Skip to main content

Consumer and banking · Doorstep sales · credit

Solar panels sold door-to-door in France: cancelling the sale and the linked loan

When solar panels were sold at your home in France with a loan arranged by the installer, the sale and the loan form a single operation. If a court cancels the sale, the loan is cancelled automatically too, provided the lender is a party to the case (article L312-55 of the Consumer Code). The cancellation grounds are checked on the order form: mandatory details, the withdrawal form, and any payment taken within seven days.

  • Join the bank to the case
  • No form: 12 more months
  • No payment before 7 days
Go to the toolSee the texts cited
  • Official texts cited
  • Sources checked on
  • Drafted with AI assistance, our method

By the AlphaDeep legal editorial team

General legal information with official references and dated checks. It is not personalised advice: for a decision that commits you, have your situation checked by a qualified professional.

Julie by AlphaDeep

Illustrative conversation
Example question

Was the sales call before the sale even allowed?

Julie Illustration

No, if it aimed to sell you panels or energy-saving works outside a running contract: such calls are banned since 26 July 2020, and a contract concluded after one is void. A breach can bring an administrative fine of up to €75,000 for an individual and €375,000 for a company.

Read the references

You are repaying a loan for panels sold at your door in France: I can go through the order form with you and spot cancellation grounds.

French law

3 free questions at signup. Avoid names and sensitive information.

Answer

Do the sale and the loan fall together?

Yes, when the loan exists solely to pay for that sale: it is a linked credit. It is cancelled automatically when the contract it finances is annulled or terminated by a court, provided the bank took part in the case or was brought into it by you or the seller.

During the dispute, the court can suspend loan repayments. And if you withdraw from the loan in time, the sale itself is cancelled automatically.

Code de la consommation, article L311-1 (version antérieure au 20 novembre 2026)Code de la consommation, article L312-55Code de la consommation, article L312-52Service-public: linked credit

In order

Which cancellation grounds should you check on the contract, in order?

The grounds to check in your file, from the easiest to prove to the most disputed.

  1. The call before the visit

    Since 26 July 2020, phone canvassing for energy-saving or renewable-energy works is banned outside a running contract, and the resulting contract is void.

    Code de la consommation, article L223-1

  2. The withdrawal form

    It must be attached to a contract signed at home; without it, the contract is void and the withdrawal period is extended by twelve months.

    Code de la consommation, article L221-9Code de la consommation, article L242-1Code de la consommation, article L221-20

  3. What the order form says

    The dated contract must contain all the required information: essential characteristics, price, timing, withdrawal terms.

    Code de la consommation, article L221-9Code de la consommation, article L242-1Service-public: doorstep selling rules

  4. A payment within seven days

    No payment or consideration may be taken before seven days have passed: it is a ground for nullity and an offence.

    Code de la consommation, article L221-10Code de la consommation, article L242-1Code de la consommation, article L242-7

  5. When the funds were released

    Your obligations as borrower only start on delivery or performance; funds released too early can show a fault by the bank.

    Code de la consommation, article L312-48INC: solar panels and credit, case law

  6. The state of the installation

    An installation that is not connected or cannot be used can justify termination for serious non-performance, and is harm to set against a bank at fault.

    Code civil, article 1224INC: solar panels and credit, case lawINC: solar panels and credit

Diagram: a doorstep sale and its linked loan cancelled together if the bank is joined, grounds to check on the order form.
Solar panels sold at home in France: cancelling the sale and the loan.
Answer

Can you still withdraw if you never received the withdrawal form?

Yes. Without a withdrawal form or information about that right, the fourteen-day period is extended by twelve months from its end; if the information arrives during those twelve months, you then have fourteen days from receiving it.

A missing form is also, on its own, a ground for nullity of a contract signed at home.

Code de la consommation, article L221-20Service-public: doorstep selling rulesCode de la consommation, article L221-9Code de la consommation, article L242-1

Answer

Do you still repay the bank if the sale is cancelled?

In principle, yes: cancelling a linked credit obliges the borrower to return the capital lent. The bank can lose all or part of it if it was at fault, for example by releasing the funds without checking the work was fully completed, and if you prove harm linked to that fault, such as an installation that is not connected or does not work.

If the cancellation is the seller’s doing, the seller can be ordered, at the bank’s request, to guarantee your loan repayment.

INC: solar panels and credit, case lawCode de la consommation, article L312-48Code de la consommation, article L312-56

Tool

Which cancellation grounds does your file contain?

Answer a few questions about your file: the tool lists the grounds for cancellation it meets and the documents to gather.

julie://tool/grilleRuns in your browser
First contact

Fictional example · grounds for cancellation

Your file has 6 grounds to raise in court. Join the bank to the case: the loan is cancelled with the sale only on that condition.

