Last chance to get refunds on French lockdown purchases

All legal product guarantees for items purchased in France have been extended by three months if they were set to expire during the Covid-19 confinement and early deconfinement period.

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This also applies to new cars bought in France, as well as all other equipment that came with a legal guarantee. To be precise, the extension applies if the guarantee was due to expire at any point between March 12 and June 24. It means there is no need to be concerned if you had a recent breakdown and were not able to have repairs done immediately.

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What does the rule include?

The rule strictly relates only to basic, legal guarantees on new items, not to any extended periods of guarantee, or optional guarantees taken out on secondhand purchases. Some car firms, however, are being more generous, such as the Volkswagen group (Audi, Seat, Skoda, Porsche and VW) which is applying this from March 1 and including extended guarantees. Kia will apply it from February 1 but says any repairs related to this extension must be completed by June 30.

If in doubt, ask the shop or dealership where you purchased the item. Note that the cost of the repair is not borne by the vendor, but by the manufacturer.

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