Skip to content

Terms and Conditions

General terms and conditions of online sales of the company Colart France SAS

 

Article 1: Presentation of the company

COLART FRANCE is a simplified joint-stock company under French law with a share capital of 4,429,450 euros. It is registered on the Register of Commerce and Companies in Le Mans under the reference number 347917189. Its registered office is located at 5, rue René Panhard 72021 LE MANS. COLART FRANCE sells painting and graphic arts products such as tubes and pots of paint (acrylics, gouache, watercolour), oils, additives, inks, varnishes, brushes, sprays, pencils, easels, stretchers, canvases, pallets and accessories (this list being non-exhaustive). These products are sold under the brand names Winsor&Newton, Liquitex, Conté à Paris, Charbonnel and Lefranc Bourgeois (hereinafter referred to as the “Brands”). They belong to different entities of the COLART group, gathered on the www.lefrancbourgeois.com website (hereinafter the “website”).

Its contact details are as follows: Colart France SAS, 5, rue René Panhard, CS 82120, Z.I. Nord, 72021 Le Mans Cedex 2.

 

Article 2: Scope of the general terms and conditions of sale

These General Terms and Conditions of Sale (hereinafter “GTC”) define the terms and conditions of online sales of products concluded between COLART FRANCE and Consumers Customers. A Consumer Customer is defined as a “natural person who acts for purposes that do not fall within the scope of their professional artistic activity”, making a purchase on the website for delivery of products to the following countries: Metropolitan France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg.

The present GTC are translated in English from the original French version, which is authentic and prevails over any other version. They apply to the exclusion of all other conditions. The sale is governed exclusively by French law to exclude any international convention.

The present GTC are systematically accessible by the Customer on the website before any order and at the time of consultation of the website, at the time of validation/registration of the order.

The Customer declares that they have read and accepted the following provisions before placing an order for products by ticking the box “I have read the General Terms and Conditions of Sale and accept them without reservation”. Consequently, placing an order on the website implies the Customer’s complete and unreserved acceptance of these GTC.

COLART FRANCE reserves the right to adapt, modify or update the GTC at any time. In the event of adaptation, modification or update, the GTC in force on the day the order was placed will be applied to each order. The GTC in power are those posted on the website on the day of the order.

COLART FRANCE does not apply a prerogative recognised by these GTC at any time or does not request the execution of any stipulation of the agreement resulting from these GTC. Nevertheless, these facts cannot be interpreted either as a modification of the contract or as an express or tacit renunciation of the right to apply the said prerogative in the future or to require the scrupulous execution of the commitments entered into in these GTC.

 

Article 3: General characteristics of the products

The products sold by COLART FRANCE via its website are specified and can be replaced or deleted at any time. The catalogue offered by COLART FRANCE is therefore evolving by nature.

The products marketed by COLART FRANCE on the Site are in particular articles of paint and graphic arts, inks, additives for paint, accessories and art materials (this list is not exhaustive). Certain products of the Brands are not offered for sale by COLART FRANCE on the Site. The products presented on the Site are available for sale within the limits of available stocks.

The Customer acknowledges that they are perfectly aware that the photographs of the products presented on the website are not contractual and that the presentation of the product on the website may differ from reality. These differences shall not under any circumstances give rise to reservations upon receipt of the order, nor to a refusal to accept the product or to take possession of it, nor to a discount on the price, nor shall they give rise to any right to compensation (damages), which the Customer accepts.

 

Article 4: Conformity and safety of the products

The products sold by COLART FRANCE are described in more detail for their characteristics, use, and size in the catalogue on the website. Certain toxic or flammable products such as varnishes are subject to safety and product use sheets which the Customer declares to have read before validating his order.

These products comply with the standards in force in the countries listed above.

The Customers must be aware of the conditions of use and conservation of the product sold by COLART France. The Customers are solely responsible for their choice of product (properties, function(s), characteristics, dimensions, quantity, colour of the product ordered, suitability of the product for the type of paint and support envisaged) and more generally for the suitability of the product ordered for their needs. The products must be used for their intended purpose.

The Customer must also be aware of the maintenance rules for the products. If they are not, it is their responsibility to ask COLART FRANCE for these.

