...for C to C purchases
In fact, when a contract is made between two private persons, in French law, the buyer has just the hidden defect guarantee which allows cancellation of the sale or reduction in the price. It will be more difficult for the buyer to get compensation for his prejudice from the (private) seller than from a professional seller. In fact, if he buys from a private person, he will have to prove the seller’s bad faith, that is to say he has to prove that the seller knew the existence of the hidden defect, which is often more than difficult. We understand easily that a professional is presumed to know the existence of such a hidden defect, but for a private person this is different.
It should be kept in mind that the purchase of goods from a professional benefits from the legal guaranty of conformity. Sometimes the business even offers a commercial warranty even easier to implement than the legal warranty.
Moreover, rules protecting usually consumers don’t apply in the case of transactions between particulars except if the seller has chosen the self entrepreneur status (and is then considered as a professional).
So when buying C to C the consumer can loose his withdrawal right when buying via internet on sales platforms. He also cannot benefit from the protection against unfair commercial practices, such as misleading advertising.
April 2009
