1. Update on DG JUST activities
EU Consumer Law
Update on DG JUST activities
ECCG Committee
Brussels, March 2014
Veronica MANFREDI
Head of Consumer and Marketing Law Unit
DG Justice, European Commission

2. Update on consumer files
Revision of the Package Travel Directive
Awareness Raising Campaign
Report on the implementation of the Timeshare Directive
Guidance and on-line pre-contractual information model for the Consumer Rights Directive
Revision of the 2009 Guidance on application of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive
Assessment of the Legal Guarantee

3. Revision of the Package Travel Directive

4. Package Travel Directive (PTD)
1990 Package Travel Directive, provides consumers with important rights:
(1) pre-contractual information rights,
(2) liability of the package travel organiser (tour operator) for the performance of the package
(3) the right to repatriation or a refund if the organiser (or retailer) becomes insolvent.

5. Case for revising the PTD
Market developments:
Increasingly consumers customise their holidays online with the help of different operators, including online travel agents, airline or other transport service providers.
Fewer and fewer travellers are protected by the Package Travel Directive
Commission proposal on 9 July 2013

6. Main aspects of the Commission proposal
The proposal aims to extend the protection to (online) customised combinations similar to packages Example: Different travel components selected from an online travel agent and charged at an inclusive price
Less protection for looser combinations of travel services, "assisted/linked travel arrangements". (Invitations to book additional travel services (e.g. a hotel room or car rental) from a linked website)

7. State of play
Reactions to the Proposal show a consensus that the current rules have to be modernised.
Negotiations under the LT Presidency covered half of the provision. Many MS have not yet fully defined their position
Things are moving faster in the EP: The lead committee, IMCO, voted the report by Hans-Peter Mayer (IMCO, EPP-DE) on 11 February. On the basis of the current planning, the EP aims to adopt its position on 12 March 2014.

8. State of play (cont)
Main aspects of the Mayer report as voted in IMCO:
Full harmonisation in principle (using same provision as in CRD)
Minimum harmonisation for the rules on liability, allowing MS to make the retailer liable in addition to the organiser
Scope of linked travel arrangements (LTA) narrowed - only transfer of personal data will trigger a LTA
Price changes: 3 % absorbed by organiser, 8 % right to terminate

9. The Awareness Raising Campaign

10. Awareness Raising Campaign
Consumer Rights only effectively exist IF:
consumers know their rights
consumers know how to enforce their rights
traders know and respect consumers' rights
BUT:
According to Eurobarometers 331 and 332, just around 40% of consumers and traders know exactly the length of product guarantee and only roughly 30% know exactly the length of cooling-off period for online purchases

11. Awareness Raising Campaign: Aims
better awareness of the rights and obligations of consumers and traders
mostly from national transposition of EU directives
focus on Consumer Rights Directive, Unfair Commercial Practices Directive; Unfair Contract Terms Directive; Consumer Sales and Guarantees Directive
maximise the opportunities of close cooperation with all stakeholders, in particular
relevant national authorities
consumer associations
business associations
ECCs

12. Awareness Raising Campaign: Content
"USE your consumer rights" You have the right to truthful advertising You have the right to have defective goods repaired or replaced You have the right to contracts without unfair clauses You have the right to return goods purchased online within 14 days You have the right to free assistance by European Consumer Centres "Respect your consumers' rights" Your customers will come back for more

13. Awareness Raising Campaign: Scope
"Multiplier campaign"
March – December 2014
Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Spain
facilitated by an external service provider
may be extended, both in time and geographical scope

14. Awareness Raising Campaign: Posters

15. Awareness Raising Campaign: Posters

16. Awareness Raising Campaign: Posters

17. Awareness Raising Campaign:
leaflet in A6 (credit-card format in preparation)

18. Report on the application of the Timeshare Directive

19. Directive 2008/122/EC (Timeshare)
Directive was to be transposed by February 2011; due to delays fully transposed in the EU in March 2012
Complete transposition check carried out in 2013; a number of EU Pilot procedures were launched as a result
Several Member States have already agreed to adjusting certain aspects of their national transposition laws

20. Directive 2008/122/EC (Timeshare)
Report on the application due in 2014
Research on the practical application of the Directive by the Centre for Strategy & Evaluation Services (CSES, December to May 2014)
It includes a series of interviews with stakeholders; the input and assistance of consumer organisations is very valuable and appreciated

21. Study on Timeshare Directive
Focus: practical implementation of the Timeshare Directive; in particular, the respect for and the impact of the provisions on:
Pre-contractual information;
Right of withdrawal and ban on advance payments;
Staggered payment procedure for Long Term Holiday Products (such as discount holiday clubs).
Also: issues outside the scope of the Directive but of strong relevance for the existing timeshare owners, such as:
New commercial practices and types of fraud ("reclaim" services, fake offers to represent owners in disputes with sellers etc.)
Any undue restrictions on the owners' rights regarding, e.g., private sale, renting, exchange of their timeshare
Termination of long-term contracts, access to services, unfair contract terms regarding management / annual fees etc.

