German Federal Court of Justice, decision dated March 19, 2014,
case no. I ZR 185/12
(Up to now) it is quite normal for web shop operators to
emphasize a "money-back guarantee", a two year warranty
or something similar on their website in order to persuade
customers to buy their products.
The problem with such marketing slogans is that the web shop
operator is, in fact, advertising with features which are
self-evident when doing business with consumers. In B2C
transactions, a consumer always has the above mentioned rights
pursuant to mandatory law. The seller is in no position whatsoever
to effectively exclude them.
The Federal Court has now put an end to this kind of advertising
with features which are self-evident. The Court ruled that
advertising with such features, i.e. with rights which the customer
has anyway so that the seller's offer has no extra and does not
really stand out against offers from other suppliers, is
anti-competitive behaviour.
