JUDGMENT OF THE COURT of 23 May 2024 in Case E-4/23 – Neytendastofa (the Icelandic Consumer Agency) v Íslandsbanki hf. (Directive 2008/48/EC – Consumer credit agreements – Consumer protection – Annual percentage rate of charge – Variable interest rates – Pre-contractual information – Information in the credit agreement – Transparency – Clear and concise information – Comparing different offers – SECCI standard form)
Date: 2024-05-23
Institutions: EFTA Court
Subjects: European Economic Area, Iceland, borrowing, consumer credit, consumer information, contract terms, interest








C_202405989EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/5989


3.10.2024






JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
of 23 May 2024
         
in Case E-4/23
Neytendastofa (the Icelandic Consumer Agency) v Íslandsbanki hf.


(Directive 2008/48/EC – Consumer credit agreements – Consumer protection – Annual percentage rate of charge – Variable interest rates – Pre-contractual information – Information in the credit agreement – Transparency – Clear and concise information – Comparing different offers – SECCI standard form)


(C/2024/5989)

In Case E-4/23, Neytendastofa (the Icelandic Consumer Agency) v Íslandsbanki hf. – REQUEST to the Court under Article 34 of the Agreement between the EFTA States on the Establishment of a Surveillance Authority and a Court of Justice by the Court of Appeal (Landsréttur), concerning the interpretation of Directive 2008/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 on credit agreements for consumers, in particular Article 5(1)(f), (g), (i), and (l) and Article 10(2)(f) and (k), the Court, composed of Páll Hreinsson, President, Bernd Hammermann and Michael Reiertsen (Judge-Rapporteur), Judges, gave judgment on 23 May 2024, the operative part of which is as follows:






1.


Article 5(1)(f) and Article 10(2)(f) 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 require a creditor to specify in an exhaustive listing in the Standard European Consumer Credit Information (‘SECCI’) standard form and in the credit agreement, respectively, the conditions on which the decision to adjust the borrowing rate on credit that bears variable interest is based.










2.


The information requirements mandated by Articles 5(1)(f) and 10(2)(f) of Directive 2008/48/EC are not met if, among the conditions for changing the borrowing rate that are specified on the SECCI standard form and in the credit agreement itself, respectively, there is a general reference to an unforeseen increase in the creditor’s costs or other conditions that are not known to the creditor.










3.


The requirement of Article 5 of Directive 2008/48/EC, that the consumer is to be provided with the information needed to compare different offers in order to take an informed decision on whether to conclude a credit agreement, is not met if the wording of a provision in the standard form includes general and open-ended references such as ‘etc.’ absent adequate additional contextual information.










4.


Article 5(1)(g) of Directive 2008/48/EC requires that the annual percentage rate of charge is illustrated in the SECCI standard form with a representative example in which all the assumptions used to calculate the percentage are stated even though all components of the credit which the consumer intends to take are known. In such cases the creditor shall take the known components into account when providing the example.










5.


Article 5(1)(i) and Article 10(2)(k) of Directive 2008/48/EC require that all ‘other charges deriving from the credit agreement’ are always to be specified in the SECCI standard form and in the credit agreement, respectively, regardless of whether the credit is of such a type that both payment transactions and drawdowns of the credit are recorded.










6.


Article 5(1)(i) of Directive 2008/48/EC requires that the SECCI standard form contains all information on charges deriving from the credit agreement, and the conditions under which those costs can be changed, that is necessary to allow the consumer to compare different offers and genuinely apprise himself or herself of his or her rights and obligations under the credit agreement. Article 10(2)(k) of Directive 2008/48/EC requires that where information on charges deriving from the credit agreement, and the conditions under which those charges can be changed, is not provided in the credit agreement itself, the agreement must specify that such charges apply, that they may be changed, and contain a clear and precise cross-reference to other paper, or other durable media containing further information on those aspects.










7.


Article 5(1)(l) of Directive 2008/48/EC requires that the SECCI standard form contains all information on charges to be paid in the case of late payment, and the conditions under which those costs can be changed, that is necessary to allow the consumer to compare different offers and genuinely apprise himself or herself of his or her rights and obligations under the agreement.






ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/5989/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)