 

Article 5: Legal age and capacity

The Customer declares that they are legally capable of entering into this sales contract, which includes these GTC, i.e., they have reached the age of majority in their country and are not under guardianship or curatorship.

When paying by credit card, the Customer guarantees that they are fully entitled to use the said card and that the latter gives access to sufficient funds to cover the price of the products and their transport. The same applies to payment via PayPal.

 

Article 6: Customer account

The Customer is not obliged to create or have a Customer Account before validating their order to place an order on the website.

The Customer may create an account by clicking on the button provided on the website.

To create their account, the Customer is asked to provide:

  • an e-mail address as an identifier
  • their first and last name, delivery and billing address, and telephone number (mobile or landline).

The Customer is then invited to finalise creating their account.

Once the account has been created, a confirmation e-mail will be sent to the Customer’s e-mail address, with a temporary password and an invitation to change it.

The identifier and password are personal to the Customer and must be entered by the latter each time they log on to their Customer Account.

The Customer is responsible for the information they transmit. Failure to provide this information may make the sale and its execution impossible.

The Customer may update the information concerning them by logging into their Customer Account and is solely responsible for any updates he may make and for the consequences of providing incorrect information concerning them, particularly on the execution of their order.

COLART will automatically and without compensation deactivate the Customer Account due to the Customer’s failure to comply with the General Terms and Conditions or in the event of fraudulent conduct by the Customer.

At any time and without cause, the Customer may request the deactivation of their account via the contact form on the website.

COLART undertakes to deactivate the Customer’s account within a maximum of 15 calendar days from receipt of the Customer’s request.

 

Article 7: Ordering

The Customer places an order from the online catalogue of products accessible on the website by following the ordering process provided and indicated on the website.

Any online order implies acceptance of the prices and products.

The stock of available products is updated every day. Thus, all the products that appear on the website can, in principle, be ordered in the quantities indicated, the availability of the product is displayed. In the event of a product being out of stock, the Customer can ask COLART FRANCE via the contact form on the website about the indicative date of availability of the product.

Once the products have been selected, the Customer can check their basket of ordered products and the total price of their order (i.e. the price of the product including VAT and the related delivery costs) via a summary screen. He may, if necessary, modify this order as long as the sales process is not finalised.

Once the order has been verified, the Customer validates and finalises it by clicking on the “PAY SECURELY” button and following the procedure provided for this purpose on the website.

If they have not already done so, the Customer is then invited to connect to their Customer account or to continue their order as a guest.

In the next step, the Customer will be asked to indicate or confirm the delivery address and billing address for this order and a telephone number in case the transport provider needs to contact the Customer during delivery.

Continuing with the order confirmation, the Customer can check the addresses previously provided before proceeding to the payment of the order, where they must select and fill in their payment details.

To finalise the order, the Customer must tick the acceptance of the GTC before being able to click on the button PROCEED TO SECURE PAYMENT.

This action is equivalent to the handwritten signature referred to in Articles 1174, 1359 et seq. of the French Civil Code and to the conclusion of a commitment in electronic form within the meaning of Articles 1128 et seq. of the Civil Code.

As of this action, the order is considered final on the part of the Customer. It may then only be challenged in the cases exhaustively provided for by the law and the present document.

Once the order has been finalised, an e-mail acknowledging receipt of the order and containing all of this information will automatically be sent to the Customer as soon as possible by COLART FRANCE. This acknowledgement of receipt constitutes acceptance of the Customer’s order by COLART FRANCE, subject to the availability of the products and the effective collection of the price of the products by COLART FRANCE.

 

Article 8: Product packaging and delivery

Preparation and packaging of the products

The products are prepared and packaged by COLART FRANCE.

Conditions and delivery time

Delivery is in principle carried out by COLART FRANCE’s transport and courier partners at the latter’s discretion.

The Customer can choose delivery to an address that they will have indicated before validating their order.

Delivery in France: Unless indicated on the website and subject to stock, the products will be shipped within 10 working days from the acceptance of the order and the complete payment of the product price and the transport price.

Delivery outside of France: Products will be shipped within a period indicated on the website before validating the order. This period starts from the acceptance of the order and the complete payment of the price of the product and the price of transport. Delivery times vary according to the country of delivery of the products.

