You bought something and it is defective
The Mauritian rule on hidden defects is in the Code Civil, in French, and it is stronger than most shop policies: a seller owes the warranty even if they did not know about the defect, and you choose between returning the item and keeping a reduction in price.
Written by the juris team. Not yet reviewed by a Mauritian lawyer.
What to do
- Keep the receipt, the packaging, and any advertisement or message describing what you were promised.
- Photograph or film the defect, clearly.
- Write to the seller. Say what is wrong, and say which you want: the money back, or the item kept with part of the price returned.
- If the seller refuses, this is a money claim: the small claims procedure is designed to be used without a lawyer.
What the law says
A seller owes a warranty for hidden defects that make the thing unfit for its purpose, or so reduce that use that the buyer would not have bought it, or would have paid less.
Le vendeur est tenu de la garantie à raison des défauts cachés de la chose vendue qui la rendent impropre à l'usage auquel on la destine, ou qui diminuent tellement cet usage, que l'acheteur ne l'aurait pas acquise, ou n'en aurait donné qu'un moindre prix, s'il les avait connus.
The seller owes it even if they did not know about the defect, unless they stipulated that they would owe no warranty.
Il est tenu des vices cachés, quand même il ne les aurait pas connus, à moins que dans ce cas il n'ait stipulé qui'l ne sera obligé à aucune garantie.
The choice is the buyer's: return the thing and get the price back, or keep it and get part of the price back.
Dans le cas des articles 1641 et 1643, l'acheteur a le choix de rendre la chose et de se faire restituer le prix, ou de garder la chose et de se faire rendre une partie du prix, telle qu'elle sera arbitrée par experts.
If the seller knew about the defect, they owe damages on top of returning the price.
Si le vendeur connaissait les vices de la chose, il est tenu, outre la restitution du prix qu'il en a reçu, de tous les dommages et intérêts envers l'acheteur.
What this guide does not cover
- How long you have to bring a hidden-defect claim. The Code requires the action to be brought within a short time, which is assessed on the facts rather than fixed as a number of days. juris does not turn a period assessed on the facts into a date. If you bring it through the small claims procedure instead, that procedure carries its own one-year bar, quoted where juris explains which body hears it.
Where the matter is heard
- District Court, small claims procedure: A money claim brought under Part IIA of the District and Intermediate Courts (Civil Jurisdiction) Act.
- District Court or Intermediate Court (ordinary civil): Ordinary civil claims, including a landlord's action to cancel a lease or to recover possession of property from a tenant or occupier.