On 23 May 2019, there was published on InfoCuria (Case-law of the Court of Justice) the opinion of Advocate General Hogan as regards the interpretation of Article 16(1) of the Consumer Credit Directive which concerns the entitlement of a consumer to a reduction in the cost of credit where he or she has fully or partially made an early repayment of a sum due under a credit agreement.

Advocate General Hogan’s opinion concludes by stating: “Article 16(1), read in conjunction with Article 3(g) of Directive 2008/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 on credit agreements for consumers and repealing Council Directive 87/102/EEC, is to be interpreted as meaning that, where a consumer has made an early repayment, the reduction to which that consumer is entitled may concern costs for which the amount does not depend on the duration of the credit agreement. However, a Member State cannot limit – and a national court cannot interpret its national legislation – this reduction simply to the amount of expenses saved by the credit institution as a result of the early repayment.”