Whether you're a salesperson in a physical store or online, you're obliged to comply with a number of obligations that govern your offer of goods or services, as well as your customer relations. From the construction of your website, through your terms and conditions of sale, to the handling of disputes and complaints, nothing should be left to chance! The law imposes a number of specific measures on retailers.
Let's take a look at the essential rules that every e-tailer needs to master.
Legal disclaimers are a requirement for all e-commerce sites. They must clearly identify the person operating the website in question. In the case of a natural person, the customer must find his or her surname, first name and the address of the company's registered office. In the case of a legal entity, the company name, legal form, registered office address and capital amount are mandatory.
Don't forget to mention the name of the website moderator if necessary, as well as the company's contact details.
All companies that collect personal and confidential data about their customers (identity, bank details, etc.) must have a declaration number with the CNIL. This number must be mentioned.
Finally, the VAT identification number (only if the consumer pays it), the RCS registration number for merchants, or the RM registration number for craftsmen, are among the mandatory data.
It's one of the hot topics of the moment: the collection of customer data is at the heart of all attention and has recently been the subject of a European regulation, the RGPD. This specifies in detail the procedures for receiving, processing and storing all personal data received by the company.
As for cookies, companies are now obliged to inform Internet users of their role, obtain their consent and give them the option of not accepting them.
Disgruntled customers need more attention...that's the intention of the law which, since January 1, 2016, has obliged all e-tailers to set up an internal, sectoral or conventional mediation service.
This choice is left to the discretion of the retailer, who can choose the solution that suits him best. It handles all complaints from dissatisfied customers.
Once the order has been validated, the consumer has a legal period of 14 days to retract. They must then return a withdrawal form to the company, using the procedure indicated in the general sales conditions of the website.
In the case of a service, or when the consumer benefits from an advantageous discount in order to immediately benefit from the sale of a good, the consumer may immediately waive the exercise of his right of withdrawal. If this is the case, the consumer must be informed before the order is validated.
Concerning delivery, the maximum delivery time is 30 days in metropolitan France. The merchant must inform the customer of the estimated delivery time. If the product is not delivered on time, the consumer may request cancellation of the sale and a full refund of the order amount.
As the conclusion of a distance order does not allow for the signature of a conventional contract, the law requires e-tailers to respect several provisions to formalize the commitment of both parties to the completion of an online commercial transaction. This is divided into two stages.
First of all, the consumer must be able to modify his or her order right up to the last moment before final validation, via a summary page for example. The customer then validates the order, accepts the website's general terms and conditions of sale, and proceeds to payment. Both parties are then committed and have obligations towards each other.
E-traders are subject to a number of obligations toensure the smooth running of online transactions. Depending on the case and the business sector, additional requirements may apply, such as the obligation to declare the state, the name of the order or organization with which the business is registered if it is a regulated profession. If the activity is subject to a licensing regime, the name and address of the relevant authority must be included.
Written by our expert Paul LASBARRERES-CANDAU
January 24, 2020
