Short answer
There is no single consequence. The Consumer Rights Directive attaches different sanctions to different information defects, and assuming they are interchangeable leads to bad compliance decisions.
The most severe single consequence for an ordinary online sale is the Article 10 extension, but the others compound it.
The twelve-month extension
"If the trader has not provided the consumer with the information on the right of withdrawal as required by point (h) of Article 6(1), the withdrawal period shall expire 12 months from the end of the initial withdrawal period, as determined in accordance with Article 9(2)." —
A 14-day period becomes twelve months and 14 days, measured from the end of the initial period.
Article 10(2) permits a cure. If the trader supplies the missing information within those twelve months, the period expires 14 days — or 30 days where the Member State has adopted rules under Article 9(1a) — after the consumer receives it. Late information stops the extension running, but does not restore the original deadline.
Note what Article 6(1)(h) actually requires: the conditions, time limit and procedures for exercising the right, in accordance with Article 11(1), as well as the model withdrawal form set out in Annex I(B). Omitting the model form is itself a defect. A page describing the right in prose without providing the form is incomplete.
The lost deduction
The second sentence of Article 14(2) is absolute:
"The consumer shall in any event not be liable for diminished value of the goods where the trader has failed to provide notice of the right of withdrawal in accordance with point (h) of Article 6(1)." —
"In any event" leaves no room for proportionality. A trader with a defective withdrawal notice cannot deduct for diminished value however heavily the goods were used.
So a single defect in Article 6(1)(h) produces two effects at once: a much longer period in which goods can come back, and no ability to reduce the refund for the condition they come back in.
Costs the trader cannot recover
Article 6(6) is a direct cost-shifting sanction:
"If the trader has not complied with the information requirements on additional charges or other costs as referred to in point (e) of paragraph 1, or on the costs of returning the goods as referred to in point (i) of paragraph 1, the consumer shall not bear those charges or costs." —
Article 14(1) confirms the same result for return postage: the consumer bears the direct cost of return "unless … the trader failed to inform the consumer that the consumer has to bear them".
For bulky items Article 6(1)(i) requires the actual cost of return to be stated where the goods cannot normally be returned by post. Stating merely that a cost exists is not compliance.
Services begun during the withdrawal period
Where a consumer asks a trader to begin performance during the withdrawal period, Article 14(3) normally requires the consumer to pay a proportionate amount for what was supplied. Article 14(4) removes even that:
The consumer bears no cost for performance of services during the withdrawal period where the trader failed to provide the information in Article 6(1)(h) or (j), or where the consumer did not expressly request performance to begin under Article 7(3) or Article 8(8).
For digital content not supplied on a tangible medium, the consumer bears no cost where prior express consent was not given, where the consumer did not acknowledge losing the withdrawal right, or where the trader failed to provide confirmation under Article 7(2) or Article 8(7).
A trader that started work on day one without the right consents can therefore end up having performed for free.
The exceptions that stop working
Article 16 removes the withdrawal right in listed cases, but several of those exceptions are conditional on information and consent. Fail the conditions and the exception does not apply — meaning the consumer keeps a withdrawal right the trader assumed did not exist.
Digital content, Article 16(m). The right is removed only where performance has begun and, where the contract obliges the consumer to pay: the consumer gave prior express consent to begin during the withdrawal period; the consumer acknowledged thereby losing the right; and the trader provided confirmation under Article 7(2) or Article 8(7). All three are required.
Fully performed services, Article 16(a). The right is removed after full performance only if performance began with the consumer's prior express consent and acknowledgement that they would lose the right once fully performed.
A streaming or software business with a defective consent flow does not merely risk a fine. It has consumers with live withdrawal rights over content already delivered — and, because of Article 10, potentially for twelve months and 14 days.
Penalties
Article 24 requires effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, and lists criteria including the nature, gravity, scale and duration of the infringement, remedial action, previous infringements, financial benefit, and penalties imposed in other Member States.
For widespread infringements dealt with under Article 21 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2394, Article 24(3) requires that maximum fines be at least 4% of the trader's annual turnover in the Member State or Member States concerned. Article 24(4) provides a floor of at least EUR 2 million where turnover information is unavailable.
The cross-border dimension matters: the Consumer Protection Cooperation framework allows coordinated action against a trader operating the same non-compliant flow in several Member States.
Where the burden sits
Article 6(9) is short and decisive: "As regards compliance with the information requirements laid down in this Chapter, the burden of proof shall be on the trader."
A trader that cannot produce the terms in force on the date of a particular order, and evidence of what the consumer saw, is in practice treated as not having provided the information. Version control and acceptance logging are therefore compliance controls, not IT housekeeping.
Fixing it
Use the model instructions. Article 6(4) provides that supplying the Annex I(A) model instructions on withdrawal, correctly filled in, satisfies points (h), (i) and (j) of Article 6(1). This is the cheapest available safe harbour — and it must be filled in accurately, including the correct start date under Article 9(2) and the correct return-cost position.
Supply the model withdrawal form. Annex I(B), required by Article 6(1)(h).
Confirm on a durable medium. Article 8(7) requires confirmation of the concluded contract on a durable medium within a reasonable time and at the latest at delivery or before performance begins. Confirmation matters independently for the Article 16(m) digital-content exception.
Cure past defects. Article 10(2) allows the period to be closed out by supplying the information. For a live exposure across a customer base, a remediation mailing can materially reduce the tail.
Audit the consent flow for digital content. Consent, acknowledgement and confirmation are three separate steps.
Operational checklist
- Provide Article 6(1)(h) information including the Annex I(B) model form.
- Use the Annex I(A) model instructions, correctly completed, for the safe harbour.
- State return costs, with the actual figure for goods that cannot go by post.
- Capture express requests before beginning services during the withdrawal period.
- For digital content, capture consent, acknowledgement and confirmation separately.
- Send Article 8(7) confirmation on a durable medium.
- Log terms versions and consumer acceptance.
- Remediate historic orders where information was missing.
- Review the same flow across every Member State you sell into.
Conclusion
Failing to explain the withdrawal right is not one breach with one price. It extends the period to twelve months and 14 days, strips the ability to deduct for diminished value, shifts return and additional costs to the trader, can make services and digital content unpayable, and can keep alive a withdrawal right the trader believed was excluded — on top of penalties of at least 4% of turnover for widespread infringements.
The corrective is inexpensive relative to that exposure: use the model instructions and the model form, capture the consents the Article 16 exceptions actually require, confirm on a durable medium, and keep evidence of what each consumer was shown.
Sources
This article provides general legal information, not advice for a specific matter. Laws, facts and procedural deadlines may change the result. Follow the linked primary sources and obtain local advice before acting.