The ECJ On Consumers' Right Of Withdrawal From Automatically Extended Subscriptions

On 5 October 2023, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued its judgment in case C-565/22 (Verein für Konsumenteninformation v. Sofatutor GmbH) concerning the consumer's right to withdraw from an initially free and automatically extended subscription made via distance contract, in accordance with Directive (EU) No 2011/83 on consumer rights. The ECJ held that, when taking out a subscription that features an initial free period which is automatically extended unless terminated, the consumer's right to withdraw from a distance contract is, in principle, guaranteed only once. Nevertheless, if the consumer has not been informed in a clear, comprehensible and explicit manner that the subscription will become chargeable after an initial free period (and/or on the total price of the subscription), the consumer must be granted a new right of withdrawal.