Right of withdrawal
Article 56.
Obligations of the professional in the event of withdrawal (1)
1. The professional reimburses all payments received from the consumer, possibly including delivery costs, without undue delay and in any case within fourteen days from the day on which he is informed of the consumer's decision to withdraw from the contract pursuant to Article 54. The professional carries out the reimbursement referred to in the first period using the same payment method used by the consumer for the initial transaction, unless the consumer has expressly agreed otherwise and provided that he does not have to incur any costs as a consequence of the reimbursement. In the event that the payment was made by means of bills of exchange, if these have not yet been presented for collection, they must be returned. Any clause that provides for limitations on the reimbursement to the consumer of the sums paid as a result of the exercise of the right of withdrawal is void.
2. Without prejudice to paragraph 1, the trader is not required to reimburse additional costs if the consumer has expressly chosen a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of delivery offered by the trader.
3. Unless the professional has offered to collect the goods himself, with regard to sales contracts, the professional may withhold the reimbursement until he has received the goods or until the consumer has demonstrated that he has sent back the goods, depending on which situation occurs first.
3-bis. With regard to the consumer's personal data, the trader shall comply with the obligations applicable under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016. (2)
3-ter. The professional shall refrain from using any content, other than personal data, which has been provided or created by the consumer during the use of the digital content or digital service provided by the professional, except where such content:
a) is of no use outside the context of the digital content or digital service provided by the trader;
b) concerns only the consumer's activity when using the digital content or digital service provided by the professional;
c) has been aggregated by the professional with other data and cannot be disaggregated or can only be disaggregated with disproportionate efforts;
d) was generated jointly by the consumer and other persons, and whether other consumers can continue to use it. (2)
3-quater. Except for the situations referred to in paragraph 3-ter, letter a), b) or c), the professional, upon request of the consumer, makes available to the consumer any content, other than personal data, provided or created by the consumer during the use of the digital content or digital service provided by the professional. (2)
3-quinquies. The consumer has the right to recover such digital content from the professional free of charge and without hindrance, within a reasonable period of time and in a commonly used and machine-readable format. (2)
3-sexies. In case of withdrawal from the contract, the professional may prevent any further use of the digital content or digital service by the consumer, in particular by making such content or digital service inaccessible to him or by deactivating his user account, without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 3- quater. (2)
(1) Article thus replaced by art. 1, paragraph 1, Legislative Decree 21 February 2014, n. 21.
(2) Paragraph added by art. 1, paragraph 19, Legislative Decree 7 March 2023, n. 26.
Article 57.
Consumer obligations in case of withdrawal (1)
1. Unless the professional has offered to collect the goods himself, the consumer returns the goods or delivers them to the professional or to a third party authorized by the professional to receive the goods, without undue delay and in any case within fourteen days from the date on which he communicated to the professional his decision to withdraw from the contract pursuant to Article 54. The deadline is respected if the consumer sends back the goods before the expiry of the fourteen day period. The consumer only bears the direct cost of returning the goods, provided that the trader has not agreed to bear it or has failed to inform the consumer that this cost is to be borne by the consumer. In the case of contracts negotiated away from business premises in which the goods have been delivered to the consumer's domicile at the time of conclusion of the contract, the professional collects the goods at his expense if the goods, by their nature, cannot normally be returned by means of transport. mail.
2. The consumer is solely responsible for the decrease in the value of the goods resulting from handling of the goods other than that necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functionbirth of the assets. The consumer is in no case responsible for the decrease in the value of the goods if the professional has failed to inform the consumer of his right of withdrawal pursuant to article 49, paragraph 1, letter h).
2-bis. In case of withdrawal from the contract, the consumer refrains from using the digital content or digital service and from making it available to third parties. (2)
3. If a consumer exercises the right of withdrawal after submitting a request in accordance with Article 50, paragraph 3, or Article 51, paragraph 8, the consumer pays the professional an amount proportional to what has been provided up to the moment in which the consumer has informed the professional of the exercise of the right of withdrawal, with respect to all the services provided for in the contract. The proportional amount that the consumer must pay to the professional is calculated on the basis of the total price agreed in the contract. If the said total price is excessive, the proportional amount is calculated on the basis of the market value of what was supplied.
4. The consumer does not bear any costs for:
a) the provision of services or the supply of water, gas or electricity, when they are not offered for sale in a limited volume or in a specific quantity, or of district heating, in whole or in part, during the withdrawal period when:
1) the professional has failed to provide information in accordance with article 49, paragraph 1, letters h) and l); or
2) the consumer has not expressly requested that the service begin during the withdrawal period in accordance with Article 50, paragraph 3, and Article 51, paragraph 8; or
b) the supply, in whole or in part, of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium when:
1) the consumer has not given his prior express consent regarding the start of the service before the end of the fourteen or thirty day period referred to in Article 52; (3)
2) the consumer did not recognize that he would lose the right of withdrawal when he expressed his consent; or
3) the professional has failed to provide confirmation in accordance with Article 50, paragraph 2, or Article 51, paragraph 7.
