Purchase of a product: commercial or contractual guarantee

Verified 08 January 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

The commercial or contractual guarantee allows you to get a refund, replace or repair a purchased product (appliance, car, armchair...) in store or on the internet. You want to know who can offer it to you, if it is paid, mandatory, but also how to make it work? We present you with the information you need to know.

The commercial guarantee can take different names: conventional warranty, contract warranty, manufacturer warranty, manufacturer warranty, warranty extension, refurbished exchange...

The commercial or contractual guarantee is a contract offered to you by the seller or manufacturer of a good or product at the time of its purchase.

The contract allows you, in principle, to benefit from the following guarantees:

  • Refund your purchase
  • Repair of your property
  • Replacement of your failed asset
  • Provision of any other services related to the property

The commercial or contractual guarantee is different from the guarantees legal compliance and hidden defects. It is additional (i.e. it does not deprive you of the legal guarantees) and can extend them (i.e. it can be implemented after the legal guarantees have expired). But it does not replace them.

In the event of a commercial guarantee being taken out, you can always implement the legal guarantees in case of a problem, their contents being different.

The commercial guarantee is not mandatory : each seller or manufacturer is free to offer it (or not) for the duration they want.

The seller or manufacturer freely defines the content of the commercial guarantee. This content must be detailed in a written contract and indicate the conditions of operation of the guarantee. All these conditions must be given to you and you must sign the warranty contract.

Example :

The warranty may cover the cost of the parts, but not the cost of labor or the cost of moving the repairman. It can also exclude certain parts (for example, a phone battery) or certain failures.

The contract shall contain the following information:

  • Warranty content (which parts are covered,...) and excludes breakdowns or services
  • Information necessary for its implementation (place and conditions of repair of the defective product,...)
  • Price
  • Duration, geographical area covered (store where the product can be delivered abroad for repair or replacement)
  • Name and address of the seller or manufacturer
  • Reminder of seller's (or manufacturer's) obligation to comply with legal warranties (conformity and hidden defects) in addition to the commercial guarantee. This information should be provided in a box.

Warning  

For contracts relating to the provision of digital content and services, they must also 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).

If the trader does not comply with these provisions, the guarantee shall remain valid.

Likewise, if any of this information is not present in the contract, the buyer can always implement these guarantees.

The commercial guarantee is given to you, at the latest, upon delivery of the purchased product.

The commercial guarantee (the contract) must be provided to you in such a way that you can easily read and understand it on a durable support.

The duration of the commercial guarantee is freely fixed by the seller or the manufacturer.

In principle, it varies between 6 months and 2 years.

The duration of the commercial guarantee must be stated in the contract.

The commercial guarantee is transferable, in case of resale, to successive buyers.

It can be free or paid for.

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Free warranty

She can name herself manufacturer's warranty or manufacturer's warranty.

Guaranteed for a fee

She can name herself extension of warranty or else refurbished exchange guarantee.

This is a guarantee that is offered with the payment of a fee, and for which you must give your consent.

The seller may not consider that you accept certain options because you have not explicitly opposed them (for example, if the contract contains pre-ticked boxes). Thus, the seller cannot impose the mandatory subscription of an extension of warranty.

If you find that the contract contains terms that you did not subscribe to, you can ask the seller or manufacturer to refund you.

Proof of failure

You can have the purchased good repaired under the terms of the contract as long as the fault is defined in it.

Most of the time, you have to make a simple statement.

Purchase Entitlement

To qualify for the warranty, you must provide the seller or manufacturer with the (original) proof of the dated purchase.

This proof must prove that you have indeed purchased this property on such a date: delivery note, receipt, invoice,...

The seller or manufacturer may also provide you with a specific document to be used.

During repairs

In the case of repair of goods under commercial guarantee, any period of immobilization of the goods of at least 7 calendar days is in addition to the remaining term of the warranty.

Example :

If the seller keeps your TV for 8 days, your warranty that was due to end on September 6, 2023 will end on September 14, 2023.

Please note

The commercial guarantee contract sometimes provides for the provision of replacement goods during the period of immobilization of the goods (for example, a courtesy vehicle). However, this is not an obligation for the professional, you can not require this loan.

Formal notice

If the seller or manufacturer refuses to apply the terms of their warranty (repair or refund), you can issue a formal notice, that is, give them a period of time to comply with their obligations.

To do this, you must send a letter by registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt.

You can use the following letter template:

Instruct the seller to apply the commercial warranty for a device that often fails

Report to Signal Conso

You can report or seek advice using Signal Conso:

Conso Signal: Report a Problem with a Merchant

Mediation or conciliation

If the dispute persists, you can choose to:

Seek justice

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

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

You can also ask for damages damage sustained as a result of the immobilization of the goods or damage to the product during repairs.

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The commercial warranty has expired

You can always use legal warranties (conformity and hidden defects).

The commercial warranty has expired and the legal warranties (compliance and hidden defects) no longer apply

You can use the after sales service (after-sales service).

The VAS will repair the product without you being able to benefit from the rights related to the warranty in return for the payment of the service. The repair will therefore be paid for. You can ask for a quote.

The seller must provide you with the following information beforehand:

  • Contact details (name, address)
  • Description of service
  • Indicative schedule of the amounts of services invoiced and time limit for carrying out repairs

After-sales services must be the subject of a written contract given to the buyer.

When repair services are billed on a flat-rate basis, you must be notified in writing:

  • the origin of the failure,
  • the nature of the intervention,
  • and replaced parts and supplies.

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

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