Sale of financial services: new rules to protect consumers

The order of 5 January 2025 transposes a European directive of November 2023 intended to better protect consumers subscribing to financial services online or by telephone. The traders concerned will be bound by new rules on the right of withdrawal and consumer information.

The right of withdrawal facilitated

For contracts concluded remotely through an online interface, the Ordinance requires ‘easy, direct and permanent access to the right of withdrawal ». The trader must make available to the consumer, free of charge, this functionality allowing him to exercise this right free of charge, before the expiry of the period provided for by the Consumer Code.

Mandatory pre-contractual information

The framework for pre-contractual information for consumers is strengthened. The Consumer Code has been amended to oblige companies to provide, free of charge, before signing the contract, all the “appropriate explanations concerning the financial services contracts offered”: information concerning the trader and the products offered, terms of the right of withdrawal, possibility of making a complaint, price due by the consumer (including all commissions, charges, expenses and charges), consequences in the event of default or late payment, etc.

The information must be provided in a legible and comprehensible manner and the commercial character must be clear. They must also be accessible to consumers with disabilities.

The contract subscribed by secure voice telephony by a sale in “2 times”

The Ordinance reviews the regulatory framework for voice telephony contracts. At the beginning of each telephone call, the professional must indicate his name, the commercial purpose of the call, and whether it is recorded.

The Ordinance states that where a contract is concluded as a result of making contact by voice telephony, including at the initiative of the consumer, the supplier must address to the consumer, on paper or any other durable medium, a confirmation of the offer he made. “The consumer is bound by this offer only after having signed it on paper or any other durable medium” (entry into force of this provision from 1^er January 2027).

No consumer manipulation

Finally, online interfaces must not be designed ‘in such a way as to deceive or manipulate consumers receiving the service [or] in any other way as to substantially impair or impede their ability to make free and informed decisions’.

The practices covered are:

• influence the consumer's decision on how to present offers;
• Repeatedly asking consumers to make a choice that has already been made, in particular by displaying a pop-up that could disrupt their choice;
• make the procedure for unsubscribing a service more complex than the registration procedure.