§1.7.7 Certain contracts related to electronic communications

Article 3 3. This Directive shall not apply to contracts: (m) concluded with telecommunications operators through public payphones for their use or concluded for the use of one single connection by telephone, internet or fax established by a consumer. This provision exempts two types of contracts from the scope of the Directive’s application. The first type mentioned in the CRD are contracts concluded with providers of electronic communications services through public payphones for their use. The term ‘public pay telephone’ refers to a telephone available to the general public, for the use of which the means of payment may include coins and/or credit/debit cards and/or pre-payment cards, including cards for use with dialling codes (41). — Since this exception applies to contracts concluded ‘through’ public payphones, it should cover the cases in which the contract is concluded by, for example, inserting coins or swiping a credit card in the public payphone, in order to perform a voice call or to get access to a telephone directory or another reference service, offered by the same operator; — The exception should not apply to contracts concluded with operators of public payphones by, for example, the prior purchase of a pre-paid calling card. The second part of Article 3(3)(m) concerning contracts concluded for the use of ‘one single connection’ established by the consumer has a broader scope. Unlike the contracts for using public payphones, no party to this kind of contract is specified, which suggests that not only contracts with providers of electronic communications services are covered. Furthermore, nothing is specified concerning the purpose or content of this kind of contract. This exception therefore covers, for example: — A contract for use of a wireless access point (WAP) for a single internet session. In contrast, the exception should not apply to contracts for electronic communications services (42) covering a certain period and/or volume of usage, for example: — Contracts concluded through the prior purchase of a pre-paid SIM card for mobile services or of an access code for multiple use or long term Wi-Fi access services. This exception also applies to contracts concluded with the providers of Premium Rate Services (PRS), i.e., services paid for through the consumer’s telephone bill (43) in cases where the contract is concluded and simultaneously fully performed by the single call made or an SMS sent by the consumer to the PRS number, for example: — A call made to telephone directory inquiries or tele-voting in a show. In contrast, the CRD is applicable to contracts where the voice call or SMS to a PRS number is a means of concluding and paying for a contract, which is performed subsequently: — For example, contracts concluded through an SMS sent to a provider of parking services. In these cases, the trader must inform the consumer about the cost of the voice call or SMS to the PRS number as this cost will constitute the ‘price’ for the contract concerned, in the meaning of Article 6(1)(e). Moreover, information about the cost using the means of distance communication above the ‘basic rate’ for concluding a contract is required under Article 6(1)(f) of the Directive. The interpretation of the ‘basic rate’ concept is further discussed in section 8. The fact that the Directive does not apply to certain contracts involving PRS by virtue of Article 3(3)(m) does not mean that they are not subject to consumer protection rules. The EU regulatory framework for electronic communications, in particular the European Electronic Communications Code (Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council (44)), enables Member States and the relevant National Regulatory Authorities to adopt specific measures to protect consumers in relation to PRS. Consequently, a number of Member States have implemented additional safeguards in this area, including, for example, consumption limits, an obligation to announce the price at the start of the call, etc.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07