The consumer has a period of two years from the delivery of the goods to obtain the implementation of the legal guarantee of conformity in the event of the appearance of a lack of conformity. During this period, the consumer is only required to establish the existence of the lack of conformity and not the date of its appearance.
When the sales contract provides for the supply of digital content or a digital service continuously for a period of more than two years, the legal guarantee is applicable to this digital content or digital service throughout the entire period of supply provided. During this period, the consumer is only required to establish the existence of the lack of conformity affecting the digital content or digital service and not the date of its appearance.
The legal guarantee of conformity entails an obligation for the professional, where applicable, to provide all updates necessary to maintain the conformity of the goods.
The legal guarantee of conformity gives the consumer the right to the repair or replacement of the goods within thirty days of their request, at no cost and without major inconvenience to them.
If the goods are repaired under the legal guarantee of conformity, the consumer benefits from a six-month extension of the initial warranty.
If the consumer requests the repair of the goods, but the seller imposes replacement, the legal guarantee of conformity is renewed for a period of two years from the date of replacement of the goods.
The consumer may obtain a reduction in the purchase price while keeping the goods or terminate the contract by obtaining a full refund upon restitution of the goods, if:
1° The professional refuses to repair or replace the goods;
2° The repair or replacement of the goods occurs after a period of thirty days;
3° The repair or replacement of the goods causes a major inconvenience to the consumer, in particular when the consumer definitively bears the costs of taking back or removing the non-conforming goods, or if they bear the costs of installation of the repaired goods or replacement;
4° The non-conformity of the goods persists despite the seller's unsuccessful attempt to bring them into conformity.
The consumer is also entitled to a price reduction or rescission of the contract when the lack of conformity is so serious that it justifies immediate price reduction or rescission of the contract. The consumer is then not required to request the repair or replacement of the goods beforehand.
The consumer is not entitled to rescission of the sale if the lack of conformity is minor.
Any period of immobilization of the goods for repair or replacement suspends the warranty that remained until the delivery of the repaired goods.
The rights mentioned above result from the application of articles L. 217-1 to L. 217-32 of the Consumer Code.
The seller who obstructs in bad faith the implementation of the legal guarantee of conformity is liable to a civil fine of a maximum amount of 300,000 euros, which may be increased to 10% of the average annual turnover (article L. 241-5 of the Consumer Code).
The consumer also benefits from the legal guarantee against hidden defects in application of articles 1641 to 1649 of the Civil Code, for a period of two years from the discovery of the defect. This warranty entitles the holder to a price reduction if the goods are kept or a full refund upon restitution of the goods.