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The impact of the Consumer Rights Directive on businesses selling over the internet

The CDR ensures greater protection for consumers throughout the EU. Whilst some of the harmonised provisions will no doubt cause consternation amongst a few businesses, the matter of fact is that the directive is unlikely to have a significantly burdensome impact on businesses that meet consumer expectations and it may lead to a reduction in the costs of trading across member states and increased competition.

The impact of the new directive on consumers and businesses

The most significant impact of the new directive will be a uniformity of approach in the strengthening of consumer rights across the 27 member states. For example, all EU consumers will generally be able to return goods bought at a distance, whether by internet, post or phone, within 14 days of receiving them - without giving any reason - in order to receive a full refund. This is a significant extension from the present 7 day period. The extension in the right to withdrawal, in addition to a number of other provisions contained within the directive, will see significant enhancements in the protection of consumer rights.

The purpose of the directive is to ensure that consumers are adequately protected. The directive harmonises the various approaches to consumer rights across the EU and it should, therefore, provide greater certainty for international businesses when trading in and across Europe. The directive provides a general uniform code which should remove the need for businesses to have to navigate their way through very different consumer protection regimes in the member states. The directive is not designed to put firms out of business. That said there will clearly be a burden on online businesses that will need to review their practices and systems to ensure that they are compliant with the new legislation. This is made even more important given that this significant enhancement of consumer rights is likely to encourage online shopping and promote an increase in online business. It could be argued that the new directive should be viewed positively by the business world as a platform for further commercial opportunities.

The future

Once the CRD has been published in the official journal, member states will have two years to implement the new rules. It appears that the focus on protecting the consumer is set to continue and develop in the UK as well. In the light of the directive, plans have been announced by the Government to merge consumer protection laws into a new single Consumer Bill of Rights. Businesses will need to ensure that they keep up to date with the changes to the law so that they can review and change their practices if appropriate. Breaches of the new laws could lead to financial and criminal sanctions.