The Fraud Repression Agency (DGCCRF) checked in 2024 more than 300 establishments selling second-hand or reconditioned items, and caught a third of them, in particular for failure to inform the consumer about the legal guarantee and the condition of the batteries. Two separate investigations were carried out, specifies the DGCCRF in a press release published Tuesday. The first focused on refurbished phones, computers and tablets. “Out of more than 50 establishments inspected, 30% were subject to corrective and repressive action: 14 compliance injunctions and 2 administrative fines”, as well as “around ten warnings to remind professionals of their obligations and thus support them”, details the DGCCRF. In particular, “failures” in “information to the consumer on the existence and methods of implementation of the legal guarantee and on the condition of the reconditioned products”, in particular the condition of the battery, specifies the General Directorate of Consumption, Competition and Fraud Control, adding that “many products indicated a 1 year guarantee instead of the 2 years provided for by law”. The erasure of data was also singled out, with some “devices having undergone superficial reformatting (…) rather than actual erasure of data”.
The second survey focused on various second-hand products: textiles, bicycles, smartphones, sports equipment, tools, video games, household appliances. In this context, nearly 300 establishments were inspected, of which, again, a third received an injunction or an administrative fine, “mainly for breaches concerning legal and commercial guarantees”. Nearly 100 warnings were also sent to remind professionals of the regulations. The legal guarantee of conformity, in particular, is often presented to consumers in a misleading manner, “lasting less than its legal duration, which is 2 years”, or “only partially covering the goods”, deplores the DGCCRF.
