The Austrian Consumer Association (Verein für Konsumenteninformation, VKI) was able to positively end a long-lasting legal struggle against Amazon. In 2014, the VKI took legal steps against 12 clauses in the terms & conditions of Amazon. Now, the Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) ruled in favor of the VKI and declared that the clauses are in fact illicit.
The verdict covers, inter alia, the following:
- Choice of law: According to the T&C, only Luxembourg legislation was applicable. Such a clause is against the law as it lacks the information that, nevertheless, mandatory legal conditions of the consumer's place of residence (e.g. Austria) are still applicable.
- Payment of invoice: Consumers who chose this method of payment had to pay 1,50€ extra. Tip: If this happened to you, you can now request a refund!
- Data processing: Amazon reserved the right to use and process all content (e.g. reviews) published on amazon.de for all purposes, online as well as offline.
Those T&C are only a few examples. The legal department of the VKI lists all illicit clauses on its website (unfortunately, this information is only available in German language).
If you face any legal problems with Amazon, we are happy to help. Please find our contact details at this link.
