Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2010:48
Date: 2010-01-28
Language of the case: German
Subject matter: Consumer protection;Approximation of laws
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Germany

Summary of the Judgment Approximation of laws – Protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts – Directive 97/7 – Right of withdrawal (European Parliament and Council Directive 97/7, Art. 6(1), first subpara., 2nd sentence, and (2)) Article 6(1), first subparagraph, second sentence, and Article 6(2) of Directive 97/7 on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts must be interpreted as precluding national legislation that allows the supplier under a distance contract to charge the costs of delivering the goods to the consumer where the latter exercises his right of withdrawal. Those provisions authorise suppliers to charge consumers, in the event of their withdrawal, only the direct cost of returning the goods. If consumers also had to pay the delivery costs, such a charge, which would necessarily dissuade consumers from exercising their right of withdrawal, would run counter to the very objective of Article 6 of the directive. In addition, charging them in that way would compromise a balanced sharing of the risks between parties to distance contracts, by making consumers liable to bear all the costs related to transporting the goods. (see paras 55-57, 59, operative part)