The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has specified the right of revocation for credit agreements. According to an EU directive, the right of withdrawal is therefore excluded in the case of a loan agreement concluded online or by fax which has already been fulfilled. This was reported by the ECJ judges in Luxembourg.
In the specific case, a couple in Germany had taken up a real estate loan from DSL Bank. The cancellation policy stated that the right of revocation expires prematurely if the contract has been completely fulfilled and the borrower has expressly consented to this.
However, the couple revoked the contract almost nine years later. They claimed that they had been misinformed about their right of withdrawal. Therefore, they continue to be entitled under German law to revoke. The district court of Bonn then asked the ECJ for an interpretation of the EU directive on the distance marketing of financial services to consumers.
Opposition to BGH case law
Among other things, this directive provides that a right of withdrawal expires before the expiry of the period of 14 days if the contract has been fully fulfilled by both parties at the consumer's request. Otherwise, a so-called distance contract can be revoked without giving reasons within two weeks.
However, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) had ruled under German law that the provision to exclude the right of withdrawal in case of full performance of the contract was not applicable to consumer loan agreements. With these contracts the cancellation right does not expire. The Landgericht Bonn pointed this out.
The Luxembourg judges disagreed with this view and urged the German judiciary to comply with the requirements of EU law. The district court of Bonn must arrive at a solution that is in line with the regulation. It has "if necessary to amend a settled case law".
Reference number C-143/18
