracts in question had provided for the contracting partner to withdraw in accordance with the provisions of the Consumer Code and this finding cannot be overturned on appeal.
  • Decision

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