Ruling from the Spanish Supreme Court regarding Cooling off period and the Provision of Information.

The Supreme Court Ruling has endorsed that all contracts should have had a 14 day cooling off period, for the purchase of products valid across the whole of Europe.

This 14 day period would have allowed consumers to consider their purchase and ask questions about the products they have selected and withdraw from the contract if they wish to do so, with no penalties.

In addition sellers should have been prohibited from asking for any form of securing Deposit.

The Directive also stipulates that any timeshare sold by traders should provide detailed information to purchasers in good time before the purchaser commits to a contract.

Information must include the price to be paid, a detailed description of the purchase including the timeshare location and number, details of the apartment / unit / week (s) and the exact period and length of stay to which the purchaser is entitled under the contract. This information must also be provided in the purchaser’s own language if he so wishes.

Finally before concluding any agreement the trader is obliged to draw the consumer’s attention to the existence of the ‘right of withdrawal,’ and the length of the withdrawal period and that It is illegal to have the customer sign a finance agreement during this period.

In Summary the main points of focus of the ruling are

1. That there is a mandatory cooling-off period of 14 days from date of purchase/
2. That customers must be informed of this cooling-off period.
3. That no money can be accepted at the signing of the contract or within the 14 day cooling-off period.
4. That all contracts must be in writing.
5. That before signing a contract, certain information points must be made clear to the customer so that the customer is fully aware of all the conditions. Failure to do so shall render the contract null and void.
6. The contract must be offered in the buyer’s language.
7. That in the event of a cancelled agreement by the customer, for example during the cooling-off period, all other related financing agreement contracts are also cancelled.
8. That the contract duration cannot last longer than 50 years.