Purchase of a product: legal guarantee of hidden defects

Verified 09 January 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

You buy one good or a product and the latter does not work as expected, because he's defective ? The legal guarantee of hidden defects allows you to obtain a full or partial refund of your purchase and compensation in case of damage. What are your rights ? How to make them respect and in which time limits ? We present you with the information you need to know.

Warning  

  • This card is intended only for individuals who have purchased a new or used property from a professional or other individual. It doesn't deal with real estate.
  • The legal guarantee of hidden defects does not apply to auctions and goods sold by a commissioner of justice (former bailiff and judicial auctioneer).

This is a defect (called defect) on goods or products which are not revealed on first printing. This defect makes it unsuitable for the use for which the good or product is intended, or so diminishes that use that you would not have bought it or would have bought it at a lower price if you had known about it.

When you purchase a good or product, the professional seller must also grant you the legal guarantee of conformity

Please note

The professional seller is obliged to respect the 2 legal guarantees: the guarantee of conformity and the guarantee of hidden defects. On the other hand, the individual seller is only bound by the legal guarantee of hidden defects.

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

The general terms and conditions of sale (GTC) must include a information on the legal guarantee of hidden defects, sa implementation and sound content. These are given to you before the signing of a contract for the sale of goods.

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.

To be able to implement the legal guarantee of hidden defects, the following 3 conditions must be met 

  • The defect must be a hidden defect, i.e. not apparent at the time of purchase
  • The defect must render the good unusable or greatly reduce its use
  • The defect must exist at the time of purchase

You have 2 years from discovery of defect to implement the legal guarantee of hidden defects. And this, within the limits of 20 years after purchase (i.e. from the day of sale).

It's up to you to prove the existence of the hidden vice. To do this, you can produce the various certificates or repair quotes.

You can ask a professional opinion on a technical question (we are talking of amicable expertise). To find an expert near your home, you can consult the list of accredited experts from the courts.

Who shall I contact

In any case, you must send the seller a registered letter with notice of receipt.

You must specify the type of refund and the compensation you want.

You can use a template:

Request the application of the legal guarantee of hidden defects for a new and defective purchased good

Your mail must be accompanied, in particular, by the following documents: delivery note, receipt...

You can also return the goods directly to the seller against the delivery of a deposit ticket if you want a full refund.

Reimbursement in whole or in part

You have the choice between the following 2 solutions:

  • Either keep the product and ask for a price reduction (we are talking estimated action)
  • Either return the product, ask for a refund of the price paid and the costs incurred by the sale (we are talking of redhibitory action)

Compensation

If you believe that the professional seller knew about the defect, you can also request additional compensation. This request may be made at the same time as the request for reimbursement.

You can use a letter template to do this:

Claim for hidden defect

This compensation can cover all the damage caused (e.g. physical injury, clothes damaged by a washing machine).

Report to Signal Conso

You can report or seek advice from Signal Conso:

Conso Signal: Report a Problem with a Merchant

Mediation or conciliation

If the dispute persists, you can choose one of the following solutions:

Bring the matter before the court

If mediation or conciliation has failed, you can go to court.

Then you can to seek damages.

The competent court depends on the amount of the dispute.

The competent court depends on the sums involved in the dispute.

  • For a case less than or equal to €10,000, it is the local court or the judicial court.
  • For a case greater than €10,000No, it's the court.
Who shall I contact

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.

    Opening hours of the service:

    No surtax number

    • Monday and Tuesday: from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm and from 1:15 pm to 5:15 pm
    • Wednesday: 13:15 to 17:15
    • Thursday: from 8:30 to 12:30
    • Friday: from 8:30 am to 4 pm