22. The Consumer Rights Directive

23. Directive 2011/83/EU (the CRD)
Transposition deadline – 13 December 2013
Several meetings with Member States in 2012 – 2013 to assist them in the transposition process
So far notification of transposition by 14 Member States; infringement procedures opened regarding those who are late
Transposition measures to apply to contracts concluded as from 13 June 2014
Guidance being prepared to facilitate uniform application across the EU, including voluntary model for the online display of consumer information for digital products
First presentation of the model to Member States and stakeholders at the WS on 11 December 2013

24. References to national transposition measures in EUR-Lex

25. CRD regulatory choices (Article 29) – information to stakeholders

26. CRD Guidance – sample issues to be addressed
Exceptions of various types of contracts from the scope of application (Article 3)
Definition of "Off-premises contracts" that are of wider scope than contracts covered by the replaced Doorstep Selling Directive 85/577/ECC (Article 2)
Pre-contractual information requirements (Articles 5,6 & 8)
Fees for the use of means of payment (Article 19)
After-sales telephone contacts (Article 21)
The right of withdrawal (Articles 9-16)

27. Online Digital products and the Model for the online display of key information

28. Pre-contractual information
Legal bases for pre-contractual information obligations for online digital products:
Article 8(2)
main characteristics (Article 6(1)(a))
total price (Article 6(1)(e))
duration of the contract & the conditions for terminating the contract (Article 6(1)(o)), including minimum duration of the contract, where applicable (Article 6(1)(p))
Article 8(4)
+ identity of the trader (Article 6(1)(b))
+ conditions for withdrawal (Article 6(1)(h))

29. The Model for the online display of key information on online digital products
Principles
Collaborative: stakeholders are called to contribute to the development of the model
Optional: traders are invited to use it, but it is not a legal obligation
Flexible: must be adaptable to the presentational aspects of the traders' website or sales channel, and to the requirements of the different products
Graphical: icons and a table-like presentation will facilitate comprehension, especially for inexperienced consumers of online digital content
Short: only information and icons that apply to the product should be displayed

32. The Model for the online display of key information on online digital products

33. Revision of the 2009 Guidance on the application of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive

34. Revision of the UCPD Guidance
Announced in the 2012 Consumer Agenda and in the UCPD Communication and Report of 14 March 2014
Preparatory work
Thematic workshops with enforcers
Bilateral meetings with selected MS
Involvement of stakeholders
Foreseen for adoption in October 2014
Updating the UCPD Guidance is one of the priority actions identified in the Consumer Agenda and the UCPD Communication in order to step up enforcement and ensure a consistent implementation of the Directive
To that end, the Commission is organising thematic workshops with national enforcers. Three meetings already took place in May and October 2013 and February 2014 focusing respectively on online issues, travel and transport, and immovable property and financial services; a 4th one is foreseen early May and will address environmental claims. In parallel, the Commission has conducted bilateral meetings with a number of Member States. We also invited stakeholders to send position papers and we are considering organising a meeting with a selected number of consumer associations and businesses on specific issues in May.
The Commission plans to adopt the revised Guidance by October 2014.

35. Indicative list of issues for the Guidance
New advertising techniques including on Social Media (targeting, profiling – dynamic pricing - interplay with data protection)
Customer Review tools, Price Comparison web-sites and "Group Buying"
Pricing issues in travel sector (interplay with the Air Services Reg. and the CRD)
Marketing of commercial warranties
Environmental claims
Immovable property (clarification of the notions of transactional decision, average consumer and material information)
Interaction between the UCPD and sector-specific legislation
Here is an indicative list of topics that we would like to include in the UCPD Guidance.
Furthermore, the Commission very much relies on national enforcers but also stakeholders to inform about issues that should be clarified in the Guidance.
I believe that ECCG members can usefully provide us with concrete cases of unfair practices and flag situations where more guidance is needed.

36. The Consumer Sales and Guarantees Directive
Directive 1999/44/EC

37. The legal guarantee – consumer problems
About 10% of the complaints related to cross-border purchases and received by ECCs in 2012 were related to the legal guarantee.
26 enquiries about the legal guarantee were received by Your Europe Advice service of the Commission in 2013.
39 mutual assistance requests concerning Directive 1999/44/EC were filed in the Consumer Protection Cooperation system for but there were many more related to misleading advertising of guarantees.

38. The legal guarantee – identified issues
Misleading advertising of guarantees, e.g. related to the relation between the commercial and the legal guarantee.
How to prove after 6 months that the lack of conformity existed at the time of delivery?
Problems with the choice of remedies, e.g. when the consumer has the right to have the contract rescinded or the price reduced.
Application of the legal guarantee to digital content products by national courts on a case-by-case basis.
Lack of traders' awareness that there is a compulsory 2- year guarantee.

39. The legal guarantee – next steps
The Commission will launch a consumer market study in 2014 on consumer legal guarantees to evaluate amongst others the difficulty for consumers to claim their rights.
The outcomes of this study will feed into the evaluation, announced by the recent "REFIT" Communication, of the EU consumer acquis in terms of its regulatory fitness and in order to explore the simplification potential.

40. Thank you for your attention Comments: just-notifications-A3@ec.europa.eu