It is not possible to include a provision along the lines suggested by the Deputy in the Regulations to be enacted to transpose Directive 2011/83/EU. Article 9(3) of the Directive provides as follows: " The Member States shall not prohibit the contracting parties from performing their contractual obligations during the withdrawal period. Nevertheless, in the case of off-premises contracts, Member States may maintain existing national legislation prohibiting the trader from collecting the payment from the consumer during the given period after the conclusion of the contract."
While the Article permits the very small number of Member States that currently prohibit payment in off-premises contracts during the cooling-off period to retain these national legislative provisions, it does not permit Member States who do not already have such provisions to introduce them. As I indicated in my reply to the previous questions on this issue referred to by the Deputy, the Directive enhances in a number of other ways the information and cancellation rights of consumers who conclude off-premises or distance contracts, including the extension of the cooling-off or cancellation period from 7 to 14 days.
