No signature. No paper. Just one click. EU law treats that click as forming a real, binding contract — but only if the business followed specific information and confirmation rules first.
Information has to come before you click, not after
Under the E-Commerce Directive and the Consumer Rights Directive together, a trader must give you clear information before you place an order — the main characteristics of the goods or services, the total price including taxes and delivery, the duration of the contract, and your cancellation rights, among other things. This information has to be provided in good time before you're bound, not buried in a confirmation email sent after you've already paid.
The order button has a specific legal requirement
Any button or similar function used to place an order involving a payment obligation must be labelled with easily legible, unambiguous wording confirming that placing the order entails an obligation to pay — something equivalent to "order with obligation to pay," not a generic "continue" or "submit." If a trader fails to meet this requirement, the consumer is not bound by the contract or order at all.
Acknowledgment of receipt is a separate legal step
Once you place an order, the trader must acknowledge receipt of it without undue delay and by electronic means — typically an email confirmation. Legally, this acknowledgment (or the order itself) is considered received once you're able to access it, not simply once the business sends it. You should also be able to correct input errors before finalising your order, and to save and print the contract and its terms.
Why keeping your own copy of what you accepted matters
Terms and conditions on a website can change over time, and a page you view six months into a dispute may no longer match what was actually displayed when you originally ordered. Since businesses are required to let you save and print the contract and general terms at the point of purchase, doing so is your clearest evidence of exactly what you agreed to — not a link to a page that might read differently later.
How to protect yourself when accepting terms online
- Screenshot or save a PDF of the terms and the order confirmation page at the moment you complete a purchase, especially for anything significant.
- Check that the payment button itself clearly states you're committing to pay — its absence is a genuine compliance gap, not just a minor design choice.
- Confirm you received an electronic acknowledgment of your order, and keep it alongside your saved terms.
- If a dispute arises later, compare what you saved against what the business now claims the terms said — discrepancies matter.
What this means practically
- Required pre-contract information must be given before you click to buy, not disclosed only afterward in a confirmation email.
- A payment button without clear "obligation to pay" wording can mean you're not actually bound by the contract at all.
- Order acknowledgment must be sent electronically without undue delay, and is legally received once you can access it.
- Saving your own copy of the terms and order confirmation at the time of purchase is your strongest evidence if a business's terms later change or a dispute arises.
Sources
- EUR-Lex — E-commerce: standard EU rules, order confirmation and information requirements: eur-lex.europa.eu
- Freshfields — What operators of online portals must consider when designing the order button: freshfields.com
Related Kibbo Tools
- Contract Dispute Evidence Pack — organize your saved terms and order confirmation if a dispute arises.
- Legal Document Evidence Checklist — keep proper records of what you agreed to online, before you need them.