Interpreting Art. 3(2) of the European Directive 97/7/EC on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts, European Court of Justice in a recent preliminary judgement (easyCar UK Ltd v. Office of Fair Trading) held that the exemption made in regard to “provison of transport services” includes contracts for the provision of car hire services. Consumers therefore have no unrestricted right of withdrawal within a specific period after conclusion of contract, even if same was concluded as a “distance contract” via the internet (ECJ 2005-03-10, C-336/03).
