Clausole e vendite online Direttiva EU 2011/0083 EN

(1)	‘ consumer’ means any natural person who, in contracts covered by this Directive, is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession;

(2)

‘ trader’ means any natural person or any legal person, irrespective of whether privately or publicly owned, who is acting, including through any other person acting in his name or on his behalf, for purposes relating to his trade, business, craft or profession in relation to contracts covered by this Directive;

(3)	‘ goods’ means any tangible movable items, with the exception of items sold by way of execution or otherwise by authority of law; water, gas and electricity shall be considered as goods within the meaning of this Directive where they are put up for sale in a limited volume or a set quantity;

(4)	‘ goods made to the consumer’s specifications’ means non-prefabricated goods made on the basis of an individual choice of or decision by the consumer;

(5)	‘ sales_contract’ means any contract under which the trader transfers or undertakes to transfer the ownership of goods to the consumer and the consumer pays or undertakes to pay the price thereof, including any contract having as its object both goods and services;

(6)	‘ service_contract’ means any contract other than a sales_contract under which the trader supplies or undertakes to supply a service to the consumer and the consumer pays or undertakes to pay the price thereof;

(7)

‘ distance_contract’ means any contract concluded between the trader and the consumer under an organised distance sales or service-provision scheme without the simultaneous physical presence of the trader and the consumer, with the exclusive use of one or more means of distance communication up to and including the time at which the contract is concluded;

(8)

‘ off-premises_contract’ means any contract between the trader and the consumer:

(a)	concluded in the simultaneous physical presence of the trader and the consumer, in a place which is not the business_premises of the trader;

(b)	for which an offer was made by the consumer in the same circumstances as referred to in point (a);

(c)

concluded on the business_premises of the trader or through any means of distance communication immediately after the consumer was personally and individually addressed in a place which is not the business_premises of the trader in the simultaneous physical presence of the trader and the consumer; or

(d)	concluded during an excursion organised by the trader with the aim or effect of promoting and selling goods or services to the consumer;

(9)

‘ business_premises’ means:

(a)	any immovable retail premises where the trader carries out his activity on a permanent basis; or

(b)	any movable retail premises where the trader carries out his activity on a usual basis;

(10)

‘ durable medium’ means any instrument which enables the consumer or the trader to store information addressed personally to him in a way accessible for future reference for a period of time adequate for the purposes of the information and which allows the unchanged reproduction of the information stored;

(11)	‘ digital_content’ means data which are produced and supplied in digital form;

(12)	‘ financial_service’ means any service of a banking, credit, insurance, personal pension, investment or payment nature;

(13)

‘ public_auction’ means a method of sale where goods or services are offered by the trader to consumers, who attend or are given the possibility to attend the auction in person, through a transparent, competitive bidding procedure run by an auctioneer and where the successful bidder is bound to purchase the goods or services;

(14)

‘ commercial_guarantee’ means any undertaking by the trader or a producer (the guarantor) to the consumer, in addition to his legal obligation relating to the guarantee of conformity, to reimburse the price paid or to replace, repair or service goods in any way if they do not meet the specifications or any other requirements not related to conformity set out in the guarantee statement or in the relevant advertising available at the time of, or before the conclusion of the contract;

(15)

‘ ancillary_contract’ means a contract by which the consumer acquires goods or services related to a distance_contract or an off-premises_contract and where those goods are supplied or those services are provided by the trader or by a third party on the basis of an arrangement between that third party and the trader.

Article 7

Formal requirements for off-premises_contracts

1. With respect to off-premises_contracts, the trader shall give the information provided for in Article 6(1) to the consumer on paper or, if the consumer agrees, on another durable medium. That information shall be legible and in plain, intelligible language.

2. The trader shall provide the consumer with a copy of the signed contract or the confirmation of the contract on paper or, if the consumer agrees, on another durable medium, including, where applicable, the confirmation of the consumer’s prior express consent and acknowledgement in accordance with point (m) of Article 16.

3. Where a consumer wants the performance of services or the supply of water, gas or electricity, where they are not put up for sale in a limited volume or set quantity, or of district heating to begin during the withdrawal period provided for in Article 9(2), the trader shall require that the consumer makes such an express request on a durable medium.

