French Consumer Law is a comprehensive and comparative overview of French and EU law in this field, covering: advertising, unfair commercial practices, conditions for the validity of contracts, unfair terms, product conformity, latent defects, product safety.

French Consumer Law

The intensity of the information obligation placed on the seller varies depending on his own status but also on that of his contractual partner.
1)  Non-professional creditor
The protection afforded by case law to a non-professional buyer is very extensive . According to the judges, the gifts and qualities of a painter do not necessarily imply technical expertise concerning the composition of the  …

Creditor

The intensity of the information obligation placed on the seller varies depending on his own status but also on that of his contractual partner.

The protection afforded by case law to a non-professional buyer is very extensive . According to the judges, the gifts and qualities of a painter do not necessarily imply technical expertise concerning the composition of the products he uses . Similarly, a consumer who purchases professional equipment to build his own principal residence does not lose his status as creditor of the information obligation .

The contractual imbalance may be significant when the seller, an informed professional, contracts with a lay buyer, especially when he is a consumer. In the interests of protecting the purchaser, the obligation to provide information and advice is strengthened in this case . The IT sector is the best illustration of this . Even the presence of an IT professional alongside the buyer at the time of sale is insufficient to release the seller from his obligation to provide advice . The customer who has no expertise in computers may also incur the liability of the seller for breach of his obligation to provide information, even if he failed to communicate important information to the seller .    

Conversely, the intensity of the information obligation decreases in the presence of a professional buyer. The protection afforded by the judges will be lower if the seller and the buyer have a comparable level of expertise or when the seller contracts with a professional buyer, especially if he is particularly well informed. Thus, a professional buyer cannot successfully act against his seller when he is in a position to assess the characteristics of the thing . A tourist accommodation undertaking may not claim that the seller of a product that it has used to deodorize its carpets violated its obligation to provide information, where the label affixed to the back of the product stated that it should not be used on textiles and as a professional responsible for maintenance, it cannot pretend to ignore that carpets are made of textiles . Further, the professional seller is also required to inform the seller of the particular specifications he is seeking  and to take the necessary precautions when he intends to make a particular use of the product . Even though the manufacturer has an obligation to provide information about the suitability of the goods sold for their intended use, the mere fact that the goods were delivered to the customer's premises during the construction period does not support the conclusion that the manufacturer was aware of the future use of the runway, for which the gutters it manufactured were intended, by large aircraft . If he is informed, the buyer even has the obligation to take the step of obtaining information from the seller . If he intends to use the product contrary to the manufacturer's recommendations for use, he must carry out tests . Moreover, if he has signed a limitation of liability clause, the professional buyer may be deprived of the possibility of acting against his seller for breach of his obligation to provide information . This is particularly the case when the general terms and conditions of sale applicable to the order specify that the purchaser must ensure that the product is compatible with its intended use, and that it is the purchaser's responsibility to check the product's conformity upon receipt . 

On the other hand, the seller remains bound to fulfill his obligation to provide information and advice when the buyer, although professional, does not have the same specialty as himself  and does not have the necessary expertise to assess the technical characteristics of the equipment ,  the skills required for the use of the equipment acquired , or when the product does not conform to the usual standards . Similarly, the manufacturer of a new product is required to provide the purchaser, regardless of whether he or she is a professional user of the product, with the information necessary for its use and to inform him or her, where applicable, of the potential risks involved . A lay seller who conceals information breaches his obligation to provide information, even vis-à-vis a professional .

 CA Dijon, 9 May 2017, LawLex201700000924JBJ: the lay purchaser not able to detect the disorders due to the xylophagous insects affecting the building purchased has not committed contributory carelessness or negligence, even if at the time of the visit, it was accompanied by a carpenter, non-specializing in support struvctures, and, moreover, who did not have access to the attic.

 Cass. 1re civ., 23 April 1985, LawLex200500005936JBJ.

Cass. 1re civ., 20 November 2004, LawLex200800001447JBJ; See also, Cass. 1re civ., 28 November 2000, LawLex200500006091JBJ; Cass. com, 23 November, 2022, LawLex202200010639JBJ, holding that when a professional buyer has chosen to use technical grade hydrochloric acid in the food process that he implements and that the general conditions of sale provide that he must ensure the compatibility of the products with the use he wants to make of them, he must make sure of this by requesting from his seller the characteristics and specifications of the acid in question.

