Deposit, advance, deposit and credit: what differences?

Verified 29 October 2020 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister), Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF)

The deposit is a 1er payment on the purchase of goods or services. The trader and the consumer are each obliged to fulfill their commitment. A contract, purchase order, or payment of a deposit is considered a commitment.

The trader must supply the goods or services and the consumer must purchase the goods or services provided for in the contract (unless otherwise agreed between the two parties). If either one of them withdraws, if they change their mind, they can be ordered to pay damages.

Example :

The trader may require the supply of the goods or services for which the consumer has paid a deposit.

Deposits are an amount paid in advance for the purchase of goods or services. The trader or consumer may withdraw from his commitment.

Deposits do not oblige the consumer to buy. On the other hand, they are lost if the consumer cancels his purchase (unless the contract provides for the possibility of recovering the deposit in case of cancelation). The trader who does not provide the goods or services must reimburse twice the deposit paid to the consumer.

The advance is an amount paid before the sale of a property or the provision of services is made. An advance payment shall be considered legally as a deposit. The trader or consumer may withdraw from his commitment. The advanced money is lost to the consumer if he cancels his purchase or order. On the other hand, the trader who does not provide the goods or services must reimburse twice the amount paid to the consumer.

To have it is equal to the value of a good that the consumer returns to the seller. It is issued by the trader to enable the consumer to make another purchase in the future. If the seller is at fault (e.g. delivery out of time, item returned due to defect), the consumer is not obliged to accept this arrangement.