Terms and conditions of sale

CONSUMER CODE

Article L. 217-4: "The seller delivers goods in conformity with the contract and is responsible for any defects in conformity existing at the time of delivery.

He is also liable for any lack of conformity resulting from the packaging, assembly instructions or installation when the latter has been made his responsibility by the contract or has been carried out under his responsibility."

Article L. 217-5: "The goods conform to the contract:

1° Whether it is fit for the use ordinarily expected of similar goods and, if so :

- if it corresponds to the description given by the seller and has the qualities that the seller presented to the buyer in the form of a sample or model;

- it has the qualities that a purchaser may legitimately expect in the light of public statements made by the seller, the producer or his representative, particularly in advertising or labelling;

2° Or if it has the characteristics defined by mutual agreement between the parties or is suitable for any special use sought by the buyer, brought to the seller's attention and accepted by the latter."

Article L. 217-6: "The seller is not bound by the public declarations of the producer or his representative if it is established that he did not know them and was not legitimately in a position to know them".

Article L. 217-7: "Defects in conformity which appear within twenty-four months of delivery of the goods are presumed to have existed at the time of delivery, unless proven otherwise. For goods sold second-hand, this period is six months. The seller may rebut this presumption if it is not compatible with the nature of the good or the alleged lack of conformity."

Article L. 217-8: "The buyer is entitled to demand that the goods conform to the contract. He may not, however, contest conformity by invoking a defect that he knew or could not have been unaware of when he contracted. The same applies when the defect is due to materials supplied by the buyer.

Article L. 217-9: "In the event of a lack of conformity, the buyer may choose between repair and replacement. However, the seller may not proceed according to the buyer's choice if this choice entails a cost that is manifestly disproportionate to the other option, taking into account the value of the good or the importance of the defect. He is then obliged to proceed, unless this is impossible, according to the method not chosen by the buyer."

Article L. 217-10: "If repair or replacement of the good is impossible, the buyer may return the good and have the price refunded, or keep the good and have part of the price refunded. The same option is available to the buyer: 1° If the solution requested, proposed or agreed in application of article L. 217-9 cannot be implemented within one month of the buyer's complaint; 2° Or if this solution cannot be implemented without major inconvenience for the buyer, given the nature of the good and its intended use. However, the sale may not be rescinded if the lack of conformity is minor."

Article L. 217-11: The application of the provisions of articles L. 217-9 and L. 217-10 is at no cost to the buyer. These same provisions do not preclude the award of damages. 

Article L. 217-12: "Action resulting from a lack of conformity is barred two years after delivery of the goods.

Article L. 217-13: "The provisions of this section do not deprive the purchaser of the right to bring an action resulting from redhibitory defects as provided for in articles 1641 to 1649 of the French Civil Code, or any other action of a contractual or extra-contractual nature recognized by law.

Article L. 217-14: "The final seller may take recourse action against successive sellers or intermediaries and the producer of the tangible personal property, in accordance with the principles of the Civil Code.

Article L. 217-15: "A commercial guarantee is any contractual commitment by a professional to a consumer to reimburse the purchase price, replace or repair the good or provide any other service related to the good, in addition to his legal obligations to guarantee the conformity of the good. 

The commercial warranty is the subject of a written contract, a copy of which is given to the purchaser. 

The contract specifies the content of the warranty, the terms and conditions of its implementation, its price, duration and territorial scope, as well as the name and address of the guarantor. 

In addition, it clearly and precisely states that, independently of the commercial guarantee, the seller remains bound by the legal guarantee of conformity mentioned in articles L. 217-4 to L. 217-12 and that relating to defects in the item sold, under the conditions set out in articles 1641 to 1648 and 2232 of the French Civil Code. 

The provisions of articles L. 217-4, L. 217-5, L. 217-12 and L. 217-16 as well as article 1641 and the first paragraph of article 1648 of the French Civil Code are reproduced in full in the contract. 

In the event of non-compliance with these provisions, the warranty remains valid. The purchaser is entitled to avail himself of it."

Article L. 217-16: "When the buyer asks the seller, during the course of the commercial warranty granted to him at the time of the purchase or repair of a movable good, for a repair covered by the warranty, any period of immobilization of at least seven days is added to the remaining warranty period.

This period runs from the time of the buyer's request for service or from the time the item in question is made available for repair, if this is subsequent to the request for service."

CIVIL CODE

Article 1641: "The seller is liable for any hidden defects in the item sold which render it unsuitable for its intended use, or which impair that use to such an extent that the buyer would not have purchased it, or would only have paid a lower price for it, had he been aware of them".

Article 1648: "The action resulting from redhibitory defects must be brought by the purchaser within two years of the discovery of the defect. In the case provided for in article 1642-1, the action must be brought, on pain of foreclosure, within one year of the date on which the seller can be discharged from any apparent "defects or lack of conformity".