REGULATION (EU) No 524/2013 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of May 21, 2013 on online dispute resolution for consumer disputes and amending Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 and Directive 2009/22/EC (Regulation on online dispute resolution for consumer disputes) has been in force since January 9, 2016.
The regulation has implications for the majority of online retailers.
Procedure for online dispute resolution in online trading
The EU Commission has created a procedure that consumers and traders can use to settle disputes arising from online contracts.
A specially created platform will (soon) be available for this purpose.
From now on, retailers are obliged to provide information about the possibility of dispute resolution.
Delayed start
The platform itself can be accessed at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/.
However, there is currently nothing more than a brief overview.
The platform was also not launched on time on January 9, 2016.
According to the EU, a launch is now planned for February 15, 2016.
The Commission has provided information on how it works.
Duty to provide information on dispute resolution applies with immediate effect
However, this does not change the trader’s obligation to provide information.
From now on, they should refer to the possibility of online dispute resolution.
According to the wording of the regulation, this information must be „easily accessible to consumers“.
Article 14 1. Traders established in the Union entering into online sales contracts or online service contracts and online marketplaces established in the Union shall provide a link to the ODR platform on their websites.
That link shall be easily accessible to consumers.
[…]
How a legally compliant implementation can look is not described.
However, it can be assumed that a reference together with a link to the platform as part of the permanently available legal notice should be sufficient.
In view of the risk that the regulation could be considered a market conduct regulation within the meaning of Section 4 No. 11 UWG, retailers should take the obligation to provide information on dispute resolution very seriously, as should all information obligations in general, in order to avoid unnecessary costly warnings.
Information obligation for dispute resolution applies to B2C
All online traders who (also) sell their goods or services to consumers must comply with the new information obligation on dispute resolution.
According to Art. 2 para.
1, the obligations of the Regulation apply to the out-of-court settlement of disputes concerning contractual obligations arising from online sales contracts or online service contracts between a consumer residing in the Union and a trader established in the Union.
It does not matter whether the contract is concluded via the trader’s own website or, for example, on Amazon or eBay.
Traders who sell exclusively to other traders (B2B) do NOT fall within the scope of the Regulation.
However, if the trader ALSO sells to consumers, the obligations of the Regulation apply.
Dispute resolution procedure
The dispute resolution procedure is described in detail in Articles 8 and 9 of the Regulation.
Among other things, it requires the parties to agree on an arbitration body.
However, the establishment of these dispute resolution bodies in Germany is not planned until the Consumer Dispute Resolution Act is passed (expected in the first quarter of 2016).
Dispute resolution in accordance with the Regulation is therefore not possible in Germany before then.
Do you have questions about information obligations in online retail?
Do you run an online store and are unsure whether it meets the requirements? Please do not hesitate to contact us.