Case law

  • Case Details
    • National ID: No.3-pk
    • Member State: Latvia
    • Common Name:link
    • Decision type: Administrative decision, first degree
    • Decision date: 02/12/2015
    • Court: Consumer Rights Protection Centre
    • Subject:
    • Plaintiff: Unknown
    • Defendant: SIA „Dato Trade”
    • Keywords: distance contracting, durable medium, right of withdrawal
  • Directive Articles
    Consumer Rights Directive, Chapter 1, Article 2, (7) Consumer Rights Directive, Chapter 1, Article 2, (10) Consumer Rights Directive, Chapter 3, Article 6, 1., (a) Consumer Rights Directive, Chapter 3, Article 6, 7. Consumer Rights Directive, Chapter 3, Article 11, 1.
  • Headnote
    (1) Distance contracts require providing sufficient characteristics of the goods traded in the official language of the state.
    (2) Requirement to provide conditions of the contract includes the duty to provide the terms of payment and delivery.
    (3) The reminder of guarantee of the goods is an indispensable aspect of distance contract.
    (4) The withdrawal form is illegitimate, if it contains restrictions exceeding those permitted by law, such as the requirement to return the goods within shorter period than laid down by the law, the requirement to return the goods in full packaging, and the exemption of the right to return goods if they are intended for current consumption.
    (5) Not ensuring the possibility of saving the distance contract rules available on the trader’s website via durable medium violates consumer rights associated with distance contracts.
  • Facts
    The defendant traded goods on his website. The descriptions of the goods contained little information on these goods. The website contained a withdrawal form which provided conditions of exercise of withdrawal:
    1) the requirement to return the goods within 7 days;
    2) the requirement to return the goods in full packaging;
    3) the exemption from the right to return goods if they are intended for current consumption.
    Moreover, the website did not contain a reminder of guarantees in case the goods do not conform to the contract.
  • Legal issue
    (1) First, the court found that the defendant violates the consumer rights related to distance contracts, because it does not provide sufficient characteristics of the goods on its website: the descriptions of the goods sometimes do not contain any information or do not contain information in the official language of the state (Latvian).
    (2) Second, the court stated that the defendant does not provide sufficient information on his website, as it does not provide the conditions and terms of payment and delivery.
    (3) Next, the court found that the reminder of guarantee of the goods is an indispencsible aspect of distance contract.
    (4) Furthermore, court found that the defendant prescribes illegitimate conditions on the withdrawal form, as the form contains several restrictions exceeding those permitted by law: first, the requirement to return the goods within 7 days (not 14 days required by law), second, to return the goods in full packaging, and third, the exemption from the right to return goods if they are intended for current consumption, whereas the law does not provide such exemption.
    (5) Finally, the court ruled that the defendant violates consumers’ rights to information pursuant to distance agreements because the defendant does not ensure its consumers the possibility of saving the distance agreement rules available on the website via durable medium.
  • Decision

    (1) What are the requirements of providing sufficient information on the characteristics of goods traded by distance contract?
    (2) What does the requirement to provide conditions of the contract entail?
    (3) What is the legal significance of the reminder of guarantee of the goods?
    (4) What are illegitimate conditions of the withdrawal form?
    (5) What are the legal implications of not ensuring the possibility of saving the distance contract rules via durable medium?

    URL: http://www.ptac.gov.lv/sites/default/files/lemums_datotrade_k-56izraksts.pdf

    Full text: Full text

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  • Result
    The defendant was ordered to rectify the lack of sufficient and valid information concerning distance contracts on his website.