The Court of Justice of the European Union has clarified the cases in which the right of withdrawal does not apply to the online purchase of tickets for cultural or sporting events, in a judgment delivered on Thursday 31 March (case C-96/21).
A consumer purchased tickets online from CTS Eventim for a concert that was cancelled in March 2020 due to health restrictions in Germany related to the Covid-19 pandemic. She asked for a refund of the tickets and ancillary costs, refusing the voucher for the purchase price of the tickets issued by the concert organiser and sent to her by CTS Eventim.
The Bremen District Court asked whether the consumer could withdraw from the contract with CTS Eventim.
The Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83) specifically excludes a right of withdrawal inter alia in the case of a provision of services related to leisure activities if the contract provides for a specific date of performance. With this exclusion, EU law aims to protect organisers of cultural or sporting events from the risk of not being able to allocate available seats.
In its judgment, the Court of Justice answers that the exception to the right of withdrawal also applies to the sale of concert tickets by an intermediary company on behalf of the organiser, insofar as the economic risk linked to the exercise of the right of withdrawal would fall on the concert organiser.
See the judgment: https://aeur.eu/f/129 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)