[Ecommerce] EC to overhaul consumer law to boost e-commerce

Mon Feb 19 09:26:07 2007

Dear All,

The Green paper on the revision of the 8 directives forming the so-called C=
onsumer Acquis has been expected for quite some time. But there can be both=
 positive and "negative" aspects in this which consumer organisations will =
have to respond to before 15. May.
The "overhaul" was not made to "boost e-commerce" as stated above, but one =
part of it - and let's hope that the rules surrounding this will be benefic=
ial for the consumer protection as well.

Best regards
Benedicte

>>> "Michelle Childs" <michelle.childs@cptech.org> 14-02-07 15:01 >>>
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/02/13/eu_e-commerce_consultation/
EC to overhaul consumer law to boost e-commerce
Making many laws one
By OUT-LAW.COM
Published Tuesday 13th February 2007 10:58
The European Commission will overhaul European contract law to make
internet selling easier, more reliable and more efficient.

The commission has opened consultation on proposed changes that will
affect eight EU Directives.

Recognising that e-commerce is hampered by a mass of conflicting national
laws, the commission has proposed changes to Directives which it hopes
will, when transferred into national laws, bring the law into line with
technological developments.

"There is an urgent need for action, the world is moving so fast and
Europe risks lagging behind", said Meglena Kuneva, the new EU Commissioner
for Consumer Affairs, in her first press conference in Brussels. "We need
a root and branch review of consumer rules. At the moment, consumers are
not getting a fair deal online, and complex rules are holding back the
next generation of bright business ideas. We must find new solutions to
new challenges."

The commission believes that online businesses would benefit significantly
if doubts about the legal implications of cross-border trading were
removed.

"Consumer confidence is a key factor determining how and when consumers
spend their money in different sectors of the economy," said a Commission
statement. "All the evidence is that consumers are not yet comfortable
enough in the digital and online world to seize its full potential. Only a
tiny fraction =96 six per cent of EU consumers =96 are currently shopping
online cross border."

The commission will review all consumer contract law, which will involve a
review of eight directives. They are: the Unfair Contract Terms Directive
and the Directive on Sale of Consumer Goods and Guarantees; the Distance
Selling Directive; the Doorstep Selling Directive; the Package Travel
Directive; the Timeshare Directive; the Directive on Injunctions; and the
Price Indication Directive.

The commission has found that the most common problem consumers have is
with delivery of items involved in cross-border commerce. Non-delivery,
late or partial delivery accounted for 46 per cent of complaints in a 2005
EU study of the online marketplace. The second biggest complaint, at 25
per cent of all complaints, was that the goods had defects or were not
what the consumer thought they were buying.

A major issue the commission will address will be the issue of returns.
National laws currently differ on who should pay for returned items and
what the procedure is, meaning that cross-border traders and consumers
have to have a knowledge of the laws of a number of countries in order to
operate in Europe.

Similarly, the commission will attempt to create one law on the issue of
refunds and price reductions in case of faults, and will try to clarify
what cooling off period should apply across the EU.

The commission said the results of its recent consultation on the Distance
Selling Directive would be added to the results of the current
consultation, because that directive is so central to the regulation of
cross border e-commerce.

"We must find new solutions to new challenges," said Kuneva. "The question
is can we afford to have 27 mini-online markets in Europe, denying
consumers choice, opportunity and competitive prices? We need to inject a
new sense of consumer confidence into the e-shopping world so it becomes a
trusted market space. The rules of the game have changed, it's time for
consumer policy to respond."

Copyright =A9 2007, OUT-LAW.com

OUT-LAW.COM is part of international law firm Pinsent Masons.

--
Michelle Childs -Head of European Affairs
Consumer Project on Technology in London
24, Highbury Crescent, London, N5 1RX,UK.
Tel:+44(0)207 226 6663 ex 252.
Mob:+44(0)790 386 4642. Fax: +44(0)207 354 0607
http://www.cptech.org

Consumer Project on Technology in Washington, DC
1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA .Tel.:
+1.202.332.2670,Fax: +1.202.332.2673

Consumer Project on Technology in Geneva
1 Route des  Morillons, CP 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 791 6727