The Commission has announced that it will conduct a review of
the Directive to assess how much it needs to be updated. The
Directive, which is critical in laying down the legal parameters of
internet retailing in Europe, was passed in 1997.
The Commission will now conduct an investigation into the
Directive and into how it has been passed into law in all the
member states amidst fears that a wide divergence of practices has
caused confusion and mistrust on the part of consumers.
"National divergences in transposition result in particular from
the use of the 'minimum clause', which states that member states
may introduce or maintain more stringent provisions to ensure a
higher level of consumer protection as long as these measures are
compatible with the EU Treaty," said a Commission statement.
"This may have an impact on the internal market and may affect
business and consumer confidence in cross-border trade," it
said.
"What I am most worried about are possible loopholes or areas of
legal uncertainty created by new and fast-growing distance selling
products and technologies, which might create confusion for
consumers and serious business alike, or be exploited by rogue
traders," said Kyprianou.
"I think it's the appropriate time to carry out a review," said
Gavin McGinty, an e-commerce lawyer with Pinsent Masons, the law
firm behind OUT-LAW. "The minimum clause divisions in the Directive
meant that different countries have implemented the Directive
slightly differently. For instance in the UK we have a minimum
cancellation right period of 7 working days from the day after the
goods are delivered but in Denmark that's 14 days. This means that
there might be confusion for people ordering from different
countries, which is never a good thing."
"The consultation we are launching today will help us gather
valuable stakeholder feedback on whether and how to update the
Distance Selling Directive. It will also feed into our broader
review of the Consumer Protection body of legislation next
year.”
"Differences are likely to have arisen in the interpretations of
the Directive rather than the ways it was taken up by the
Governments," said McGinty. "The OFT guidance that was issued in
the UK just a couple of weeks ago went quite far in adding to or
interpreting what the regulations in the UK say."
The Directive was designed to make distance buying as close as
possible to the experience of going into a shop. Because consumers
could not touch and see goods, extra provision for returning goods
was written into the Directive.
The Commission statement said that the Directive may need to be
adapted to suit new products and technologies, such as mobile phone
commerce and online auctions.
The consultation period is now open and will run until
November.
Free seminar on online selling
OUT-LAW is running a series of free breakfast seminars on the
law of selling online that will help businesses to understand the
rules and best practice guidance for selling online. The events
will take place in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh
and Glasgow.
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