Specializing in the resale of refurbished electronic objects, the start-up Back Market is in the sights of the consumer association UFC-Que Choisir.

The latter must file a complaint for "misleading commercial practices" this Wednesday before the Paris Court of Justice.

According to a press release, she accuses the company of "numerous breaches of consumer law",

"If the circular economy must be encouraged, it must still respect the fundamental rights of consumers", explains UFC-Que Choisir.

The association criticizes several practices at the French company.

For example, it is accused of making customers believe that they are getting a good deal by displaying the selling price of the refurbished product next to the price of the new product, when the latter is not sold on the site.

“It's not about promotions,” she stresses.

The @UFCquechoisir files a complaint against the refurbished giant @backmarket for misleading commercial practices.

Under the guise of #consommationresponsable, encouraged by the association, consumer rights must not be violated!


👉 https://t.co/IZuqVe8WoA pic.twitter.com/2bVwWHhB33

– UFC-Que Choisir (@UFCquechoisir) June 15, 2022


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Service fees, contractual warranty

She also denounces “service fees” systematically charged to consumers, which can reach 5.99 euros, and which only appear “at the payment stage”.

Finally, "Back Market offers consumers a 12-month contractual guarantee, suggesting a considerable advantage offered by the company", whereas in reality "this guarantee is imposed by law, but above all lasts twenty-four months , including for reconditioned products”.

The consumer defense association specifies that this is "the first complaint in Europe by a consumer association against the reconditioned giant", even if it has already been pinned down by other associations, such as VZBV in Germany.

And the president of UFC-Que Choisir Alain Bazot, to explain that the association "wishes that the" reconditioned unicorn "continues to put glitter in the lives of consumers, without its communication being only powder to the eyes ".

The start-up Back Market, created in 2014, has established itself since its creation as the essential place for refurbished electronics, a booming sector, driven by ecological discourse which advocates a reduction in the environmental impact of products. electronics.

Last January, it announced that it had raised 450 million euros, a funding round which then propelled it, with a capitalization of 5.1 billion euros, to the podium of French unicorns.

It then had more than 650 employees and planned to recruit 400 in 2022.

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