Consumer law: what the Act imposes on merchants, and a contract cannot set aside

Verified 10 August 2026Version 1.0General information, not legal advice

A consumer contract cannot set aside what the Act imposes. These obligations exist by operation of law, whether or not the seller mentions them. Every passage in quotation marks is quoted word for word from the Consumer Protection Act, with its section.

Goods must serve · and serve for a certain time

Two sections, two distinct requirements. Use: “Goods forming the object of a contract must be fit for the purposes for which goods of that kind are ordinarily used.” And duration: “Goods forming the object of a contract must be durable in normal use for a reasonable length of time, having regard to their price, the terms of the contract and the conditions of their use.”

That reasonable length of time does not end with the manufacturer's warranty: they are two different things · one contractual, the other imposed by the Act.

Source: Consumer Protection Act, ss. 37 and 38 · English text read at source on 10 August 2026.

Seven days to cancel a distance contract, in specific cases

“The consumer may cancel the contract within seven days after receiving a copy if (a) the merchant did not disclose to the consumer the information described in section 54.4 before the contract was entered into, or did not disclose it in accordance with that section…”

So the period is not a general right to change one's mind: it opens in the cases the section lists.

Source: Consumer Protection Act, s. 54.8 · English text read at source on 10 August 2026.

False or misleading representation is prohibited

“No merchant, manufacturer or advertiser may, by any means whatever, make false or misleading representations to a consumer.”

Source: Consumer Protection Act, s. 219 · English text read at source on 10 August 2026.

What opens when one of these obligations is not met

“If the merchant or the manufacturer fails to fulfil an obligation imposed on him by this Act, by the regulations or by a voluntary undertaking made under section 314 or whose application has been extended by an order under section 315.1, the consumer may demand, as the case may be, subject to the other recourses provided by this Act…”

Source: Consumer Protection Act, s. 272 · English text read at source on 10 August 2026.

What this page does not do

It does not say whether your situation falls under any of these sections, which one to choose, or what is worth asking for. Those are questions of legal advice. The Office de la protection du consommateur informs the public; a lawyer advises on a case.

What the application does: hold your dates · of the purchase, of the first problem, of each exchange with the merchant · and the exhibits that carry them. An invoice carries its date; a recollection does not.