4. With respect to off-premises_contracts where the consumer has explicitly requested the services of the trader for the purpose of carrying out repairs or maintenance for which the trader and the consumer immediately perform their contractual obligations and where the payment to be made by the consumer does not exceed EUR 200:

(a)

the trader shall provide the consumer with the information referred to in points (b) and (c) of Article 6(1) and information about the price or the manner in which the price is to be calculated together with an estimate of the total price, on paper or, if the consumer agrees, on another durable medium. The trader shall provide the information referred to in points (a), (h) and (k) of Article 6(1), but may choose not to provide it on paper or another durable medium if the consumer expressly agrees;

(b)	the confirmation of the contract provided in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article shall contain the information provided for in Article 6(1).

Member States may decide not to apply this paragraph.

5. Member States shall not impose any further formal pre-contractual information requirements for the fulfilment of the information obligations laid down in this Directive.

Article 8

Formal requirements for distance_contracts

1. With respect to distance_contracts, the trader shall give the information provided for in Article 6(1) or make that information available to the consumer in a way appropriate to the means of distance communication used in plain and intelligible language. In so far as that information is provided on a durable medium, it shall be legible.

2. If a distance_contract to be concluded by electronic means places the consumer under an obligation to pay, the trader shall make the consumer aware in a clear and prominent manner, and directly before the consumer places his order, of the information provided for in points (a), (e), (o) and (p) of Article 6(1).

The trader shall ensure that the consumer, when placing his order, explicitly acknowledges that the order implies an obligation to pay. If placing an order entails activating a button or a similar function, the button or similar function shall be labelled in an easily legible manner only with the words ‘order with obligation to pay’ or a corresponding unambiguous formulation indicating that placing the order entails an obligation to pay the trader. If the trader has not complied with this subparagraph, the consumer shall not be bound by the contract or order.

3. Trading websites shall indicate clearly and legibly at the latest at the beginning of the ordering process whether any delivery restrictions apply and which means of payment are accepted.

4. If the contract is concluded through a means of distance communication which allows limited space or time to display the information, the trader shall provide, on that particular means prior to the conclusion of such a contract, at least the pre-contractual information regarding the main characteristics of the goods or services, the identity of the trader, the total price, the right of withdrawal, the duration of the contract and, if the contract is of indeterminate duration, the conditions for terminating the contract, as referred to in points (a), (b), (e), (h) and (o) of Article 6(1). The other information referred to in Article 6(1) shall be provided by the trader to the consumer in an appropriate way in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article.

5. Without prejudice to paragraph 4, if the trader makes a telephone call to the consumer with a view to concluding a distance_contract, he shall, at the beginning of the conversation with the consumer, disclose his identity and, where applicable, the identity of the person on whose behalf he makes that call, and the commercial purpose of the call.

6. Where a distance_contract is to be concluded by telephone, Member States may provide that the trader has to confirm the offer to the consumer who is bound only once he has signed the offer or has sent his written consent. Member States may also provide that such confirmations have to be made on a durable medium.

7. The trader shall provide the consumer with the confirmation of the contract concluded, on a durable medium within a reasonable time after the conclusion of the distance_contract, and at the latest at the time of the delivery of the goods or before the performance of the service begins. That confirmation shall include:

(a)	all the information referred to in Article 6(1) unless the trader has already provided that information to the consumer on a durable medium prior to the conclusion of the distance_contract; and

(b)	where applicable, the confirmation of the consumer’s prior express consent and acknowledgment in accordance with point (m) of Article 16.

8. Where a consumer wants the performance of services, or the supply of water, gas or electricity, where they are not put up for sale in a limited volume or set quantity, or of district heating, to begin during the withdrawal period provided for in Article 9(2), the trader shall require that the consumer make an express request.

9. This Article shall be without prejudice to the provisions on the conclusion of e-contracts and the placing of e-orders set out in Articles 9 and 11 of Directive 2000/31/EC.

10. Member States shall not impose any further formal pre-contractual information requirements for the fulfilment of the information obligations laid down in this Directive.

