Make sure your information obligation is in order, avoid hassles and fines

As a merchant, your main concern is sales and satisfied customers. But don't forget: you also have a legal obligation to provide information. If you do not comply, this can lead to annoying discussions, refunds or even fines.

Practical examples:

-An order button that does not make it clear that payment is required.

-General terms and conditions that you don't actively send to the customer.

The good news: with a few simple checks, you can avoid these kinds of problems.

What does this duty to inform mean?

The Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that judges must check for webshops' compliance themselves. If you don't, the judge can impose sanctions.

In short: if you sell to consumers, you must provide certain information. Think of price, delivery time, identity of your company and return conditions. If that information is missing, the consumer can have the contract annulled.

Sanctions since 2025

Since the beginning of 2025, the penalty model has been tightened. The courts look at two things:

How many information duties you miss and whether your order button is clear.

-Are you missing 1 to 3 essential information duties, but your order button is correct? Then the judge can reduce the principal sum by 20%.

-Is your order button incorrect, but nothing else is missing? Then a discount of 33.3% usually follows.

-Do you combine a faulty order button with 1 or 2 missing duties? Then the discount can reach 40%.

-Missing 4 or more duties, even though the order button is good, the court can also impose a 40% discount.

-With 3 or more missing obligations and a faulty order button, the penalty can even reach 60%.

And beware: if the payment obligation on the order button is completely missing, the court can annul the entire contract.

Practical examples

-Bol.com (2024): the "complete order" button was not clear enough. Consequence: agreement destroyed, product returned.

-DigiDispuut: several judgments in which web shops were reprimanded. For example because conditions were not sent on a durable data carrier, return costs were not clearly stated or the ordering procedure was confusing.

View current examples here: DigiDispuut - Rulings

General terms and conditions: active sending

Many web shops are still making the same mistake: only putting terms and conditions on the website or having them ticked at checkout. That is not enough.

The law requires you to send the conditions personally, on a durable medium. For example, as a PDF in the order confirmation e-mail. This way, the content cannot be changed afterwards.

Checklist for your webshop

-Clearly state on your order button that payment is required.

-Include all essential information (price, features, delivery time, identity, return costs).

-Always include the terms and conditions in the order confirmation.

-Check regularly whether your webshop still complies with the latest rules.

Conclusion

It takes little effort to have your information requirements in order, but it can save you a lot of trouble. A clear order button, correct conditions and complete information not only help you avoid penalties, but also increase your reliability to customers.