Court of Justice provides ruling on meaning of ‘promotional offer’ under EU E-Commerce Directive (Verbraucherzentrale Hamburg v bonprix)
EU Law analysis: In a referral from the German Federal Court, the Court of Justice made a preliminary ruling on the meaning of a ‘promotional offer’ in Article 6(c) of Directive 2000/31/EC, the EU E-Commerce Directive, which may affect the advertising of a range of deferred buying and payment arrangements advertised when making online purchases. It held that ‘promotional offer’ must be interpreted as covering an advertising message on a website which refers to a payment arrangement, if this provides an object advantage to consumers which may influence buying decisions. This therefore carries with it the requirement to provide clear information to consumers on the terms and conditions relating to the ‘promotion’. In the underlying German case, although the ruling does not provide detail on the ‘user journey’ when using the website in question, it seems the need for consumers to undergo a credit check was only disclosed during the ordering process, not in the earlier promotion of this payment facility on the website. Written by Beverley Whittaker, consultant at Stevens & Bolton LLP.