The Latest from Europe

Our Consumer Protection Act is closely modelled on the EU’s rules protecting consumers, particularly those to do with selling at a distance (including ecommerce). In this Newsletter we therefore always follow important changes to the EU’s rules. In a recent case, the European Court of Justice has decided that online retailers don’t need to provide a phone number on their website, as long as customers are offered other ways to contact the ecommerce company. This case came about because the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (VZBV) sued Amazon which did not offer a phone number that customers could call. In Germany, the law that says online retailers need to provide a phone number.