Webshops and buying through the internet

Booking a trip through Booking.com, buying clothes through Zalando, not only booking but also buying practically everything through Amazon, making daily purchases through the website of department stores, concluding a building contract via the internet, setting up and exploiting a webshop, these are some examples of purchases and services over the Internet.
Europe has responded quickly by issuing guidelines and the Belgian legislator has also implemented them relatively quickly and converted them into legislation.
Three parts are crucial for this topic and can be found in the Code of Economic Law ((the obligations of information of the company (book III)), (the law of the economic economy (book XII)), always applicable, and with respect to consumers (law on consumer protection (Book VI and Book XIV (with regard to liberal professions)).
The regulation applies to relationships between companies (B2B) and companies and consumers (B2C).
The obligations are the same, but are stricter in relation to consumers.

2. Companies that rely on the Internet for sale or provide services are subject to the following main obligations:

General information obligation (the essential):

Not only the full identity, the general terms and conditions, but also the price composition must be accurately described.
For activities subject to a licensing system, the details of the competent supervisory authority must be added and for regulated professions, the professional association, the professional titles and the reference to the group rules and how they can be checked.
The technical steps to conclude a contract must also be communicated and technical means must be indicated to detect and correct input errors before the order is placed.
And the process must be ended with a screen showing an overview of the order and all data entered and asking the customer to check the order and then confirm it afterwards.
After placing the order, a confirmation of receipt must be delivered, including a summary of the order.
The information must therefore refer to the seller, supplier or service provider, the information about the product or service, the special conditions when concluding the agreement, the performance of the agreement and the period of validity of the agreement (including the right of withdrawal).

Information obligation towards a consumer:

The consumer must be clearly informed of the total price of the goods or services, including all costs and taxes.
If the entrepreneur does not inform the consumer of the additional charges and costs related to the agreement, the consumer does not owe them.
The method of payment, delivery and performance and the periods within which the good must be delivered or the service provided must be stated. In any assumption, the company must deliver or perform the services within the period of one month after the conclusion of the agreement (if this does not happen, the consumer can immediately terminate the agreement).
Stating the right of withdrawal and adding the model of the withdrawal form. After all, the consumer has a period of fourteen days, without having to give any reason to withdraw the contract.
In case of withdrawal, the consumer must return the good within fourteen days (from the withdrawal) and must therefore generally pay the transport costs if this is stated in the contract. For its part, the company must repay everything that the consumer has paid. When notifying that the transport costs are due in the event of withdrawal, the company must at least provide a reasonable estimate of the maximum costs.
The company must also indicate the legal warranty (ie for two years) for any defects in the product.
The duration of the agreement or, if it is indefinite, the terms and conditions of the termination.

The right of withdrawal

If the information obligation regarding the right of withdrawal is not met, or if the model form is not provided, the term for withdrawal will be extended by twelve months.
Failure to inform about the conditions of the right of withdrawal means that the consumer does not even owe any compensation for the depreciation of the good.
The application of the right of withdrawal itself is not subject to certain conditions and the model form does not necessarily have to be used.
However, the consumer must take into account that he is obliged to return the goods within fourteen days.
If depreciation occurs after delivery of the good, the consumer is obliged to reimburse this.
For a whole series of services, this right of withdrawal is not available and therefore not possible (for example, delivery of goods that spoil quickly, sealed goods, contracts in which the consumer has specifically requested the company to visit him to carry out urgent repairs or maintenance. , the delivery of sealed audio and video recordings, the delivery of newspapers and magazines, travel, train or plane tickets, hotel rooms).

3. Our existing shops (with physical location), which have to bear the expenses for their operating point (purchase or rental) and work with staff and therefore have more costs, can take some comfort from the very strict rules that companies have to follow. However, the phenomenon is increasing, so that it is more than desirable that both the consumer and the company encourage themselves to acquire more and more knowledge about these regulations.

Please note, what is stated above, is the representation of the most important rules, it does not include all of them, but these can be found in the above-mentioned legislation (or can be requested).