...in France
Consumers have to be informed about the possibility to cancel contracts with an automatic renewal
In France, a new law that aims at strengthening the consumers’ position and confidence introduces a regulation on contracts with an automatic renewal.
This law provides that the consumer shall be informed of the possibility not to renew contracts that he has concluded and which contain a clause of automatic renewal. This information has to be provided at least one month and at the most one month before the end of the term during which the renewal of the contract can be rejected. If this information is not provided, consumers are entitled to cancel these contracts any time after the renewal without having to pay any compensation.
The new law affects not every contract with automatic renewal
The new law e.g. will not govern contracts on mobile phones. These contracts count as “unlimited contracts” as the consumer can end the subscription at any time following the first year after the contract’s conclusion. In this first year though, cancellation is only possible for certain legal reasons. Similarly, only some offers of internet access by certain providers will be subject to the law, e.g. lump sum offers for ADSL by Freesurf or Tiscali. Life and group insurances are totally excluded from the new regulation.
