Kathy, a Seine-et-Marne resident, was denied repair coverage after her refurbished phone became unusable due to a swollen battery lifting the screen.
She purchased the refurbished handset for 269 euros in March 2025 with an invoice explicitly stating it included a two-year warranty and a new battery. A year and a half after the purchase, the retailer refused to take responsibility when the battery expanded and rendered the device non-functional.
Her case was featured on the French consumer advice segment Le 13H a vos cotes, broadcast during the TF1 lunchtime news hosted by Marie-Sophie Lacarrau. Television journalist Ani Basar addressed Kathy's legal remedies live on air on Tuesday.
TF1 is France's largest private television network, and its 1pm news bulletin, led by anchor Marie-Sophie Lacarrau, is among the most widely watched daily news broadcasts in the country. The recurring advice segment helps viewers resolve everyday commercial and legal disputes.
Seine-et-Marne is a department located in the Ile-de-France region east of Paris, housing more than 1.4 million residents who fall under French national consumer protection legislation.
Legal warranty rules for refurbished goods
Basar explained that under the legal guarantee of conformity, all products sold by professional retailers carry a mandatory two-year warranty period. This statutory protection applies equally whether an item is sold brand new, second-hand, or refurbished.
However, the legal framework contains a crucial distinction regarding the burden of proof. For brand new items, a defect is legally presumed to have existed at the time of purchase for the entire two years, requiring the seller to prove customer misuse to deny a claim.
For refurbished products, the statutory warranty is split into two distinct periods. During the first year, repairs are generally at the seller's expense under the presumption of an initial defect. In the second year, the burden shifts entirely to the customer to prove that the fault was already present when the item was bought.
Because eighteen months have passed since Kathy bought her phone, her claim falls within the second year. She must therefore produce concrete evidence that the battery was already defective at the time of sale.
Evidence needed to challenge retailer refusal
Basar noted that all forms of evidence are admissible to substantiate her claim. A written message from the seller acknowledging a battery defect serves as clear proof, as does a technical report from an independent repair specialist.
An independent technician can formally attest that a battery marked as new on an invoice is not supposed to swell after eighteen months of use. Basar described this independent diagnosis as a strong legal argument for Kathy's case.
To demand action, Kathy should send a formal registered letter to the seller. The letter must attach the original purchase invoice showing the new battery notation, photos of the damaged phone, and the independent diagnostic report, requesting a replacement battery at the seller's expense.
A retailer may argue that battery expansion resulted from physical shock or the use of an improper charger. However, Basar emphasized that the seller cannot simply allege misuse and must provide technical proof through an official diagnosis of their own.
Escalation routes and viewer contact
If the retailer continues to refuse coverage, consumers are advised to contact an official consumer mediator. If mediation fails to resolve the dispute, the case can be formally reported on Signal Conso, the French government platform designed to address commercial infractions and prevent formal court cases.
These administrative steps aim to resolve consumer disputes without requiring proceedings before a judicial court. Viewers facing similar commercial issues can submit their questions directly via video on the dedicated TF1 webpage or by emailing the production team at [email protected].
