EU court rules: Streaming services may be "returned"
If you sign up for a streaming subscription with Netflix and co. today, you sometimes have to waive your right of withdrawal. However, a ECJ ruling now offers hope.
In principle, in the European Union, for so-called distance selling transactions (i.e., online purchases, telephone contracts, etc.), there is a right of withdrawal or cancellation. This means that after you have received a product, you can declare your withdrawal up to a maximum of 14 days later. You do not have to give reasons for this. You can then simply send the product back, and the seller must refund your money.
This was different until now with streaming services. Some generally excluded the right of withdrawal, arguing that they were "digital content," for which this is permitted under EU rules.
Not content, but a service
The European Court of Justice sees things differently. A streaming subscription is a "digital service." This is particularly the case if it is oriented towards user behavior and adapts accordingly. For example, if the algorithm recommends a certain series or film to you based on your streaming behavior.
The court decision was based on a lawsuit in Austria. A consumer association there sued the streaming service Sky. This service also excluded the 14-day right of withdrawal in its terms and conditions if customers had expressly agreed to immediate use of the offer. Although the Austrian courts still have to confirm this judgment, the legal situation in Germany, for example, is very similar, so that for streaming services, "there is a need to change their terms and conditions accordingly," as a lawyer explained to "dpa."
Caution with free trial periods
If the streaming provider offers a free trial period, a distance selling contract is already concluded. This means you have a right of withdrawal. However, the 14-day period begins immediately after the contract is concluded, regardless of whether it is a free trial phase or not. However, the service must clearly and transparently inform you how long the trial phase lasts and when it ends. If it does not, the 14-day period starts again from zero as soon as your subscription becomes chargeable. You therefore get a new, second right of withdrawal.
Common streaming portals provide clear information. However, if the free trial period is 14 days or more, it is easiest to simply cancel at the end of this period. With most providers, this can be done with a few mouse clicks.
No free streaming for events
You should not hope that you can now regularly stream for free and then revoke your subscription. If you have agreed to start streaming (for a fee) immediately, you must pay proportionally. So, if you have streamed for two days, the provider can charge you for these two days even if you withdraw. So, there is no free Champions League final.
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.
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