Your contact details:
As in the legal notices, it is good to start by reminding you of the legal entity responsible for the site and its contact details.
Products:
The principle of an e-commerce website is to present its products in the form of product pages containing at least one image and a description of the product. Please note that these images and descriptions are not contractual; despite your efforts to be accurate, the product received may differ slightly from the one shown in the image, without affecting its usability.
How to place an order:
Here you describe precisely the purchasing process.
Example: “To place an order, the customer selects the products of their choice on the website and adds them to their virtual shopping cart. The order is validated once payment has been fully processed and received by the company.”
Does the customer need to create a customer account? Do they receive an invoice by email?
Your customers can refer to this paragraph to ensure their order is validated and to verify your reliability as a seller.
Price and payment terms:
Currency, taxes, accepted payment methods, third-party payment for bank cards, payment by check, payment in installments… Be exhaustive here on everything concerning payment on your site, an essential element to reassure your buyers.
Personal Data Processing and GDPR:
To place an order, a customer must provide personal information (name, surname, email address, telephone number, delivery and billing address, etc.). You must explain here what data you collect and what you do with it. Also specify how the customer can request the correction or deletion of their personal data.
Mandatory information for sales to individuals
When addressing individuals, certain paragraphs are mandatory and must be written with particular care:
The right of withdrawal :
For online purchases, the law stipulates that every customer has 14 days to exercise their right of withdrawal. This means they can return a product or cancel a service contract and receive a refund.
You must therefore mention this right in your terms and conditions, as well as the procedures for exercising this right (example: explanation of the procedure for returning a product, whether or not return costs are covered, etc.).
Also indicate if there are any exceptions to the right of withdrawal. For example, if you sell food products, you can specify that any returned product that is damaged, deteriorated, or consumed, even partially, will not be refunded.
This paragraph is of paramount importance and also protects you as the seller. Indeed, if you do not provide this information, a customer will be able to exercise their right of withdrawal on their purchases for up to one year.
Delivery times:
The Hamon Law stipulates that the delivery time for a product sold online must be less than 30 days (Article L.216-1 of the Consumer Code). Otherwise, the consumer has the right to cancel the contract and receive a refund.
Include all details related to your parcel shipments here. For example, if you work with a service provider to manage your deliveries (La Poste, Colissimo, etc.), then explain in your terms and conditions that you are dependent on this third party for delivery times.
Buyer guarantees:
According to the Consumer Code, products sold online are covered by two default legal guarantees that allow customers to return defective and/or non-compliant products free of charge. It is mandatory to include these two guarantees in your Terms and Conditions of Sale:
The legal guarantee of conformity (Articles L.217-4 et seq. of the French Consumer Code). Legally, you are required to deliver products that correspond both to the description provided on the website and to the characteristics that a customer can legitimately expect from you. If the customer believes this is not the case, they can take legal action within two years.
The guarantee against hidden defects (Articles 1641 et seq. of the French Civil Code). If a consumer notices a defect in the purchased product, and this defect is hidden—that is, not apparent at the time of purchase, rendering the product unusable or severely limiting its use, and which existed at the time of purchase—the customer can request a refund and/or compensation up to two years after the purchase.
Consumer mediator:
Within the framework of these guarantees and in the event of a dispute, every professional e-commerce business must indicate in its terms and conditions the possibility of resorting free of charge to a consumer mediator (Article L.612-1 et seq. of the Consumer Code).
