CONSUMERS LAW
CJEU: the consumer’s right to withdraw from an initially free and automatically extended subscription made via distance contract is guaranteed only once.
The undertaking Sofatutor operates online learning platforms intended for pupils. When a subscription is booked for the first time, it can be tested free of charge for 30 days and can be terminated at any time during that period.
The subscription becomes chargeable only after the expiry of those 30 days. When the paid subscription period expires without having been terminated, it is automatically extended for a fixed term. When such a subscription is made via distance contract, Sofatutor informs consumers of the right of withdrawal. An Austrian association for the protection of consumers considers, however, that the consumer has a right of withdrawal not only upon booking a 30-day free trial subscription, but also when that subscription is converted into a paid subscription and each time it is extended.
The Austrian Supreme Court, before which the dispute was brought, asked the Court of Justice to interpret the directive on consumer rights in that regard.
The Court replies that, when booking a subscription that features an initial free period and is automatically extended unless terminated, the consumer’s right to withdraw from a distance contract is, in principle, guaranteed only once.
Nevertheless, if the consumer has not been informed in a clear, comprehensible and explicit manner, when booking the subscription, that after the initial free period payment will be required for that subscription, he or she must have a new right of withdrawal after that period.
(Source: Press Release 154/2023 in Case C-565/22 | Sofatuto - Author and owner of contents: CJEU)
The subscription becomes chargeable only after the expiry of those 30 days. When the paid subscription period expires without having been terminated, it is automatically extended for a fixed term. When such a subscription is made via distance contract, Sofatutor informs consumers of the right of withdrawal. An Austrian association for the protection of consumers considers, however, that the consumer has a right of withdrawal not only upon booking a 30-day free trial subscription, but also when that subscription is converted into a paid subscription and each time it is extended.
The Austrian Supreme Court, before which the dispute was brought, asked the Court of Justice to interpret the directive on consumer rights in that regard.
The Court replies that, when booking a subscription that features an initial free period and is automatically extended unless terminated, the consumer’s right to withdraw from a distance contract is, in principle, guaranteed only once.
Nevertheless, if the consumer has not been informed in a clear, comprehensible and explicit manner, when booking the subscription, that after the initial free period payment will be required for that subscription, he or she must have a new right of withdrawal after that period.
(Source: Press Release 154/2023 in Case C-565/22 | Sofatuto - Author and owner of contents: CJEU)