Receipt of the product

The Customer is obliged to personally take delivery of the ordered products at the agreed place of delivery. The Customer must have a document proving their identity to do so. The Customer undertakes to be present if such an appointment is made at the delivery appointment.

In case of the absence of the Customer or their representative at the time of delivery (in the case of delivery to the address indicated by the Customer), a delivery notice will be left. In this case, the carrier may mean a new delivery date, invite the Customer to contact them to agree on a new delivery date, or it will be up to the Customer to collect the product at the place and within the period indicated in the delivery notice.

Suppose the Client fails to collect the product at the location and within the time specified in the delivery notice. In that case, the products will be returned to COLART FRANCE, and it will be the Client’s responsibility to contact COLART FRANCE for a possible reshipment of the products.

If the product is not delivered within 30 days of the order, the Customer may cancel the order and request a refund of the said order; the sums paid by the Customer will then be refunded without interest or compensation at the latest within 14 days of the date on which the order cancellation was confirmed.

COLART FRANCE shall not be held liable in any way in the event of a delay and/or absence of delivery due to a false or mistaken address or to which delivery proves to be impossible. In this case, all costs incurred for the return of the order will be fully charged to the Customer.

Similarly, COLART FRANCE cannot be held responsible for any delay or failure to receive due to the Customer’s absence, to a case of force majeure – as stipulated in the article entitled “Force majeure” – or to a fault of the Customer.

Each delivery is deemed to have been made as soon as the product is handed over to the Customer or their authorised representative, materialised by the means used by COLART FRANCE or by the system used by the carrier, if applicable.

It is the Customer’s responsibility to check the condition of the products at the time and on the day of their receipt and to formulate any dispute, reservation or refusal on the carrier’s delivery note. They should then specify the reason for the reservation drafted in a precise and legible manner (e.g. damaged packaging, missing or damaged product).

In the event of damage or shortages, the Customer must refuse the delivery.

In such a case, the Customer must, within 48 hours, send to COLART FRANCE via the contact form on the website, indicating his dispute, his refusal, his reserves accompanied by photographs of the products.

Failure to comply with these rules may result in the refusal of the returned product(s).

The risks relating to the product, i.e. those that it may cause to goods or persons, or the damage it may suffer, are transferred to the Client as soon as they have taken possession of it.

 

Article 9: Price and terms of payment

The sale prices of the Products are those applicable at the time of the order and displayed on the website of COLART FRANCE on the day of the order.

COLART FRANCE reserves the right to modify the selling prices of the products and the delivery costs at any time on its website. However, it is specified that in the event of modification of the price after the date of the order, this new price will not apply to the latter.

The prices are expressed exclusive of VAT, shipping costs and other taxes. These amounts may vary according to the VAT rate in force and the order’s country of delivery.

Prices include packaging costs but do not include transport costs or customs duties. The transport and customs fees of the products will be invoiced in addition and indicated at the time of the order, before the customer’s final validation of the order. If customs duties are applicable, they are to be paid by the Customer.

The Customer pays the price of the products and the transport costs at ordering.

The following payment methods are accepted: credit cards (Carte Bleue, VISA, MASTERCARD and AMEX) and PayPal.

If payment is refused, the order will not be confirmed, and the Customer will be sent back to the website to place a new order if necessary.

The validation of the order by the Customer – through payment – automatically generates an invoice. It will be sent to the Customer to the account’s e-mail address that they will have created beforehand.

In the event of payment by PayPal, the Customer must create a PayPal account or connect to it by indicating their e-mail address and password if such an account already exists. The Customer then selects the method of payment registered on their account and follows the instructions on the website.

 

Article 10: Right of withdrawal applicable to the consumer customer located within the European Union

According to Articles L.221-18 et seq. of the French Consumer Code, the consumer Customer has a withdrawal period of 14 clear days from the day following the date of receipt of the products ordered.

To exercise their right of withdrawal for the purchase of products, the Customer must, within the period indicated above, send to COLART France:

  • a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt specifying their wish to exercise this right or,
  • the standard form for exercising the right of withdrawal available on the website via the contact form.

