The matter at hand

Comtech is a German company selling electronic and electrical equipment. On its website, customers who have already concluded a sales contract and wish to obtain information or make a complaint, are invited to call a telephone number beginning with the prefix 0180, which is generally used in Germany for support services at a national rate. Call charges to such a ‘non-geographic’ number are higher than those for a standard call to a ‘geographic’ landline or mobile phone number.

The Zentrale zur Bekämpfung unlauteren Wettbewerbs Frankfurt am Main, an association for combatting unfair commercial practices, brought an action against Comtech before the Landgericht Stuttgart (Regional Court, Stuttgart, Germany), claiming that the provision of a telephone helpline at a rate higher than that charged for standard calls is an unfair commercial practice and prohibited under the German implementation of Article 21 of the Consumer Rights DirectiveDirective 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights, which provides that Member States shall ensure that where the trader operates a telephone line for the purpose of contacting him by telephone in relation to the contract concluded, the consumer, when contacting the trader, is not bound to pay more than the basic rate.

The Landgericht Stuttgart referred the matter tot he ECJ asking, in essence, whether the concept of ‘basic rate’, referred to in Article 21 of the Consumer Rights DirectiveDirective 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights must be interpreted as meaning that charges, for a call relating to a contract concluded with a trader, to a telephone helpline operated by the trader may not exceed call charges to a standard geographic landline or mobile telephone line, and if it is relevant, in that regard, whether or not the trader makes a profit through that telephone helpline.

The judgment of the ECJ

The ECJ rules that the concept of basic rate must be interpreted as meaning that charges for a call, relating to a contract concluded with a trader, to a telephone helpline operated by the trader may not exceed the cost of a call to a standard geographic landline or mobile telephone line. “An interpretation of the concept of ‘basic rate’ to the effect that traders are permitted to charge rates higher than that of a standard call to a geographic landline or mobile telephone line would be liable to discourage consumers from using a telephone helpline in order to obtain information in relation to the contract concluded with the trader or from asserting their rights relating to, inter alia, a guarantee or withdrawal” (paragraph 29). The ECJ rules that in this regard, provided that the charge rate is not higher than the basic rate, the fact that a trader may or may not make a profit through a non-geographic helpline is irrelevant.