The CJEU Clarifies When A Consumer Is Under An Obligation To Pay Under An Electronic Contract

On 7 April 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU"), in delivering a ruling in the case of Fuhrmann-2-GmbH v. B., adopted a consumer friendly approach by clarifying that for consumers to be validly bound by an electronically formed contract, they must clearly understand, on the basis only of the words appearing on the ordering button, that as soon as they click on that button, they will be under an obligation to pay the supplier in question.

Background

Fuhrmann-2 is a German company which owns the Hotel Goldener Anker in Krummhörn-Greetsiel, Germany. The rooms of the mentioned hotel can be booked through the online accommodation booking platform - www.booking.com. On 19 July 2018, a consumer visited that website to search for hotel rooms in Krummhörn-Greetsiel for the period 28 May 2019 to 2 June 2019. The search results displayed various rooms which were available, including rooms in the Hotel Goldener Anker. The available rooms were displayed