Consumer mediator in France: what an online shop must do, and the end of the ODR platform

The obligation: guaranteeing access to a mediator

Every consumer has the right to use a consumer mediator free of charge to settle a dispute with a trader amicably. The trader guarantees effective access to a mediation scheme. It may set up its own scheme or offer any other mediator that meets the requirements of the Code. If there is a mediator competent for its entire sector of activity, the consumer must always be able to use that mediator. C. conso L. 612-1 The references “C. conso” in this guide are to the French Consumer Code (Code de la consommation).

Consumer mediation does not apply to disputes between businesses, nor to simple complaints handled by your customer service. C. conso L. 611-3

Choosing a mediator

1. Check the official list. The Commission d'évaluation et de contrôle de la médiation de la consommation (CECMC, the French consumer mediation commission) draws up and updates the list of mediators. C. conso L. 615-1 It is published on the economie.gouv.fr website: list of approved mediators (in French).
2. Check that it is competent for your sector. The administration states that several mediators may be needed if you have several activities, or if you sell both in store and online.
3. Join its scheme by contacting the mediator. Services Publics+
4. Note its website address. Each mediator runs a website that allows consumers to submit a request online, and the postal route always remains available. This is the address you will display. C. conso L. 614-1 · L. 614-3

What to display, and where

The trader provides the contact details of the mediator or mediators it comes under visibly and legibly on its website, in its terms and conditions of sale or of service, on its order forms or, where there are no such media, by any other appropriate means. It also states the mediator's website address. C. conso L. 616-1 · R. 616-1

Example clause: “Médiation de la consommation. Conformément aux articles L. 612-1 et suivants du Code de la consommation, en cas de litige non résolu par une réclamation écrite adressée à notre service client, vous pouvez recourir gratuitement au médiateur de la consommation dont nous relevons: [nom du médiateur], [adresse postale], [adresse du site internet]. Le recours à la médiation n'est pas obligatoire.” (In English: “Consumer mediation. In accordance with Articles L. 612-1 et seq. of the French Consumer Code, if a dispute is not resolved by a written complaint sent to our customer service, you may use, free of charge, the consumer mediator we come under: [mediator's name], [postal address], [website address]. Using mediation is not mandatory.”) Replace the square brackets with your mediator's details.

Clauses and practices to avoid

• Requiring mediation before going to court. Any clause that obliges the consumer to go through mediation before bringing a case to court is prohibited. C. conso L. 612-4
• Writing “le médiateur compétent” (the competent mediator) without naming it. The text requires its contact details and website address.
• Naming a mediator you have not joined, or whose membership has expired.
• Keeping a link to the European ODR platform, which no longer exists.

How mediation works

The mediator cannot examine the dispute, in particular, if the customer has not first sent a written complaint to the trader, if the request is manifestly unfounded or abusive, if the dispute has already been examined, or if the customer refers the matter more than one year after their written complaint. C. conso L. 612-2 Hence the value of replying to complaints in writing and restating the mediator's contact details in your reply.

Mediation is free for the consumer, apart from any lawyer's or expert's fees they choose to incur. C. conso R. 612-1 If no agreement is reached, the mediator proposes a solution that the parties are free to accept or refuse, and going to court remains possible. C. conso R. 612-3 · R. 612-4 The outcome is reached no later than 90 days after notification of the referral, a period that can be extended for a complex dispute. C. conso R. 612-5

The end of the European ODR platform

Regulation (EU) No 524/2013 required online traders to provide on their website an easily accessible link to the European online dispute resolution platform, often called the ODR platform (plateforme RLL in French). According to the EU legislator, it only transmitted around 200 cases per year across the whole Union. Reg. (EU) 2024/3228, recitals 3 and 4

Reg. (EU) 2024/3228, Art. 1 and 2

The link obligation therefore disappeared with the regulation. Remove the link to the European platform from your legal notice, terms and conditions and e-mails, together with the sentence that goes with it. The French Consumer Code still refers to Article 14 of this repealed regulation (Article L. 616-2); in practice, there is no longer any platform to link to. The obligation to designate and display a mediator is unchanged.

What is going to change: Directive (EU) 2025/2647

This directive amends the EU rules on out-of-court dispute resolution. Member States must transpose it by 20/03/2028 at the latest and apply it from 20/09/2028. Dir. (EU) 2025/2647, Art. 5 Among other things, it provides that a trader contacted by a mediation entity states whether it agrees to take part within a period not exceeding twenty working days, or thirty in complex cases. It also covers disputes with traders established outside the Union. Dir. (EU) 2025/2647, Art. 1 The French arrangements are not yet known. Other EU countries transpose the same directive with their own wording.

Penalties

Any breach of the obligation to provide information on the mediator is liable to an administrative fine of up to €3,000 for an individual and €15,000 for a legal entity. C. conso L. 641-1

Your action list

1. Check that you have joined a mediator on the CECMC list, and that it covers all your activities.
2. Display its name, contact details and website address on your site, in your terms and conditions and on your order forms or order summaries.
3. Remove the link to the European ODR platform, and any mention of it, everywhere.
4. Remove any clause that requires mediation before going to court.
5. Add the mediator's contact details to your reply templates for written complaints.
6. Take the opportunity to check the box on the legal guarantee of conformity, which appears in the same terms and conditions.
7. For a cross-border dispute, a marketplace or a regulated sector, have your set-up validated by a lawyer.

Find the other obligations for online shops in all our guides.