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Referral to the consumer mediator (France)

Consumer
Français
France
Application
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This document is in French

The PDF you download is in French — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.

For a consumer in France whose written complaint to a business went unanswered or unresolved. Two free routes exist: reporting on SignalConso, the DGCCRF's service, which does not settle your dispute, and the online referral form many mediators offer. The consumer mediator proposes a solution, free of charge (Article L. 612-1 of the French Consumer Code). This letter refers the case by post: it sets out the dispute, the prior complaint and your request. Send it within a year of that complaint (Article L. 612-2). In French.

  • Made for use in France
  • Last updated October 13, 2026

When to use this document

  • A business in France ignored your written complaint.
  • A seller or tradesman refuses to put things right after your complaint.
  • You want a free mediator to propose a solution to your dispute with a company.
  • You want to refer your case to the consumer mediator by post.

What you fill in

The details the document asks for.

  • Customer
  • Customer's address
  • Consumer mediator
  • Mediator's postal address
  • City
  • Date
  • Trader
  • Trader's address
  • Client number
  • What the dispute is about
  • Date of the complaint
  • The trader's answer
  • Remedy requested

Preview

This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.

Preview coming soon

Common questions

SignalConso or the consumer mediator in France: what is the difference?
SignalConso (signal.conso.gouv.fr) is the DGCCRF's free service: your report goes to the business, which may answer it, and helps target inspections, but nobody decides your dispute. The consumer mediator examines your case and proposes a solution; it is free for you (Article L. 612-1 of the French Consumer Code), and you keep the right to go to court afterwards. You can do both at the same time.
How does a consumer in France find the competent mediator for a business?
The business must state the mediator it belongs to, usually in its terms of sale, on its website or on its invoices (Article L. 616-1 of the French Consumer Code). The official list of notified mediators is published on economie.gouv.fr by the commission that oversees consumer mediation (CECMC). Some sectors have a public or sector mediator: energy, electronic communications, water, tourism and travel, insurance, banking.
When can a French mediator refuse the case, and how long does it take to decide?
It refuses the case if you did not first send the business a written complaint, if the claim is clearly unfounded, if the dispute has already been examined or is before another mediator or a court, if it is brought more than a year after your written complaint, or if the dispute is outside its remit (Article L. 612-2 of the French Consumer Code). It proposes a solution within 90 days of notifying the parties that the case has been referred, a period it can extend for a complex dispute (Article R. 612-5); each side remains free to accept it or not.

How you can sign this document

  • Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
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