CA Paris, 7 June 2019, LawLex201900000830JBJ.

 Cass. 1re civ., 6 March 1996, LawLex200500006095JBJ; Aix-en-Provence, 27 September 2001, LawLex200800001507JBJ. See CA Pau, 31 January 2012, LawLex201200000990JBJ.

 Cass. 1re civ., 30 November 2004, LawLex200800001447JBJ. See also Cass. 1re civ., 28 November 2000, LawLex200500006091JBJ, considering that the manufacturer who disseminates a standard user guide meets its duty to inform vis-à-vis the professional buyer, who is required to take all necessary precautions when using products purchased under special circumstances.

  See CA Toulouse, 23 January 2008, LawLex200800001438JBJ.

CA Bordeaux, 9 January 2024, LawLex202400000356JBJ.

Cass. com., 9 April 2013, LawLex201300001138JBJ:  a company specializing in industrial filtration equipment is obliged to draw the attention of its contractual partner, when he does not have the same specialty, to the risks incurred if he does not choose the option proposed by the company.

 Cass. 1re civ., 20 June 1995, LawLex200500005855JBJ; CA Toulouse, 7 March 2002, LawLex200800001484JBJ; CA Aix-en-Provence, 26 June 2006, LawLex200700000760JBJ; Cass. com., 24 March 2009, LawLex201200001252JBJ;  CA Aix-en-Provence, 6 December 2012, LawLex201300001098JBJ.

CA Cass. 1re civ., 12 September 2019, LawLex201900001234JBJ.

 CA Reims, 14 May 2013, LawLex201300001115JBJ.

 CA Besançon, 19 June 2007, LawLex201200001510JBJ. See also CA Orléans, 29 April 2013, LawLex201300001116JBJ.

Cass. com., 27 November 2019, LawLex202000000012JBJ, specifying that the manufacturer of a new product, intended for the treatment of apples, the use of which was extended to apricot trees, in order to prevent sun damage, fails in its obligation to inform and advise a tree surgeon whose apricots treated with this product became unfit for consumption, when he informed the latter - who had asked him about the characteristics of the product - that the fruit should not be marked, or as little as possible, and that it was advisable to adopt the method of application of said product, without, however, specifying this method or the fact that since the downy surface of apricots is such as to retain talc composed of fine particles, marking leads to irremediable consequences, as the fruit can no longer be cleaned.

 Cass. 1re civ., 24 November 1976, LawLex200500006108JBJ.

CA Douai, 21 December 2023, LawLex202400000331JBJ, holding that an asset manager, who asks a customer to subscribe to a complex and atypical investment product, based on three agreements (undivided co-ownership agreement, purchase contract, custody and safekeeping contract), has a duty to provide advice appropriate to his situation, particularly when the customer has no knowledge or competence in the field of investments and his savings come from his employer's mutual fund.

 See, for example, CA Chambéry, 8 July 2008, LawLex200800001436JBJ, holding that the buyer who is not an IT expert is creditor of a duty to advise, which requires the seller to draw his attention to the advisability of subscribing, in addition to his purchase, to a maintenance contract.

 Cass. com., 19 February 2008, LawLex200800001561JBJ.

 Cass. com., 11 July 2006, LawLex200800001446JBJ.

 Cass. 1re civ., 3 June 1998, LawLex200500005852JBJ; 21 March 2000, LawLex200500006001JBJ; Cass. com., 5 December 2000, LawLex200800001449JBJ; 16 October 2012, LawLex201300001096JBJ; Cass. 1re civ., 10 April 2013, LawLex201300001117JBJ, the liability of the manufacturer of an unsuitable heat pump cannot be incurred by the seller when the latter, in view of his competence, was in a position to understand that the example of performance given by the manufacturer corresponded to optimum theoretical conditions not met in this case.

 Cass. com., 14 June 2016, LawLex201700000490JBJ.

 CA Nouméa, 14 October 2002, LawLex200800001481JBJ;  CA Reims, 30 April 2007, LawLex200800001441JBJ;  CA Metz, 27 September 2007, LawLex200800001533JBJ; Cass. com., 1 February 2011, LawLex201200001269JBJ;  CA Nîmes, 7 July 2011, LawLex201200000991JBJ.

French Consumer Law

389. Creditor

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

389. Creditor

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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