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What guarantees are there when buying a product?

Verified 22 October 2022 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

When you purchase a product, the seller must give you the following 2 warranties:

  • Compliance assurance
  • Guarantee against hidden defects

The seller may also grant you, free of charge or with payment of a sum, a commercial or contractual guarantee.

This warranty protects you against defects already present (manufacturing defects) when purchasing or delivering a product.

Example :

Shipped product does not match exactly to the chosen product or to the description of the seller (color, model, etc.) or else the product does not function according to the expected use (technical performance, malfunction, etc.).

Seller must obligatory make it available to you and may not withdraw it from the contract.

The seller also has the obligation, for a digital product or service, to insert in the general conditions of sale (GTC), and more particularly in a sidebar, the following:

  • Information on the price or any other advantage provided in lieu of or in addition to the payment of a price (particular commitment in case of malfunction of the purchased digital good or service: temporary provision of a 4G key, for example)
  • Identity of the trader responsible for the legal guarantee of conformity on goods, digital content and digital services, guarantee of hidden defects, commercial guarantee and after-sales service (name, address, telephone number, email address)
  • Information on the foreseeable life of the product and the time for which updates will be provided to the consumer.
  • Information on bringing the defective property into conformity, with a view to its repair or replacement

The deadlines for implementing this guarantee are as follows:

  • 2 years from the delivery of a good nine
  • 1 year from the delivery of a good used

You have to choose between repairing and replacing the property.

In case of obvious cost difference between these 2 options, the seller can impose the cheapest option.

However, you can get a full refund (by returning the product) or keep the product and get a partial refund. This option is available to you if the repair or replacement:

  • are impossible (for example, if production has been stopped),
  • or cannot be implemented within one month of your claim,
  • or create a major inconvenience.

If the seller considers that the goods were in conformity at the time of issue, it is up to him to prove it within the period of challenge (2 years for new goods, 1 year for second-hand goods).

Warning  

this warranty does not apply between 2 individuals or between 2 professionals.

This warranty protects you against hidden defects in the product that make it impossible to use.

Example :

Random failure on the engine of a car.

Thus, aesthetic defects are not covered by this warranty since they are not hidden and they do not prevent the product from functioning.

Example :

A scratch on a car.

Seller must obligatory make it available to you and may not withdraw it from the contract.

The seller also has the obligation, for a digital product or service, to insert in the GCS, and more particularly in a sidebar, the following:

  • Information on the price or any other advantage provided in lieu of or in addition to the payment of a price (particular commitment in case of malfunction of the purchased digital good or service: temporary provision of a 4G key, for example)
  • Identity of the trader responsible for the guarantee of hidden defects in goods, digital content and digital services, the legal guarantee of conformity, the commercial guarantee and after-sales service (name, address, telephone number, email address)
  • Information on the foreseeable life of the product and the period for which updates will be provided to the consumer.

You have 2 years from discovery the hidden defect to implement it regardless of the property purchased (new, used) and regardless of the person from whom you purchased it (professional or private).

You then have the choice between the following 2 solutions:

  • Keep the product and ask for a price reduction
  • Return the product and ask for a refund of the price paid and the costs incurred by the sale.

Depending on whether you purchased the property from a professional or an individual, the steps to be taken to prove the existence of the hidden defect will be more or less important (sending a registered letter with notice of receipt, calling a mediator,...).

Indeed, traders are presumed to know the defects affecting the goods they sell.

However, this presumption does not apply to individual sellers.

Proof of the hidden defect is therefore more difficult to bring against a non-professional seller.

This warranty is optional. It is free or paid for. Its duration varies.

The seller freely defines the content.

This must be detailed in a written contract and indicate the conditions of operation of the guarantee (reimbursement, replacement, repair,...).

For contracts relating to the digital content and service provision, these must include a framed recalling the existence and the conditions of implementation of legal guarantees (i.e. legal guarantee of conformity and guarantee of hidden defects).

Example :

This may be an extended warranty or a manufacturer warranty.

This guarantee is in addition to the legal guarantees of correct issue and hidden defects, but don't replace them.

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

  • 0809 540 550 DGCCRF - ResponseConso

    Having trouble following a purchase? Do you have a question about a point of law before buying or ordering?

    You can get an answer from a DGCCRF: titleContent by calling the 0809 540 550.

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