Right of withdrawal for brokerage contracts

As of 13.06.2014, the new right of withdrawal for distance contracts applies according to the corresponding EU Consumer Rights Directive. According to this, every contract concluded “away from business premises” is subject to instruction and revocable.

Brokerage contracts concluded away from business premises, e.g. on the internet, by e-mail, telephone, fax or letter, are thus subject to the right of revocation.

The customer may revoke the brokerage contract within 14 days without giving reasons. The 14 days count from the day of the conclusion of the contract.

In order to exercise the right of revocation, the customer must inform the broker by means of a clear declaration (e.g. by letter, fax, e-mail) of his decision to revoke the contract. It is not necessary for the revocation to be in writing, so that a revocation by telephone is also effective, but in the event of a dispute the client may have to prove this.

In order to comply with the revocation period, it is sufficient that the notification of the exercise of the right of revocation is sent before the expiry of the revocation period.

For his part, the broker must provide the client with a proper cancellation notice in text form at the time the contract is concluded. If he fails to do so, the brokerage contract can still be revoked for 12 months and 14 days.

However, in the event that the broker’s activity has already led to success, the broker may under certain circumstances demand compensation from the client for the service rendered, which as a rule should correspond to the full brokerage fee.

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