It is specified that the products unsealed by the Client cannot be the subject of a right of withdrawal because opening them causes the product to deteriorate and expire rapidly.

Return of products

Suppose the Customer makes use of his right of withdrawal. In that case, the Customer must return the products to COLART FRANCE at the latest within 2 days of communicating his decision to withdraw, in their perfect condition and original packaging, without any traces or marks, pressure or deformation of the paint tube, with all possible accessories (including any notices or explanatory documents) and at their own expense. Otherwise, the Customer is responsible for any deterioration of the product. The date of return or reshipment of the products shall be deemed the date of the postmark or carrier’s stamp.

The Customer may be held liable in the event of depreciation of the products resulting from handling other than that necessary to establish these products’ nature, characteristics, and proper functioning.

The use of the product depreciates the product and excludes the right of withdrawal.

The risks and costs of returning the products remain at the Customer’s expense.

If all the conditions required for the return of the products are met, COLART FRANCE undertakes to reimburse the Customer for the product’s price and the initial transport costs within 14 days from the effective receipt of the products.

Suppose all the conditions required for the return of the products are not met. In that case, COLART FRANCE may deduct from the sums to be reimbursed, where applicable, a proportion of the sale price corresponding to the sale price of the missing products, as well as the repair, replacement and/or restoration of any damaged/depreciated products. This repair may be impossible due to the nature of the product. Under these conditions, COLART FRANCE may refuse to refund. It is up to the Customer to contest this decision.

COLART FRANCE will reimburse the Customer by bank transfer or instruction given to PayPal.

 

Article 11: Transfer of risks

For delivery in France: The transfer of risks of the product takes place when the Customer takes possession of the product when COLART FRANCE takes care of the transport of the product, following the provisions of article L.216-4 of the French Consumer Code.

For delivery in the EU: Sales will be made DAP (place of delivery indicated by the Customer) according to Incoterms 2020.

 

Article 12: Warranty on products applicable to customers located within the European Union

Legal guarantee of conformity

COLART FRANCE is bound by the guarantee of conformity provided by Articles L.217-1 et seq. of the French Consumer Code.

The Customer must inform COLART France of any non-conformity of the product and prove this non-conformity by writing within two years from receiving the product. If COLART FRANCE so decides, the Customer may be required to send photographs of the products and/or return the product to COLART FRANCE as soon as possible.

The product will be considered non-compliant if: it does not correspond to the order, it does not conform to the description given by COLART France, it does not have all the characteristics of the said product, or it is unsuitable for the expected use.

The guarantee does not cover the incorrect use or storage of the product or the defects and characteristics of the product of which the Customer was aware at the time of sale. Defects and deterioration of the products delivered due to abnormal storage and/or conservation conditions at the Client’s or a third party’s premises, particularly in the event of an accident of any kind whatsoever, may not give rise to a right to the COLART FRANCE guarantee.

COLART FRANCE will check the product on receipt with the help of any service provider of its choice.

If, after inspection, an apparent defect or a lack of conformity is found within the time limit, the Customer will choose between replacing the product or getting refunded.

However, COLART FRANCE may not proceed according to the Customer’s choice if this choice entails a cost that is disproportionate to the other method, taking into account the value of the goods or the importance of the defect. In such a case, they shall be obliged to proceed, unless this is impossible, according to the method not chosen by the Customer. If replacement proves impossible, the Customer may request reimbursement of the product concerned under the conditions of common law unless the defect is minor.

COLART FRANCE shall bear the costs of replacing the product.

If, after inspection, no apparent defect or lack of conformity is found in the product, COLART FRANCE will inform the Customer. In this case, the Customer must either take possession of the product on the premises of COLART FRANCE or pay COLART FRANCE the delivery costs before sending the product.

Guarantee for hidden defects

The legal guarantee of conformity does not deprive the Customer of their right to act on the basis of the warranty for hidden defects provided in the French Civil Code. A latent defect is defined as a defect before the sale relating to the product’s manufacture, making it unfit for use and not likely to be detected by the Customer upon receipt of the product.

Under the hidden defects guarantee, COLART FRANCE is liable for the product’s price and any damages caused by the defect.

