The judges of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on Wednesday 10 July in Case C-649/17 that an e-commerce platform such as Amazon was not required to provide a consumer with a telephone number before a contract was concluded, although it should, however, enable them to communicate with the company quickly and effectively.
Amazon EU was brought before the German courts by a consumer association.
The latter was of the opinion that the company does not respect its legal obligation to provide consumers with an efficient means to enter into contact with it, by not informing consumers in a clear and comprehensible manner of its telephone and fax numbers. In addition, the association considers that Amazon does not satisfy information requirements, since consumers have to go through too many steps to get in touch with a contact person at the company. This contradicts German legislation, which requires a trader to provide their telephone number to a consumer before concluding a distance or off-premises contract.
When this dispute was brought before the courts, the German Federal Court of Justice referred the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling to determine whether Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights precludes such legislation, and whether a trader is required to set up a telephone or fax number, or a new e-mail service to enable consumers to contact it. The German court also questioned whether other means of communication, such as instant messaging system or a telephone callback system, could be used.
In their judgment, the judges considered that the directive in question precludes such national legislation, since the directive does not oblige the trader to set up a telephone or fax number, or create a new e-mail address to enable consumers to contact it in all circumstances. Nor does the text require traders to communicate these numbers or address if a means of communication between the consumer and the trader already exists.
However, the Directive does require a trader to provide the consumer with a means of communication so that the customer can directly and efficiently make contact with a contact person, for example an electronic contact form, an instant messaging system, or a telephone callback system. It is thus for the national court to verify that this obligation is complied with. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)