The prices displayed on the shelves and at the checkout are not the same, which one should I pay? The 8 p.m. answers you

The TF1 newscast sifts through viewers’ questions every evening in “Le 20H responds to you”. Garance Pardigon answers their questions, related this Wednesday evening to purchases on the Internet or at the supermarket, on the set of Gilles Bouleau, in the video at the top of this article.

The prices displayed on the shelves and at the checkout are not the same. Which do I have to pay?

The most advantageous price for you, the consumer… That is to say the lower of the two! Indeed, the seller is in the wrong, because “price information is mandatory, it must be clear and unequivocal“, can we read on the site of the suppression of fraud. “This rule is intended to protect the consumer from deceptive marketing practices.“, decrypts Raphaël Barthlomé, head of the legal department of the UFC Que Choisir.

Be careful however, there are exceptions: this does not apply to major labeling errors, those which a dishonest consumer would seek to take advantage of. Raphaël Bartholome gives an example: “A flat screen which would be announced at 40 euros on the shelf. It is obvious that a zero or even two is missing on the label! You’ll pay full price for it at checkout.” If you are confronted with a deceptive commercial practice, you can sign it at the DGCCRF, the repression of fraud, via the signalconso platform.

I ordered a product on the internet but the delivery is late. Is there a deadline beyond which I must be reimbursed?

The good news is that there is bound to be a delivery time. The bad news is that it isn’t always easy to find! There are two possibilities. Either the seller has undertaken to deliver to you within a specific time, that is “the majority case“, explains Raphaël Barthlomé, and then it is this deadline that counts. “It has the value of a commitment for the seller, it can only be indicative“. Either the seller has not specified anything, and there it is 30 days maximum.

What if this deadline is exceeded? There are also two possibilities. Either your order is no longer valid because the deadline has passed. For example, your wedding dress arrives… the day after your wedding! There you can get “automatic reimbursement“, continues Raphaël Barthlomé. And if the seller does not comply within 14 days, there are penalties. Either your order is still valid, and you can donate “an additional and reasonable period” to the seller. This involves chasing him over by email, and telling him “for example that you leave him five extra days, otherwise he will reimburse you“.

To find out what to expect with the platform on which you ordered, the UFC-Que Choisir association carried out this comparative study, which includes compliance with delivery times.

Still on the subject of online shopping, my order never arrived, but the seller claims to have delivered it. What are my options ?

You’re going to tell me, it’s word against word. Well no: legally, the seller has an obligation of result. This is article L121-20-3 of the consumer code: “The professional is automatically liable to the consumer for the proper performance of the obligations“. Until he can prove that the package was delivered to you, “it is he who bears the risk inherent in the delivery“, explains Raphaël Barthlomé, of UFC Que Choisir. This is why some sellers require that the package be delivered against signature. “But most do not, because it is a constraint for the consumer, and it may lead him to place an order with a competitor who does not require a signature.“, continues the representative of the association for the defense of consumer rights.

Does the rule change if the seller has entrusted the delivery to a carrier, so there is an intermediary? No, it is always the seller who is responsible. “He cannot hide behind his carrier. The procedure is: he reimburses you and then he settles his accounts with his intermediary.”

If you have a question yourself, you can ask it on social networks with the hashtag #le20HVousRepond, or directly by email to a dedicated address, [email protected], or now on video by going to our dedicated page.

Another novelty, during this 8 p.m. section, you will see a QR Code appear at the bottom of the screen: you can then scan it and access an enriched article directly from your mobile phone or tablet.