Article 11

Exercise of the right of withdrawal

1. Before the expiry of the withdrawal period, the consumer shall inform the trader of his decision to withdraw from the contract. For this purpose, the consumer may either:

(a)	use the model withdrawal form as set out in Annex I(B); or

(b)	make any other unequivocal statement setting out his decision to withdraw from the contract.

Member States shall not provide for any formal requirements applicable to the model withdrawal form other than those set out in Annex I(B).

2. The consumer shall have exercised his right of withdrawal within the withdrawal period referred to in Article 9(2) and Article 10 if the communication concerning the exercise of the right of withdrawal is sent by the consumer before that period has expired.

3. The trader may, in addition to the possibilities referred to in paragraph 1, give the option to the consumer to electronically fill in and submit either the model withdrawal form set out in Annex I(B) or any other unequivocal statement on the trader’s website. In those cases the trader shall communicate to the consumer an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium without delay.

4. The burden of proof of exercising the right of withdrawal in accordance with this Article shall be on the consumer.

Article 35

Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Strasbourg, 25 October 2011.

For the European Parliament

The President

J. BUZEK

For the Council

The President

M. DOWGIELEWICZ

(1) OJ C 317, 23.12.2009, p. 54.

(2) OJ C 200, 25.8.2009, p. 76.

(3) Position of the European Parliament of 23 June 2011 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and decision of the Council of 10 October 2011.

(4) OJ L 372, 31.12.1985, p. 31.

(5) OJ L 144, 4.6.1997, p. 19.

(6) OJ L 177, 4.7.2008, p. 6.

(7) OJ L 376, 27.12.2006, p. 36.

(8) OJ L 178, 17.7.2000, p. 1.

(9) OJ L 88, 4.4.2011, p. 45.

(10) OJ L 255, 30.9.2005, p. 22.

(11) OJ L 124, 8.6.1971, p. 1.

(12) OJ L 319, 5.12.2007, p. 1.

(13) OJ L 149, 11.6.2005, p. 22.

(14) OJ L 201, 31.7.2002, p. 37.

(15) OJ L 95, 21.4.1993, p. 29.

(16) OJ L 171, 7.7.1999, p. 12.

(17) OJ C 321, 31.12.2003, p. 1.

(18) OJ L 158, 23.6.1990, p. 59.

(19) OJ L 33, 3.2.2009, p. 10.

(20) OJ L 133, 22.5.2008, p. 66.

(21) OJ L 271, 9.10.2002, p. 16.

ANNEX I

Information concerning the exercise of the right of withdrawal

A. Model instructions on withdrawal

Right of withdrawal

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.

The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day .

To exercise the right of withdrawal, you must inform us () of your decision to withdraw from this contract by an unequivocal statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or e-mail). You may use the attached model withdrawal form, but it is not obligatory.

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

Effects of withdrawal

If you withdraw from this contract, we shall reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (with the exception of the supplementary costs resulting from your choice of a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us), without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract. We will carry out such reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

Instructions for completion:

Insert one of the following texts between inverted commas:

(a)	in the case of a service_contract or a contract for the supply of water, gas or electricity, where they are not put up for sale in a limited volume or set quantity, of district heating or of digital_content which is not supplied on a tangible medium: ‘of the conclusion of the contract.’;

(b)	in the case of a sales_contract: ‘on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the goods.’;

(c)	in the case of a contract relating to multiple goods ordered by the consumer in one order and delivered separately: ‘on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good.’;

(d)	in the case of a contract relating to delivery of a good consisting of multiple lots or pieces: ‘on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last lot or piece.’;

(e)	in the case of a contract for regular delivery of goods during a defined period of time: ‘on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the first good.’.

Insert your name, geographical address and, where available, your telephone number, fax number and e-mail address.

If you give the option to the consumer to electronically fill in and submit information about his withdrawal from the contract on your website, insert the following: ‘You can also electronically fill in and submit the model withdrawal form or any other unequivocal statement on our website [insert Internet address]. If you use this option, we will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.’.

In the case of sales_contracts in which you have not offered to collect the goods in the event of withdrawal insert the following: ‘We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.’.