COLART FRANCE guarantees its products against hidden defects, by the law, usage and case law, and under the following conditions:

  • The guarantee against hidden defects only applies to products that have become the customer’s property, which implies full payment of the product price.
  • The guarantee is excluded if the products have been used in conditions of use, storage, warehousing or transport that are not provided for or that are contrary to the technical notice, and/or technical descriptions, and/or product sheets.

Defects and damage caused by the Customer, a third party, or any other event not attributable to COLART France are excluded from the guarantee.

 

Article 13: Liability

In general, COLART FRANCE can only be held liable in the event of a proven fault on the part of the Customer in the execution of the order, following the conditions set out in these GTC. In such a case, its liability is limited to direct, foreseeable, personal and specific damage suffered by the Customer, to the express exclusion of compensation for all indirect and immaterial damage and/or loss, such as financial loss and loss of image.

In any case, COLART FRANCE declines all responsibility for the following in particular:

  • normal wear and tear of the products, in particular, due to their use;
  • use that does not comply with the use for which the product is intended;
  • deterioration or accidents caused by negligence, lack of supervision or maintenance or improper storage or use;
  • damage resulting from modifications, incorporations or combinations of the product;
  • malicious acts by the Customer or third parties.

In this case, COLART FRANCE undertakes either to replace the products as soon as possible or to refund the price of the products. If these options are not possible, the Client may cancel the order.

 

Article 14: Force majeure

In the event of force majeure, the performance of the obligations whose fulfilment has become impossible shall be suspended for as long as this impossibility lasts.

Any event beyond the debtor’s control, which could not reasonably be foreseen at the time of the conclusion of the contract and the effects of which cannot be avoided by appropriate measures, shall be deemed to be force majeure. It shall prevent the debtor from fulfilling his obligation under Article 1218 of the French Civil Code.

The following events shall also be considered as force majeure, without the party that is unable to perform its obligations having to establish that the event in question has the characteristics defined in the previous paragraph: epidemic, fire, storm, flood, earthquake, total or partial strikes, internal or external to the company, company lockout, disruption of means of transport or communication, failure of the carrier, acts of government, changes in the regulations applicable to these GTCs or the products.

The prevented party must notify the other party without delay of the occurrence of such an event by any written means, specifying its nature and foreseeable duration. It must also give notice in the same way as the cessation of the impediment.

If the duration of the event exceeds 60 days, the order may be cancelled at the initiative of either party. The cancellation shall not give rise to any compensation. Any sums received by COLART FRANCE before this date will be reimbursed to the Customer without delay.

The party that cannot perform due to such a case will not be held responsible. No contractual sanction can be pronounced against it or its responsibility brought into play.

 

Article 15: Intellectual/Industrial property

All the distinctive signs, copyrights, and everything that appears on the website used by COLART FRANCE is the exclusive property of the latter, or that of an entity belonging to the COLART group and a sale cannot be considered a licence to exploit any of these rights.

Any reproduction, representation, adaptation of the logos, textual, pictographic or video contents without this restrictive enumeration is rigorously prohibited and is similar to counterfeiting.

The products marketed on the website by COLART FRANCE are subject to copyright (intellectual property rights) and/or industrial property rights (brand, designs and models) and are in all cases the result of COLART FRANCE’s know-how.

The Customer undertakes not to infringe the intellectual property rights of COLART FRANCE or of any other structure belonging to the COLART Group (COLART Group holds intellectual property rights on the products, namely the right of representation, reproduction and exploitation as defined in the French Intellectual Property Code) without obtaining the prior written agreement of COLART France or the entity belonging to the COLART Group holding the rights on the products concerned.

The brands, patents, designs and models, copyrights of COLART France or any other structure belonging to the COLART Group are the latter’s exclusive property, and a sale cannot be considered a licence to exploit any of these rights.

Thus, the Customer is forbidden in particular to reproduce the product or to make a copy of it or to take part in any operation that infringes the intellectual and/or industrial property rights of COLART FRANCE or the COLART Group.

 

Article 16: Protection of personal data applicable to customers located within the European Union

Within the framework of the registration and execution of their order, the Customer is required to provide personal information concerning them.

The purpose of this collection is to allow COLART FRANCE to ensure the good treatment of the Customers’ orders on the website and deliver the products to the Customer. The information thus provided by the Customer conditions, particularly the excellent routing of the products ordered on the website. All information provided during visits to the website is strictly confidential.

