Legislation

Distance contracts and off-premises contracts

Article 4
Pre-contractual information in contracts concluded at a distance or concluded off-premises

1 — Before the consumer is bound by a contract concluded at a distance or off-premises, or through a corresponding proposal, the supplier of goods or service provider must provide him, in good time and in a clear and understandable manner, the following information:
a) Identity of the supplier of goods or service provider, including the name, business name or corporate name, the physical address where it is established, the telephone and fax number and the email address, if any, in order to allow for the consumer to contact and communicate with him quickly and effectively;
b) When applicable, the physical address and identity of the professional who acts on behalf of or on behalf of the supplier of goods or service provider;
c) Essential characteristics of the good or service, to the extent appropriate to the support used and the good or service object of the contract;
d) Total price of the good or service, including fees and taxes, additional transport charges, postage or delivery costs or any other charges that may apply; e) The method of calculating the price, including everything that refers to any additional transport, delivery and postal charges, and any other costs, when the nature of the good or service does not allow calculation prior to the conclusion of the contract ;
f) An indication that additional transport, delivery and postal charges, and any other costs, may be payable when such charges cannot reasonably be calculated before the conclusion of the contract;
g) The total price, which must include the total costs, per billing period, in the case of a contract of indefinite duration or that includes a recurring subscription;
h) The total price equivalent to all monthly or other periodic charges, in the case of a contract with a fixed tariff, with the method of calculating the price being communicated when it is impossible to calculate it prior to the conclusion of the contract;
i) Methods of payment, delivery, execution, the deadline by which the professional undertakes to deliver the good or to provide the service, and, where applicable, the system for handling consumer complaints by the supplier
of goods or service provider;
j) When applicable, the existence of the right of free termination of the contract, the respective deadline and procedure for exercising the right, under the terms of articles 10 and 11, with delivery of the free termination form contained in the party B of the annex to this decree-law, of which it forms an integral part;
l) When applicable, indication that the consumer bears the costs of returning the goods in the event of exercising the right of free withdrawal and the amount of these costs, if the goods, by their nature, cannot be returned normally by post normal;
m) The obligation of the consumer to pay the service provider a certain amount, proportional to the service already provided, whenever the consumer exercises the right of free withdrawal after having submitted the request to which
Article 15 is referred to;
n) When there is no right of free withdrawal, under the terms of article 17, the indication that the consumer does not benefit from that right or, where applicable, the circumstances in which the consumer loses his right of free withdrawal;
o) Cost of using the remote communication technique, when calculated in reference to a tariff other than the base tariff;
p) The duration of the contract, when it is not indefinite or instantaneous, or, in the case of a contract for the supply of goods or provision of services for continuous or periodic execution or automatic renewal, the termination requirements, including, when applicable, the system of compensation established for the early termination of contracts subject to minimum contractual periods;
q) The existence and term of the guarantee of conformity of the goods, when the legal regime for the sale of consumer goods set out in Decree-Law no. 67/2003, of April 8, as amended by Decree-Law no. 84/2008, of May 21;
r) The existence and conditions of after-sales assistance, after-sales services and commercial guarantees, when applicable;
s) The existence of relevant codes of conduct, if any, and how to obtain the respective copies;
t) The minimum duration of the obligations of consumers arising from the contract, when applicable;
u) The existence of deposits or other financial guarantees and respective conditions, to be paid or provided by the consumer at the request of the professional, if any;
v) If applicable, the functionality of the digital contents, including the technical protection measures;
x) Any relevant interoperability of digital content with equipment and computer programs that the professional is or may reasonably be aware of, when applicable;
z) The possibility of accessing an out-of-court complaint and appeal mechanism to which the professional is linked and the means of accessing this same mechanism, when applicable.

Article 5
Form requirements in contracts concluded at a distance

1 — The information referred to in paragraph 1 of the previous article must be provided in a clear and understandable manner
through means appropriate to the technique of distance communication used, with respect for the principles of good faith, loyalty in commercial transactions and the protection of incapable persons, especially minors.
2 — When in a contract concluded at a distance by electronic means, the order by the consumer implies an obligation to pay, the supplier of goods or service provider must give the consumer, in a clear and well visible manner, and immediately before the consumer completes the order, the pre-contractual information provided for in paragraphs c), d), e), f), g), h), p) and t) of paragraph 1 of the previous article.
3 — In order to comply with the provisions of the previous number, the supplier of goods or service provider must ensure that the consumer, when completing the order, expressly and consciously confirms that the order implies an obligation to pay.
4 — When completing the order involves activating a button or similar function, the button or
said function is identified in an easily legible way, only with the expression "order with obligation to pay" or a corresponding and unequivocal wording, which indicates that placing the order implies an obligation to pay the professional.
5 — Without prejudice to the obligation to communicate the remaining information in accordance with the means of distance communication used, when the contract is concluded through a means of distance communication with limited space or time to disclose the information, the supplier of goods or service provider must provide, in that specific medium and before the conclusion of the contract, at least the pre-contractual information required by subparagraphs a), c), d), e), f), g), h), j) and p) of paragraph 1 of the previous article.
6 — In the case of communication by telephone, the identity of the supplier of the good or service provider or
of the professional acting on his behalf or on his behalf and the commercial purpose of the call must be explicitly communicated at the beginning of any contact with the consumer.
7 — When the contract is concluded by telephone, the consumer is only bound after signing the offer or sending his written consent to the supplier of goods or service provider.
8 — If the supplier of goods or service provider does not comply with the provisions of paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, the consumer is not bound by the contract.

Article 6
Confirmation of the conclusion of the contract concluded at a distance

1 — The supplier of goods or service provider must confirm the conclusion of the distance contract within a period of five days counting from that conclusion and, at the latest, at the time of delivery of the good or before the beginning of the provision of the service.
2 — Confirmation of the contract referred to in the previous number is carried out by delivering the pre-contractual information provided for in paragraph 1 of article 4 to the consumer on a durable medium.
3 — The supplier of goods or service provider who, before signing the contract, provides the consumer with pre-contractual information in a durable format is exempt from the obligation to confirm the contract.

Article 7
Restrictions on websites

On websites dedicated to electronic commerce, it is mandatory to indicate, in a clear and legible manner, at the latest at the beginning of the ordering process, the possible existence of geographic or other restrictions on delivery and accepted means of payment.

Article 8
Restrictions on the use of certain techniques
distance communication

The sending of unsolicited communications through the use of distance communication techniques depends on the express prior consent of the consumer, under the terms of Law n.º 46/2012, of 29 August.

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Article 18
Payment by credit or debit card

1 — The price of goods or services, subject to distance contracts, may be paid using any suitable means of payment, including credit or debit card.
2 — Whenever there is fraudulent use of a credit or debit card by someone else, the consumer may request the cancellation of the payment made and the consequent refund of the amounts debited for payment.
3 — The refund referred to in the previous number is the responsibility of the bank or financial entity that issued the aforementioned card, by crediting the account or, if this is not possible, by any other suitable means, within a maximum period of 60 days from the date in which he substantiated the request. right of recourse of the bank or financial entity against the perpetrators of the fraud or against the supplier of the good or service, when it is demonstrated that the latter knew or, given the circumstances of the case, should have known that such use was fraudulent.
5 — Any provision contrary to the regime set out in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 is null and void.

Article 19.
Execution of the contract concluded at a distance

1 — Unless otherwise agreed between the parties, the supplier of goods or service provider must comply with the order within a maximum period of 30 days, counting from the day following the conclusion of the contract.
2 — In the event of non-compliance with the contract due to the unavailability of the ordered good or service, the supplier of goods or service provider must inform the consumer of this fact and reimburse him for the amounts paid, within a maximum period of 30 days from the date of the knowledge of that unavailability.
3 — After the period provided for in the previous number has elapsed without the consumer having been reimbursed for the amounts paid, the supplier is obliged to return double, within a period of 15 working days, the amounts paid by the consumer, without prejudice to his right to compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage that may occur.
4 — The supplier may, however, supply a good or provide a service to the consumer of equivalent quality and price, provided that this possibility has been foreseen before the conclusion of the contract or in the contract itself and the consumer has expressly consented to it, and that notice in writing, the consumer is responsible for the return costs provided for in the following paragraph.
5 — In the situation provided for in the previous number, if the consumer chooses to exercise the right of free withdrawal, the return costs will be borne by the supplier.

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Article 25
Sporadic special sales

1 — For the purposes of this chapter, special sporadic sales are those carried out occasionally outside commercial establishments, in facilities or private spaces specially contracted or made available for this purpose.
2 — The provisions of articles 10 and 11 apply to the sales referred to in the previous number, with the necessary adaptations.

Article 26
Prior communication

1 — Special sporadic sales are subject to prior notice to ASAE.
2 — The communication foreseen in the previous number must be made up to eight days before the date foreseen for the start of sales, through a mere prior communication at the electronic one-stop shop of the services, or by email sent to ASAE, in case of unavailability the counter, which contains:
a) Identification of the promoter and his signature;
b) Promoter's address;
c) Promoter registration number in the National Register of Legal Persons;
d) Identification of the goods and services to be marketed;
e) Complete identification of the place where the sales will take place;
f) Indication of the expected date for the beginning and end of the occurrence.