Headnote
The author describes the most important rules on trader-consumer contracts, as provided by Government Emergency Ordinance no. 34/2014 on consumer rights resulting from contracts concluded with traders (which transposes the provisions of Directive 2011/83/EEC) ("GEO 34/2014"), as follows:
• GEO 34/2014 applies to any contract concluded between a trader and a consumer, including the supply of electronic communication services for public destination or to services of access and connection to public networks of electronic communications. It also applies to contracts for supply of water, natural gas, electricity or district heating, including by public providers, to the extent that these commodities are provided on a contractual basis.
• Special regulations for concluding and executing the contracts:
o distance contract means any contract concluded between the trader and the consumer under an organised distance sales or service-provision scheme without the simultaneous physical presence of the trader and the consumer, with the exclusive use of one or more means of distance communication up to and including the time at which the contract is concluded;
o the traders who use distance contracts must inform the consumers with respect to: the main characteristics of the goods or services, the identity of the trader, the identification data related to the trader, the total price of the goods or services inclusive of taxes, or where the nature of the goods or services is such that the price cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, the manner in which the price is to be calculated, as well as, where applicable, all additional freight, delivery or postal charges and any other costs or, where those charges cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, the fact that such additional charges may be payable etc.
• the moment of concluding distance contracts is represented by the moment of the trader's confirmation of acceptance on durable medium, of the consumer's order;
• a particularity of distance contracts is represented by the consumer's right of withdrawal, within 14 days from the conclusion of the contract in the case of service contracts, or in the case of sales contracts, the day on which the consumer or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by the consumer acquires physical possession of the goods.