General terms and conditions

The General Terms and Conditions that have been in force since 1st January 2009 apply to all members of Thuiswinkel.org, for whom the terms and conditions are regarded as a minimum requirement. Thuiswinkel.org approved the General Terms and Conditions together with the Consumers’ Association, under the watchful eye of the Sociaal Economische Raad (SER, Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands).

For consumers, the Thuiswinkel General Terms and Conditions mean that all affiliated members comply with the rules on their obligation to provide information, privacy, a right to withdrawal, repayment and the settlement of disputes. Consumers can recognise webshops that have agreed to these behavioural rules from the Thuiswinkel Waarborg hallmark.

General conditions for non-members Thuiswinkel.org (PDF)

The General Terms and Conditions state, among other things, that the offering party must describe the products and/or services being offered clearly and true-to-life. Webshops must also clearly describe the rights and obligations of a consumer who places an order. For example, this relates to clarity about the price, payment possibilities and delivery charges. The withdrawal period should be at least 14 days. During this period the client can return the order, without citing any reasons.

There are exceptions to this right of withdrawal, for example, for travel, customised products, food, items that are easily copied such as dvds, cds and software, etc.

Leon Mölenberg, senior policy advisor of Thuiswinkel.org: “The conditions apply to all members of Thuiswinkel.org. Obviously, members can make a positive departure from these conditions and offer consumers even more security and guarantees. After all, this will enable them to create a niche for themselves in the market.”