Grounds found
6
Withdrawal open at least until
24 February 2027
Effect on the loan
Falls with the sale
  1. Phone canvassing for energy works: banned outside a running contract, it makes the resulting contract void (Consumer Code, L223-1).
  2. No withdrawal form attached: a ground for nullity (L221-9, L242-1), and the withdrawal period is extended by 12 months (L221-20).
  3. Incomplete order form: an off-premises contract must contain all the required information, on pain of nullity (L221-9, L242-1).
  4. Payment taken within 7 days: prohibited, a ground for nullity (L221-10, L242-1) and an offence punishable by 2 years and €150,000 (L242-7).
  5. Funds released before the work was finished: a possible fault by the bank, since your obligations as borrower only start on delivery (L312-48).
  6. Installation not connected or not working: termination possible for serious non-performance, and harm that can cost the bank all or part of the capital.
  7. Gather: order form, credit offer, delivery or completion certificate, statements showing when funds were released, proof of the call, connection documents.

Voluntarily performing the contract while knowing the ground for nullity confirms it and gives up the claim (Civil Code, 1182).

What changed

What changes in 2026?

  1. Phone canvassing to sell energy-saving or renewable-energy equipment or works is banned outside a running contract; a contract concluded after such a call is void.

    Code de la consommation, article L223-1

  2. All phone canvassing now requires the consumer’s prior consent, which the business must prove.

    Code de la consommation, article L223-1Service-public: doorstep selling rules

  3. Consumer credit reform: the rules apply to loans up to €100,000. Loans running on that date stay under the former rules.

    Code de la consommation, article L312-1 (version du 20 novembre 2026)Ordinance No. 2025-880 of 3 September 2025, article 99

The law

What does article L312-55 of the Consumer Code say?

En cas de contestation sur l’exécution du contrat principal, le tribunal peut, jusqu’à la solution du litige, suspendre l’exécution du contrat de crédit. Celui-ci est résolu ou annulé de plein droit lorsque le contrat en vue duquel il a été conclu est lui-même judiciairement résolu ou annulé. Les dispositions du premier alinéa ne sont applicables que si le prêteur est intervenu à l’instance ou s’il a été mis en cause par le vendeur ou l’emprunteur.

Code de la consommation, article L312-55In force since 1 July 2016Read on Légifrance

In plain English: If the main contract is disputed, the court may suspend the credit agreement until the dispute is settled. The credit is cancelled or terminated automatically when the contract it was taken out for is itself judicially cancelled or terminated. These rules apply only if the lender took part in the proceedings or was brought into them by the seller or the borrower.

If the sale is cancelled or terminated because of the seller, the seller can be ordered, at the lender’s request, to guarantee the borrower’s loan repayment, without prejudice to damages.

Frequent questions

What do solar panel buyers ask?

Was the sales call before the sale even allowed?

No, if it aimed to sell you panels or energy-saving works outside a running contract: such calls are banned since 26 July 2020, and a contract concluded after one is void. A breach can bring an administrative fine of up to €75,000 for an individual and €375,000 for a company.

Code de la consommation, article L223-1Code de la consommation, article L242-16

What if the installer has gone bust?

An action to cancel or terminate the sale remains possible, and it is precisely what stops the loan producing effects when the seller is in liquidation. Sue the seller’s liquidator and the bank: without the bank in the case, the loan does not fall with the sale.

INC: solar panels and creditCode de la consommation, article L312-55

Does using the panels stop you asking for cancellation?

Not in itself. Only voluntarily performing the contract while knowing the ground for nullity confirms it and gives up the claim; a court decides whether you knew of the defect.

Code civil, article 1182

How long do you have to go to court?

Five years from the day you knew or should have known the facts that let you act. The extended withdrawal period runs separately: fourteen days plus twelve months without a form.

Code civil, article 2224Code de la consommation, article L221-20

Sources

Which texts does cancellation rely on?

  1. Code de la consommation, article L312-55Légifrance
  2. Code de la consommation, article L312-48Légifrance
  3. Code de la consommation, article L312-56Légifrance
  4. Code de la consommation, article L311-1 (version antérieure au 20 novembre 2026)Légifrance
  5. Code de la consommation, article L221-9Légifrance
  6. Code de la consommation, article L242-1Légifrance
  7. Code de la consommation, article L221-10Légifrance
  8. Code de la consommation, article L221-20Légifrance
  9. Code de la consommation, article L223-1Légifrance
  10. Code de la consommation, article L242-7Légifrance
  11. Code civil, article 1182Légifrance
  12. Code civil, article 2224Légifrance
  13. Code de la consommation, article L312-52Légifrance
  14. Code de la consommation, article L312-1 (version du 20 novembre 2026)Légifrance
  15. Code de la consommation, article L242-16Légifrance
  16. Code civil, article 1224Légifrance
  17. Ordinance No. 2025-880 of 3 September 2025, article 99Légifrance
  18. Service-public: doorstep selling rulesService-public.fr
  19. Service-public: linked creditService-public.fr
  20. INC: solar panels and credit, case lawInstitut national de la consommation
  21. INC: solar panels and creditInstitut national de la consommation

Texts cited last checked: 17 October 2026

Next steps