§1.2.3 Interplay with the Consumer Rights Directive

The Consumer Rights Directive (44) (CRD) applies to all business-to-consumer contracts except in the areas that are excluded from its scope, such as financial and healthcare services. It fully harmonises pre-contractual information requirements for distance (including online) and off-premises contracts (i.e. contracts that are not concluded in regular brick-and-mortar shops, see Article 2(8) CRD for the full definition). At the same time, as stipulated in Article 6(8) of the CRD, the Directive does not prevent Member States from imposing additional information requirements in accordance with the Services Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (45) and the e-Commerce Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (46) (for further information, see Guidance on the CRD, section 4.1.1 (47)). As regards other contracts, in particular those concluded in regular brick-and-mortar shops (‘on-premises’ contracts), the Directive allows Member States to adopt or maintain additional pre-contractual information requirements (Article 5(4)). CRD also regulates certain contractual rights, in particular the right of withdrawal. The pre-contractual information requirements in the CRD are more detailed than the information requirements in Article 7(4) of the UCPD for the invitations to purchase. An invitation to purchase under the UCPD refers to both the information provided at the marketing stage (advertising) and before the contract is signed. In the latter case, there may be an overlap between the information requirements under Article 7(4) of the UCPD and the pre-contractual information requirements under the CRD. The difference between pre-contractual information and an invitation to purchase is further explained in section 2.9.5. Given the more exhaustive character of the information requirements in the CRD, complying with the requirements laid down by the CRD for the pre-contractual stage should normally also ensure compliance with Article 7(4) UCPD, as far as the content of the information is concerned. However, the UCPD will still be applicable for assessing any misleading or aggressive commercial practices by a trader, including as regards the form and presentation of this information to the consumer. Another example of complementarity between the two instruments concerns the consequences of ‘inertia selling’ practices, which are prohibited under points 21 and 29 of the Annex I to the UCPD. Article 27 CRD clarifies that, in the case of inertia selling, the ‘consumer shall be exempted from the obligation to provide any consideration’ and in such cases ‘the absence of response from the consumer (…) shall not constitute consent’. The concept of inertia selling has been further interpreted by the Court. It clarified that since neither the CRD nor UCPD regulate the formation of contracts, it is for national courts to assess, in accordance with national legislation, whether a contract may be regarded as concluded, for example, between a water supply company and a consumer in the absence of the latter’s express consent (48). In this context, the Court also clarified that point 29 of Annex I does not cover a commercial practice of a drinking water supply company maintaining the connection to the public water supply network when a consumer moves into a previously occupied dwelling, in a situation where the consumer does not have the choice of the supplier of that service, the supplier charges cost-covering, transparent and non-discriminatory rates that are proportionate to the water consumption, and the consumer knows that that dwelling is connected to the public water supply network and that water is supplied against payment (49). The Court has furthermore clarified that Article 27 CRD, read in conjunction with Article 5(1) and (5) UCPD, does not preclude a national law that requires the owners of an apartment in a building in co-ownership connected to a district heating network to contribute to the costs of the consumption of thermal energy by the common parts and the internal installation of the building, even though they did not individually request the supply of that thermal energy and they do not use it in their apartment since the contract was concluded at the request of the majority of the owners (50).

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