Drafting GTCs for consumers
You wish to offer products for sale or rent or to provide services to your consumer customers. The GTCs are mandatory when the trader addresses a consumer under the rules of the Consumer Code, in order to protect the consumer.
You need B to C General Terms and Conditions of Sale that are personalised, adapted to your offer, and that comply with the various legal conditions so as to protect you from administrative controls.
The purpose of the General Terms and Conditions of Sale is to allow consumers to have clear, fair and precise information on the characteristics of the product or service provision activity offered by the trader.
The issue of compliance is essential for any company doing B2C e-commerce (for consumer customers) sinceit responds to the action of the legislator who has constantly increased the protection granted to consumers.
General
Terms and Conditions of Sale in accordance with the law
In recent years, professionals have seen their obligations increase, particularly in terms of pre-contractual information, or the enforceability of their General Terms and Conditions of Sale.
The GTC B to C must stipulate mandatory information as to the existence of the conditions of implementation and content of the legal guarantee of conformity and the guarantee relating to the defect of the thing sold, due by the seller but also, where applicable, the existence of a commercial guarantee and an after-sales service.
Professionals must provide for the establishment of an optional mediation process for the benefit of the consumer, and specify the modalities.
Finally, professionals must ensure that none of its clauses are significantly unbalanced to the detriment of its customers, under penalty of being declared abusive.
This non-exhaustive list is imperative, and the risks incurred by the professional are significant in the event of non-compliance. It is also strongly discouraged to be inspired by the contractual conditions of its competitors, you run the risk of being prosecuted and severely punished for parasitic competition.
Guillaume Gouachon
Avocat associé
Responsable "Consommation, produits et conformité"
Martine Behar Touchais
Professeur de droit Of counsel
Responsable "Distribution & Concurrence"
