The Egg of Berlusconi - Rights of the consumer

THE EGG OF BERLUSCONI
by Amedeo Nigra

RIGHTS OF THE CONSUMER
DL approved by the Italy's Council of ministers on May14th and 21st1999 adopting EU directive no. 97/7 on consumer protection in long distance contracts (source Il Sole 24 Ore 29.5.1999 p. 23)

Marketing Sociale srl in conformity with the above DL sets out below the consumer's rights so that each purchaser of the book and each user of online consultancy service as described in this website, can achieve the following two results:

of knowing his rights and obligations and information on the contract of sale stipulated with Marketing Sociale srl;
of copying onto his own PC, printing out and filing the information set out below, as provided and required undeer the above DL (art. 4 and 5).

Having said this, we very briefly summarize hereunder the provisions in law of the above DL:

I. Under the terms of art. 3 of the DL in question the following information is given:

the supplier is considered for all purposes to be Marketing Sociale srl, Via Stadera 15, 20141 Milan, Italy tel.+39 02 89504671;
the book subject of sale and visualization of 3 chapters (online viewing) are described in every part in the website 'uovo-di-berlusconi', that is linked with this text;
the prices subject of sale are indicated at the website itself and the prices indicated are considered as total and inclusive of whatsoever charges for carriage and packing; no further charge will be applied to them; excepting that incurred for customs duties (buyers located in a country other than Italy); at the website 'uovo-di-berlusconi', however, it should be noted that ownership is transferred to the buyer on delivery by the courier (which of course will be paid in full by Marketing Sociale srl); it must also be noted that after the transfer of ownership any charges and customs problems and/or customs clearance charges shall be entirely for account of the buyer;
the above remarks are valid;
procedures for payment are indicated at the website "egg-of-berlusconi" which describes them in every detail;
it should be noted that the buyer has a right of withdrawal under the terms set out below (art. 5);
the above remarks are valid;
the prices indicated at the website 'uovo-di-berlusconi' can be altered at any time; but a customer ordering at the price indicated on the website at the time of ordering shall be intitled to and will receive the book itself at the same price shown at the time of ordering even if immediately thereafter it was increased;
the above remarks are valid;
not available (cancel afterwards);
not available (cancel afterwards);
the minimum period available for consulting the book at the website (that is reading online the first three chapters) shall be 30 days.

II. Under art. 4 of the DL mentioned above, the following information is communicated hereby:

the consumer should read and print out this document and file it to safeguard his rights including that of withdrawal (art. 5);
the supplier is Marketing Sociale srl of Via Stadera 15, 20141 Milan tel. +39 02 89504671;
all commercial information are shown in full at the website "egg-of-berlusconi" linked hereto.

III. Regarding art. 5 of the above DL the following should be noted:

the consumer is entitled to exercise the right of withdrawal without stating his reasons (which therefore are not necessary) within 10 days from the date of receiving the book (in cases of purchase) or, for online services, from the date of stipulation of contract and discovering all its details; in the latter case the period becomes 3 months should the supplier not have given all the information required under the preceding art. 4 described above; this does not apply in our case however as Marketing Sociale srl has set out and declared all the information required by law;
(art.5 point 3) under the above DL the right of withdrawal cannot be exercised when the subject of purchase consists of audiovisual or software products when they have been unpacked and removed from their original packing; it should be noted that the products of Marketing Sociale srl are carefully packed in cellophane, for this reason a buyer wishing to exercise the right of withdrawal must take care not to unpack them;
(art.5 point 4) the right of withdrawal is exercised by sending within the date provided in point 1) above, a written communication to the address of the supplier by registered letter with recorded delivery; the communication can also be sent by the same date also by telegram, telex or fax on condition that the communication be confirmed by registered letter with recorded delivery to be sent in the following 48 hours;
(art.5 point 5) if delivery has taken place the consumer is under obligation to return it or make it available to the supplier by means of DHL couriers, designated by Marketing Sociale srl; the expiry date for returning cannot in any case be earlier than 10 working days from the date of receipt;
(art.5 point 6) on the basis of the DL stated above the consumer in order to exercise withdrawal is under obligation to pay only the directly incurred cost of returning it to the supplier; by means of these notes this instruction is adopted in the contract shown at the website "egg-of-berlusconi";
(art.5 point 7) if the right of withdrawal is exercised by the consumer in conformity with the principles indicated above (i.e. if the consumer communicates by the prescribed date, paying for charges incurred in returning it and making the still unpacked book available to the supplier or his courier DHL; the supplier Marketing Sociale srl shall in this case be obliged to reimburse the amounts paid by the consumer. Reimbursement must be effected within the shortest possible time and any case not later than 30 days from the date within which the supplier was informed of the consumer's exercising his right of withdrawal.

IV. Regarding art. 6 of the above DL of which particulars are given in the heading of these notes, one should note the following:

excepting any other agreement between the parties, the supplier must carry out the order in the 30 days following the day after the consumer's order was transmitted to the supplier;
excepting any other agreement between the parties, the supplier must carry out the order in the 30 days following the day after the consumer's order was transmitted to the supplier should the order not be executed by the supplier due to non availability even temporary of the goods or service requested, the supplier shall by the date stated in para 1 of the above DL inform the consumer (following the procedure stated in art. 4 para 1) and provide reimbursement of the amounts already paid in settlement of the order. Excepting when consent is granted by consumers before or at the time of stipulation of the contract (consent and stipulation which in this case are not between Marketing Sociale srl and the consumer), the supplier cannot complete the contract by suppling otherwise than as already agreed, even if in value and quantity either equivalent or higher.

V. The charges for despatch and return of books are stated hereunder, should the consumer decide to exercise his right of withdrawal as stated above; below are indicated the charges for despatch of one or two copies because the consumer comes under this category; higher quantities relate in fact to bookshops and wholesale distributors and organizations and therefore not to single consumers; therefore the charges are summarized below in the same manner as set out in the website "egg-of-berlusconi":

destinations in Italy (excluding Sardinia, Sicily and Calabria): 1 copy, 18.000 lire, 2 copies 18.000 lire;
all destinations in Sicily, Sardinia and Calabria: 1 copy 30.000 lire, 2 copies 30.000 lire;
EU countries: 1 copy 30.000 lire, 2 copies L. 30.000;
USA and Canada: 1 copy 75.000 lire, 2 copies L.75.000;
All other destinations not listed above: 1 copy 180.000 lire, 2 copies L. 180.000.

Should any doubt arise, please communicate by fax with Marketing Sociale srl +39 02 89504671.

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