Consumers' Right To Withdraw From Off-premises Contracts Already Performed

The Court of Justice of the European Union (the "CJEU") assessed the right of withdrawal from a contract concluded off-premises available to consumers in its preliminary ruling delivered on 17 May 2023 in the case of DC v. HJ (C-97/22). The CJEU confirmed that the failure by a trader to provide the consumers with pre-contractual information on the right to withdraw from the contract leads to the exemption of the consumers from any obligation to pay for the performance of such contract when exercising their right of withdrawal, even when the services would have already been rendered.

The dispute in the proceedings

HJ verbally engaged a company (the "Trader") in October of 2020 to renovate the electrical fixtures in his house and it emerged that the Trader did not, prior to contracting with HJ, inform HJ of his right of withdrawal from such contract. The contract was performed by the Trader by December 2020 and the Trader issued an invoice for the payment of the