EU court: ‘Clicking on button that sends the order implies the obligation to pay, and this should be specified’

Brussels – Order and payment go hand in hand. The former implies the latter, especially for online transactions on the Internet. It may seem obvious, but it is not. Or rather, it wasn’t, so the European Court of Justice cleared the field of misunderstandings, clarifying that “the order submission button or a similar function must explicitly indicate that, by clicking on it, the consumer submits to an obligation to pay.”

The consumer rights directive provides clear terms and conditions regarding service requests. Under EU law, the Luxembourg courts specify, “the trader shall ensure that the consumer, when placing his order, explicitly acknowledges that the order implies an obligation to pay.” Before the actual payment, a preliminary buyer-seller relationship is created. A sort of contract that implies having to put your hand in your wallet at a later date.

The Luxembourg courts are keen to point out that whether the payment is immediate or subsequent does not change the obligations of the service provider. In any case, however, the order confirmation must state that a payment will follow. Otherwise, the user may reserve the right to abandon the transaction. “If the trader has not complied with his duty to inform, the consumer shall not be bound by the contract or order.”