Decree-Law 24/2014 transposing into Portuguese internal law Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, of October, 25th of 2011 will come into effect on June, 13th of 2014, revoking the previous law on Consumers Protection in Distance Selling Contracts (Decree-Law 143/2001, of April 26th).
The new Decree-Law, which was published last February 14th, is applicable to all distance selling and off-premises contracts, for the purposes of promoting the transparency of commercial practices and safeguarding consumers’ interests.
The new Regime increases the level pre-contractual information that should be provided to consumers, including, among others: information regarding the existence of deposits or other financial warranties and respective conditions; in case of digital contents, information on the functionality and respective technical protection measures, as well as any relevant interoperability of the same; and information on formal requirements and of the right of free termination.
In order to ensure consumers are duly informed, especially in case of purchases through the Internet (e-commerce), suppliers or service providers now have the obligation to include on their website, by legible means and before the conclusion of the order, the expression «order subject to payment».
The supplier or services provider must confirm the execution of the contract within 5 days from the date of said execution or, at least, at the moment when the good is delivered or before the service is provided, and such confirmation is made by giving to consumer all pre-contractual information through durable means.
Regarding the right of free termination in distance selling and off-premises contracts, the Decree-Law establishes that such right may be exercised by consumers within 14 days, without the indication of any reason or without additional costs.
However, the service provider has the obligation to inform consumers that they have to proportionally pay the services that have been already provided, in case consumers terminate the contract after making an explicit request, through durable means, for the immediate provision of services.
Another innovation introduced by the Decree-Law is the obligation for suppliers or service providers to attach to the respective contract a specific form, approved by said Decree-Law, for the exercise of the right of free termination by consumers.
A week before the new Decree-Law enters into force, its article 18 was revoked. This article related to the payment by consumers with credit or debit card and allowed consumers, in case of fraudulent use of the respective cards, to request the annulment of all payments and the reimbursement of such amounts to their bank or financial entities. The revocation of said article was not peaceful as it is under discussion, on one hand, the contradiction of the same with the Decree-Law 314/2009, of October 30th and, on the other hand, the reduced protection of consumers.