Kathy, a resident of Seine-et-Marne, was left with an unusable refurbished smartphone after its battery swelled up and the seller refused to repair it.
The consumer had purchased the refurbished device in March 2025 for 269 euros, with an invoice that explicitly promised a new battery and a two-year guarantee. Eighteen months later, the swelling battery pushed up the screen and rendered the handset completely inoperable, prompting the retailer to deny responsibility under the warranty.
The case was brought to the consumer advice segment of the French national news programme Le 13H à vos côtés, broadcast on TF1 and presented by Marie-Sophie Lacarrau. On set, journalist Ani Basar explained the specific statutory protections available to shoppers facing refusal from secondhand sellers.
Refurbished device rights under French law
Under statutory regulations, the legal guarantee of conformity applies for two years across all retail products, whether they are purchased brand new, second-hand, or refurbished. Kathy holds a valid claim on paper because her purchase occurred eighteen months ago, placing her within the official two-year window.
However, consumer laws treat brand new items differently from refurbished devices during that timeframe. When a buyer purchases a new product, any defect appearing within two years is legally presumed to have existed at the time of sale. In those cases, the customer only needs to provide photographic proof of the fault, and the retailer must repair or replace the item unless the store can prove customer misuse.
For refurbished goods, the two-year legal guarantee is split into two distinct periods. During the first year, repair costs generally fall on the seller, who must fix the item unless misuse is proven. During the second year, the legal burden shifts to the consumer, who must prove that the defect was already present when the item was purchased.
Proving battery defects in the second year
Because Kathy bought her phone a year and a half ago, her claim falls into the second year of ownership. Basar noted that to compel the retailer to act, Kathy must now gather evidence showing the battery was already faulty when sold.
Acceptable evidence includes written communication from the seller acknowledging a battery issue, or a technical assessment from an independent repair specialist. An independent technician can formally attest that a battery sold as new should not swell after eighteen months of standard use.
To initiate the claim, the buyer should send a registered letter to the vendor. The letter must contain the original purchase invoice showing the new battery notation, the independent repairer's technical diagnosis, photos of the damaged phone, and a formal request for a free battery replacement.
Retailers may counter by claiming the swelling resulted from external physical shocks or using an incompatible charger. However, sellers cannot simply reject claims without evidence and must provide their own technical diagnosis to substantiate any claims of user damage.
Escalating retail disputes without going to court
If the retailer refuses to cooperate after receiving registered documentation, consumers can take further administrative steps. Buyers are advised to contact a consumer mediator to seek an out-of-court resolution, or file an official report on the government website Signal Conso to document the retailer's conduct and avoid court proceedings in the judicial tribunal.
Seine-et-Marne, an administrative department located east of Paris in the Île-de-France region, falls under standard French consumer protection rules. The advice segment on TF1, France's main private television network, regularly addresses consumer rights questions submitted by viewers across the country.
Viewers facing similar consumer disputes can submit video questions directly through the dedicated TF1 webpage or send their inquiries by email to [email protected].
