No more phone numbers necessary in the imprint!

I have already reported on the case in this article and the ECJ has – as so often – agreed with the Advocate General. So I don’t want to repeat myself in a great way.

The European Court of Justice on this:

Art. 1 book. c Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights, amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and the Council, and repealing the Directive 85/577/EEC of the Council and Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council must be interpreted, first, as precluding national legislation such as that at issue in the main proceedings, under which a trader is required to comply with a Contract with a consumer at a distance or outside business premises within the meaning of Article 2(2) . 7 and 8 of this Directive shall always provide its telephone number.

On the other hand, that provision does not imply an obligation on the trader to re-establish a telephone or fax connection or an e-mail account in order to enable consumers to contact him. It shall only oblige the trader to transmit the telephone or fax number or his e-mail address if he already has these means of communication with consumers. Art. 1 book. (c) Directive 2011/83 must be interpreted as meaning that, although that provision obliges the trader to provide the consumer with a means of communication capable of meeting the criteria of direct and efficient communication, it is not possible to that provision does not preclude the trader from making available means of communication other than those set out in it in order to meet those criteria.

But beware: this does not relieve an efficient possibility of no contact. So you must not hide or make it difficult for customers to get in touch. The Court notes only that the Directive does not require the trader to re-establish a telephone or fax line or an e-mail account so that consumers can always contact him, and that the Directive is only then obliged to transmit the telephone or fax number or his e-mail address if the trader already has such means of communication with consumers.

At the same time, however, the ECJ states that the Directive obliges the trader to trader to provide the consumer with a means of communication which ensures direct and efficient communication, whereby the trader may rely on means of means of communication other than those specified in the means of communication other than those specified in the fulfill these obligations.

Author: Marian Härtel

Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.