This data may be transmitted to COLART FRANCE’s logistics service providers involved in the execution of the sales contract and to the tax authorities or a court within the framework of COLART FRANCE’s compliance with its legal and administrative obligations within the framework of managing a dispute.

The Customer has the right to object to this at their convenience.

COLART FRANCE undertakes to take all useful precautions to preserve the security of the data communicated by the Customer or to which it could have access, mainly to prevent that they are deformed, damaged, or unauthorised third parties having access to them.

The Customer undertakes to inform COLART FRANCE of any updates to the personal data.

COLART FRANCE informs the Customer whose data may be collected that, following the European regulations applicable to all natural persons located within the European Union, they have the right to access, modify, delete, limit, oppose and port their data.

Every person also has the right not to be the subject of an individual decision based exclusively on automated processing such as profiling. These rights can be exercised by sending a request on the website.

The persons concerned have moreover the right to introduce a complaint concerning the treatment of their personal data by COLART FRANCE near the CNIL.

COLART FRANCE undertakes to keep the personal data that it may collect for a period not exceeding that necessary to achieve the purposes for which they were collected or processed and in any case within a maximum period of 3 years from the end of the last conclusion of a sale.

 

Article 17: Mediation and settlement of disputes

By articles L. 611-1 et seq. of the French Consumer Code, the Customer located within the European Union has the option of directly resorting to a conventional mediation procedure for any dispute that may arise with COLART FRANCE.

To this end, the Customer may have recourse to the service of the mediator attached to the Le Mans Court of Justice.

To use this mediation procedure, the Customer must first send their complaint to COLART FRANCE by registered letter acknowledging receipt.

Suppose COLART FRANCE does not respond satisfactorily within one month. In that case, the Customer may refer the matter to the mediator as mentioned above, following the procedures set out by the latter. This mediation is free of charge for the Customer, with the exception of any legal or expert fees which will be charged to the Customer.

By Article L. 611-2 of the French Consumer Code, the dispute cannot be examined by the mediator if:

  • the Customer does not justify having tried, beforehand, to resolve their dispute directly with COLART FRANCE using a written complaint following the procedures provided for, where applicable, in the contract,
  • the request is unfounded or abusive,
  • the dispute was previously examined or is being reviewed by another mediator or by a court,
  • the Customer has made their request to the mediator within more than one year from his written complaint to COLART FRANCE,
  • the dispute does not fall within its field of competence.

In addition, by article L. 616-2 and Article 14 of European Regulation No. 524/2013 on the online settlement of consumer disputes, the Customer has the possibility of using the online mediation system offered by the Online Dispute Resolution platform by connecting via the following link: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu.

The dispute may also be brought directly, or in the absence of resolution through mediation, before the Le Mans Court of Justice at the Customer’s choice. It could also be brought to the Court of Justice in the jurisdiction where the Customer’s domicile is located when the sale is concluded. It could also be brought to the Court of Justice in the jurisdiction where the product was delivered, applying the jurisdictional rules in force.

 

Article 18: Legal mentions

Vendor identification: COLART France

The share capital of the company: €4 429 450

SIRET number: 34791718900024

Intracommunity VAT number: FR54347917189

The Director of the publication is Thierry COLLOT as Managing Director of the company COLART FRANCE.

The website is hosted by AMAZON WEB SERVICES EMEA SARL, UK BRANCH

Registered in England and Wales ▪ UK Establishment No. BR019315

VAT NUMBER: GB283644382

Registered Office: 1 Principal Place, Worship Street, London, EC2A 2FA, UNITED KINGDOM

WITHDRAWAL FORM

(Please complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract)

For the attention of COLART FRANCE, a simplified joint-stock company, registered in the Le Mans Trade and Companies Register under number 347917189 and having its registered office at 5 rue René Panhard 72000 LE MANS / e-mail: [email protected]

  • I/We (*) hereby notify you/us (*) of my/our (*) withdrawal from the contract of sale for the item below:
  • Received on:
  • Name of consumer(s):
  • Address of consumer(s):
  • Signature of the consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper):
  • Date: