Background of the judgment
In a ruling dated August 30, 2023 (case no. 2-06 O 411/22), the Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main ruled that, in addition to the legally required cancellation button, other cancellation options are also permitted on a website. This decision follows the introduction of the termination button by the Fair Consumer Contracts Act, which came into force on July 1, 2022 and is regulated in Section 312k BGB. The court clarified that the additional options, such as links to a service page or a contact form, offer consumers more flexibility and do not necessarily lead to confusion. The reasons for the ruling state: “The buttons and the confirmation page must be permanently available and immediately and easily accessible.” This underlines the need for all termination options to be clearly recognizable and easy to use. The court pointed out that as long as the cancel button is clearly marked and functional, additional options do not affect consumer rights
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Decision of the court
The Frankfurt Regional Court dismissed the claim of a consumer protection association, which argued that the additional termination options were potentially misleading and could deter consumers from using the termination button. The court emphasized that “the trader must ensure that the consumer can save his declaration of termination with the date and time of submission on a durable medium in such a way that it is recognizable that it was submitted by pressing the termination button.” This requirement ensures that the termination remains traceable and verifiable. Furthermore, the court stated that “the content, date and time of receipt of the notice of termination as well as the time at which the contractual relationship is to be terminated by the termination must be confirmed immediately by electronic means in text form.” These clear guidelines are intended to create a transparent and understandable termination option that strengthens consumer protection
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Significance for online store operators
This ruling is of great importance for online store operators and service providers who offer digital contracts. It confirms that companies may structure their termination processes flexibly as long as they meet the legal requirements. The court stated that “in addition to the termination button, other termination options are also permissible, and the confirmation page may also contain other elements.” This allows companies to develop more customer-friendly and accessible termination options that can potentially improve customer satisfaction. In practice, this means that store operators must ensure that all termination options comply with the legal requirements and at the same time offer a high level of user-friendliness
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Conclusion
The ruling of the Frankfurt Regional Court represents an important precedent that increases legal clarity for online companies with regard to the design of their termination processes. It shows that the legislator supports flexibility in digital contract law as long as consumer rights are safeguarded. Online store operators should take this ruling as an opportunity to review and, if necessary, adapt their termination processes in order to both comply with legal requirements and improve the user-friendliness of their platforms. The court emphasizes the importance of clarity and accessibility of termination options, which should serve as a guideline for the design of online services
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