5. Without prejudice to the provisions of article 56, paragraph 2, and in this article, the exercise of the right of withdrawal does not entail any liability for the consumer.
(1) Lastly, this article was replaced by art. 1, paragraph 1, Legislative Decree 21 February 2014, n. 21.
(2) Paragraph inserted by art. 1, paragraph 20, letter. a), Legislative Decree 7 March 2023, n. 26.
(3) Number thus replaced by art. 1, paragraph 20, letter. b), Legislative Decree 7 March 2023, n. 26.
Article 59.
Exceptions to the right of withdrawal (1)
1. The right of withdrawal referred to in articles 52 to 58 for distance contracts and contracts negotiated away from business premises is excluded in relation to:
a) service contracts after the complete provision of the service but, if the contract imposes on the consumer the obligation to pay, only if the performance has begun with the prior express consent of the consumer and the acceptance of the fact that he will lose his right of withdrawal following complete execution of the contract by the professional; (2)
b) the supply of goods or services whose price is linked to fluctuations in the financial market that the professional is not able to control and which may occur during the withdrawal period;
c) the supply of goods made to measure or clearly personalized;
d) the supply of goods which risk deteriorating or expiring rapidly;
e) the supply of sealed goods that are not suitable for return for hygienic reasons or related to health protection and have been opened after delivery;
f) the supply of goods which, after delivery, are, by their nature, inseparably mixed with other goods;
g) the supply of alcoholic beverages, the price of which has been agreed upon at the time of the conclusion of the sales contract, the delivery of which can only take place after thirty days and the actual value of which depends on fluctuations on the market which cannot be controlled by the professional;
h) contracts in which the consumer has specifically requested a visit by the professional for the purpose of carrying out urgent repair or maintenance work. If, on the occasion of such a visit, the professional provides services in addition to those specifically requested by the consumer or goods other than spare parts necessary to carry out maintenance or repairs, the right of withdrawal applies to such additional services or goods;
(i) the supply of sealed audio or video recordings or sealed computer software which has been opened after delivery;
l) the supply of newspapers, periodicals and magazines with the exception of subscription contracts for the supply of such publications;
m) contracts concluded at a public auction;
n) the supplyprovision of accommodation for non-residential purposes, the transport of goods, car rental services, catering services or services relating to leisure activities where the contract provides for a specific date or period of performance;
o) contracts for the supply of digital content using a non-material medium if performance has begun and, if the contract imposes an obligation on the consumer to pay, if:
1) the consumer has given his prior express consent to begin the service during the right of withdrawal period;
2) the consumer has acknowledged that he will thus lose his right of withdrawal;
3) the professional has provided confirmation in accordance with Article 50, paragraph 2, or Article 51, paragraph 7 (3).
1-bis. The exceptions to the right of withdrawal referred to in paragraph 1, letters a), b), c) and e), do not apply to contracts concluded in the context of unsolicited visits by a professional to the home of a consumer or excursions organized by a professional with the aim or effect of promoting or selling products to consumers. (4)
1-ter. In service contracts that impose on the consumer the obligation to pay when the consumer has specifically requested a visit by the professional for the purpose of carrying out repair work, the consumer loses the right of withdrawal after the service has been fully performed , provided that the execution began with the prior express consent of the consumer himself. (4).
(1) Article thus replaced by art. 1, paragraph 1, Legislative Decree 21 February 2014, n. 21.
(2) Letter thus replaced by art. 1, paragraph 21, letter. a), n. 1), Legislative Decree 7 March 2023, n. 26.
(3) Letter thus replaced by art. 1, paragraph 21, letter. a), n. 2), Legislative Decree 7 March 2023, n. 26.
(4) Paragraph added by art. 1, paragraph 21, letter. b), Legislative Decree 7 March 2023, n. 26.
Article 67.
Protection under other provisions (2)
1. The provisions of Sections I to IV of this Chapter do not exclude or limit the rights that are attributed to the consumer by other provisions of the legal system of community source or adopted in compliance with community standards.
2. For anything not provided for in Sections I to IV of this Chapter, the provisions of the civil code regarding the validity, formation or effectiveness of contracts apply.
3. The provisions of Articles 18, 19 and 20 of Legislative Decree no. 31 March 1998 also apply to the contracts referred to in section III of this Chapter. 114, and subsequent amendments, reforming the regulations relating to the trade sector, pursuant to article 4, paragraph 4, of law no. 15 March 1997. 59.
(1) Article modified by art. 22, paragraph 1, letter. a), L. 7 July 2009, n. 88 and art. 2, paragraph 1, Legislative Decree 13 August 2010, n. 141. Subsequently, this article was thus replaced by art. 1, paragraph 1, Legislative Decree 21 February 2014, n. 21, which replaced Chapter I, limited to the articles. from 45 to 67, starting from 13 June 2014, pursuant to the provisions of the art. 2, paragraph 1, of the same Legislative Decree no. 21/2014.