Joined Cases C-33/20, C-155/20 and C-187/20: Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 9 September 2021 (requests for a preliminary ruling from the Landgericht Ravensburg — Germany) — UK v Volkswagen Bank GmbH (C-33/20), RT, SV, BC v Volkswagen Bank GmbH, Skoda Bank, succursale de Volkswagen Bank GmbH (C-155/20), JL, DT v BMW Bank GmbH, Volkswagen Bank GmbH (C-187/20) (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Consumer protection — Directive 2008/48/EC — Consumer credit — Article 10(2) — Information which must be included in the agreement — Obligation to state the type of credit, the duration of the credit agreement, the rate of interest on arrears and the mechanism for adjusting the rate of interest on arrears applicable at the time of conclusion of the credit agreement — Change in the default interest rate in the light of a change in the base interest rate determined by the central bank of a Member State — Compensation due in the event of early repayment of the loan — Obligation to specify the method of calculating the change to the default interest rate and the compensation — No obligation to mention the possibilities for terminating the credit agreement provided for by national rules but not by Directive 2008/48 — Article 14(1) — Right of withdrawal exercised by the consumer on the basis of a failure to make a compulsory indication under Article 10(2) — Exercise outside the time limit — Prohibition on the creditor raising a plea of forfeiture or the plea of abuse of rights)
Date: 2021-09-09
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: consumer credit, consumer information, contract terms, interest, redemption, termination of a contract








C_2021462EN.01001501.xml










15.11.2021   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 462/15






Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 9 September 2021 (requests for a preliminary ruling from the Landgericht Ravensburg — Germany) — UK v Volkswagen Bank GmbH (C-33/20), RT, SV, BC v Volkswagen Bank GmbH, Skoda Bank, succursale de Volkswagen Bank GmbH (C-155/20), JL, DT v BMW Bank GmbH, Volkswagen Bank GmbH (C-187/20)
(Joined Cases C-33/20, C-155/20 and C-187/20) (1)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Consumer protection - Directive 2008/48/EC - Consumer credit - Article 10(2) - Information which must be included in the agreement - Obligation to state the type of credit, the duration of the credit agreement, the rate of interest on arrears and the mechanism for adjusting the rate of interest on arrears applicable at the time of conclusion of the credit agreement - Change in the default interest rate in the light of a change in the base interest rate determined by the central bank of a Member State - Compensation due in the event of early repayment of the loan - Obligation to specify the method of calculating the change to the default interest rate and the compensation - No obligation to mention the possibilities for terminating the credit agreement provided for by national rules but not by Directive 2008/48 - Article 14(1) - Right of withdrawal exercised by the consumer on the basis of a failure to make a compulsory indication under Article 10(2) - Exercise outside the time limit - Prohibition on the creditor raising a plea of forfeiture or the plea of abuse of rights)
(2021/C 462/14)
Language of the case: Germany

Referring court

Landgericht Ravensburg

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicants: UK (C-33/20), RT, SV, BC (C-155/20), JL, DT (C-187/20)

Defendants: Volkswagen Bank GmbH (C-33/20), Volkswagen Bank GmbH, Skoda Bank, succursale de Volkswagen Bank GmbH (C-155/20), BMW Bank GmbH, Volkswagen Bank GmbH (C-187/20)

Operative part of the judgment







1.


Article 10(2)(a), (c) and (e) of Directive 2008/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 on credit agreements for consumers and repealing Council Directive 87/102/EEC must be interpreted as meaning that where that is the case, the credit agreement must state, in a clear and concise manner, that it is a ‘linked credit agreement’ within the meaning of Article 3(n) of that directive and that it is concluded for a fixed period.










2.


Article 10(2) of Directive 2008/48 must be interpreted as not requiring a ‘linked credit agreement’ within the meaning of Article 3(n) of that directive, which serves exclusively to finance an agreement for the supply of goods and which provides that the amount of credit is to be paid to the seller of those goods, to state that the consumer is released from his or her obligation to pay the purchase price to the extent of the amount disbursed and that the seller, provided that the purchase price has been paid in full, must return the goods purchased to him or her.










3.


Article 10(2)(l) of Directive 2008/48 must be interpreted as meaning that the credit agreement must state, in the form of a specific percentage, the rate of interest on arrears applicable at the time of the conclusion of that agreement and must describe in concrete terms the mechanism for adjusting the rate of interest on arrears. In the event that the parties to the credit agreement in question have agreed that the rate of interest on arrears will be adjusted in accordance with the change in the base interest rate determined by the central bank of a Member State and published in an official journal which is easily accessible, a reference in that agreement to that base interest rate shall be sufficient, provided that the method of calculating the rate of interest on arrears in relation to the base interest rate is set out in that agreement. In this respect, two conditions must be met. First, the presentation of the method of calculation must be easily understandable for an average consumer who does not have specialised knowledge in the financial field and must enable him or her to calculate the rate of interest on arrears on the basis of the information provided in that agreement. Second, the frequency of the change in the base interest rate, which is determined by national provisions, must also be presented in the credit agreement in question.










4.


Article 10(2)(r) of Directive 2008/48 must be interpreted as meaning that the credit agreement must, for the purpose of calculating the compensation due in the event of early repayment of the loan, indicate the method of calculating that compensation in a manner which is concrete and easily understandable to an average consumer, so that the consumer can determine the amount of compensation due in the event of early repayment on the basis of the information provided in that agreement.










5.


Article 10(2) of Directive 2008/48 must be interpreted as not requiring the credit agreement to list all the situations in which the parties to the credit agreement are granted a right of termination not by that directive but solely by national legislation.










6.


Article 14(1) of Directive 2008/48 must be interpreted as precluding the creditor from invoking a plea of forfeiture where the consumer exercises his or her right of withdrawal in accordance with that provision, where some of the mandatory information referred to in Article 10(2) of that directive was not included in the credit agreement and was not duly communicated subsequently, irrespective of whether that consumer had no knowledge of the existence of his or her right of withdrawal without being responsible for that lack of knowledge.










7.


Directive 2008/48 must be interpreted as precluding the creditor from being entitled to claim that the consumer has abused his or her right of withdrawal, provided for in Article 14(1) of that directive, where some of the mandatory information referred to in Article 10(2) of that directive was not included in the credit agreement nor was it duly communicated subsequently, irrespective of whether that consumer had no knowledge of the existence of his or her right of withdrawal.










8.


Article 10(2)(t) of Directive 2008/48 must be interpreted as meaning that the credit agreement must contain essential information about all the out-of-court claims or redress procedures available to the consumer and, where appropriate, the cost of each of them, the fact that the complaint or redress must be submitted by post or by electronic means, the physical or electronic address to which that complaint or redress must be sent and the other formal conditions to which that complaint or redress is subject. With regard to that information, a mere reference in the credit agreement to a set of rules of procedure which can be accessed on the internet or to another act or document on the details of out-of-court claims and redress procedures is not sufficient.






(1)  OJ C 161, 11.5.2020.

OJ C 230, 13.7.2020.

OJ C 255, 3.8.2020.