If the consumer has received goods in connection with the contract:

(a)

insert:

—	‘We will collect the goods.’; or,

—

‘You shall send back the goods or hand them over to us or … [insert the name and geographical address, where applicable, of the person authorised by you to receive the goods], without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired.’

(b)

insert:

—	‘We will bear the cost of returning the goods.’,

—	‘You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods.’,

—

If, in a distance_contract, you do not offer to bear the cost of returning the goods and the goods, by their nature, cannot normally be returned by post: ‘You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods, … EUR [insert the amount].’; or if the cost of returning the goods cannot reasonably be calculated in advance: ‘You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. The cost is estimated at a maximum of approximately … EUR [insert the amount].’; or

—	If, in an off-premises_contract, the goods, by their nature, cannot normally be returned by post and have been delivered to the consumer’s home at the time of the conclusion of the contract: ‘We will collect the goods at our own expense.’; and,

(c)	insert ‘You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.’

In the case of a contract for the provision of services or the supply of water, gas or electricity, where they are not put up for sale in a limited volume or set quantity, or of district heating, insert the following: ‘If you requested to begin the performance of services or the supply of water/gas/electricity/district heating [delete where inapplicable] during the withdrawal period, you shall pay us an amount which is in proportion to what has been provided until you have communicated us your withdrawal from this contract, in comparison with the full coverage of the contract.’.

B. Model withdrawal form

—	To [here the trader’s name, geographical address and, where available, his fax number and e-mail address are to be inserted by the trader]:

—	I/We (1) hereby give notice that I/We (1) withdraw from my/our (1) contract of sale of the following goods (1)/for the provision of the following service (1),

—	Ordered on (1)/received on (1),

—	Name of consumer(s),

—	Address of consumer(s),

—	Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper),

—

Date

(1) Delete as appropriate.

ANNEX II

Correlation table

Directive 85/577/EEC	Directive 97/7/EC	This Directive
Article 1		Article 3 read in conjunction with Article 2, points 8 and 9, and Article 16, point (h)
	Article 1	Article 1 read in conjunction with Article 2, point 7
Article 2		Article 2, points 1 and 2
	Article 2, point 1	Article 2, point 7
	Article 2, point 2	Article 2, point 1
	Article 2, point 3	Article 2, point 2
	Article 2, point 4, first sentence	Article 2, point 7
	Article 2, point 4, second sentence	—
	Article 2, point 5	—
Article 3(1)		Article 3(4)
Article 3(2), point (a)		Article 3(3), points (e) and (f)
Article 3(2), point (b)		Article 3(3), point (j)
Article 3(2), point (c)		—
Article 3(2), point (d)		Article 3(3), point (d)
Article 3(2), point (e)		Article 3(3), point (d)
Article 3(3)		—
	Article 3(1), first indent	Article 3(3), point (d)
	Article 3(1), second indent	Article 3(3), point (l)
	Article 3(1), third indent	Article 3(3), point (m)
	Article 3(1), fourth indent	Article 3(3), points (e) and (f)
	Article 3(1), fifth indent	Article 6(3) and Article 16, point (k) read in conjunction with Article 2, point 13
	Article 3(2), first indent	Article 3(3), point (j)
	Article 3(2), second indent	Article 3(3), point (f) (for rental of accommodation for residential purposes), point (g) (for package travel), point (h) (for timeshare), point (k) (for passenger transport with some exceptions) and Article 16, point (l) (exemption from the right of withdrawal)
Article 4, first sentence		Article 6(1), points (b), (c) and (h), and Article 7(1) and (2)
Article 4, second sentence		Article 6(1), point a and Article 7(1)
Article 4, third sentence		Article 6(1)
Article 4, fourth sentence		Article 10
	Article 4(1), point (a)	Article 6(1), points (b) and (c)
	Article 4(1), point (b)	Article 6(1), point (a)
	Article 4(1), point (c)	Article 6(1), point (e)
	Article 4(1), point (d)	Article 6(1), point (e)
	Article 4(1), point (e)	Article 6(1), point (g)
	Article 4(1), point (f)	Article 6(1), point (h)
	Article 4(1), point (g)	Article 6(1), point (f)
	Article 4(1), point (h)	—
	Article 4(1), point (i)	Article 6(1), points (o) and (p)
	Article 4(2)	Article 6(1) read in conjunction with Article 8(1), (2) and (4)
	Article 4(3)	Article 8(5)
	Article 5(1)	Article 8(7)
	Article 5(2)	Article 3(3), point m
	Article 6(1)	Article 9(1) and (2), Article 10, Article 13(2), Article 14
	Article 6(2)	Article 13 and Article 14(1), second and third subparagraphs
	Article 6(3), first indent	Article 16, point (a)
	Article 6(3), second indent	Article 16, point (b)
	Article 6(3), third indent	Article 16, point (c) and (d)
	Article 6(3), fourth indent	Article 16, point (i)
	Article 6(3), fifth indent	Article 16, point (j)
	Article 6(3), sixth indent	Article 3(3), point (c)
	Article 6(4)	Article 15
	Article 7(1)	Article 18(1) (for sales_contracts)
	Article 7(2)	Article 18(2), (3) and (4)
	Article 7(3)	—
	Article 8	—
	Article 9	Article 27
	Article 10	— (but see Article 13 of Directive 2002/58/EC)
	Article 11(1)	Article 23(1)
	Article 11(2)	Article 23(2)
	Article 11(3), point (a)	Article 6(9) for the burden of proof concerning pre-contractual information; for the rest: –
	Article 11(3), point (b)	Article 24(1)
	Article 11(4)	—
	Article 12(1)	Article 25
	Article 12(2)	—
	Article 13	Article 3(2)
	Article 14	Article 4
	Article 15(1)	Article 28(1)
	Article 15(2)	Article 28(1)
	Article 15(3)	Article 28(1)
	Article 15(4)	Article 30
	Article 16	Article 26
	Article 17	—
	Article 18	Article 34
	Article 19	Article 35
Article 5(1)		Articles 9 and 11
Article 5(2)		Article 12
Article 6		Article 25
Article 7		Articles 13, 14 and 15
Article 8		Article 4

Annex to Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws (the Regulation on consumer protection cooperation) (1)	To be construed as a reference to
Paragraphs 2 and 11	This Directive

(1) OJ L 364, 9.12.2004, p. 1.

whereas

(44) Differences in the ways in which the right of withdrawal is exercised in the Member States have caused costs for traders selling cross-border.
The introduction of a harmonised model withdrawal form that the consumer may use should simplify the withdrawal process and bring legal certainty.
For these reasons, Member States should refrain from adding any presentational requirements to the Union-wide model form relating for example to the font size.
However, the consumer should remain free to withdraw in his own words, provided that his statement setting out his decision to withdraw from the contract to the trader is unequivocal.
A letter, a telephone call or returning the goods with a clear statement could meet this requirement, but the burden of proof of having withdrawn within the time limits fixed in the Directive should be on the consumer.
For this reason, it is in the interest of the consumer to make use of a durable medium when communicating his withdrawal to the trader.

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(50) On the one hand, the consumer should benefit from his right of withdrawal even in case he has asked for the provision of services before the end of the withdrawal period.
On the other hand, if the consumer exercises his right of withdrawal, the trader should be assured to be adequately paid for the service he has provided.
The calculation of the proportionate amount should be based on the price agreed in the contract unless the consumer demonstrates that that total price is itself disproportionate, in which case the amount to be paid shall be calculated on the basis of the market value of the service provided.
The market value should be defined by comparing the price of an equivalent service performed by other traders at the time of the conclusion of the contract.
Therefore the consumer should request the performance of services before the end of the withdrawal period by making this request expressly and, in the case of off-premises_contracts, on a durable medium.
Similarly, the trader should inform the consumer on a durable medium of any obligation to pay the proportionate costs for the services already provided.
For contracts having as their object both goods and services, the rules provided for in this Directive on the return of goods should apply to the goods aspects and the compensation regime for services should apply to the services aspects.

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keyboard_tab Clausole e vendite online Direttiva EU 2011/0083 EN

Clausole e vendite online Direttiva EU 2011/0083 EN