Abusive solicitation in Morocco: 2026 remedies guide

An order placed by telephone, on a website, through messaging services, or on a social network generally constitutes a distance contract when concluded without the parties being physically present at the same time. Before the order, the supplier must provide the essential characteristics of the goods or services, its identity, contact details, the total price, delivery charges, and payment terms. During a commercial call, Article 27 of Law No. 31-08 requires the professional to state explicitly their identity and the commercial nature of the communication at the beginning of the conversation.

Article 29 provides, in principle, for a seven-day withdrawal period. For goods, it runs from receipt; for services, from acceptance of the offer. When the period expires on a Saturday, Sunday, or public holiday, it is extended until the next working day under the conditions provided by the law. The consumer does not have to give reasons for their decision or pay a penalty. However, the direct cost of returning the goods may remain payable by the consumer when the relevant information was properly provided.

In practice, send a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt or deliver a letter against a receipt. An email or message may supplement this step, but you must be able to prove its content, date, and receipt. In accordance with Article 32, the supplier must refund the amounts paid no later than fifteen days after the valid exercise of the right of withdrawal. This refund period must not be confused with the seven-day period granted to the consumer to withdraw. The return of the goods must also be arranged and documented.

Certain exceptions concern, in particular, services whose performance has begun with the consumer’s consent, personalised or rapidly perishable goods, goods that cannot be returned, and certain services provided on a specified date. In-person solicitation is subject to a separate regime: Articles 49 to 53 require a written document containing mandatory information, provide for a cancellation period, and, in principle, prohibit any consideration before that period expires. The French fourteen-day rule must therefore not be automatically applied to a contract governed by Moroccan law.

Generally, begin by sending a formal demand to the professional. The letter recalls the order date, the content of the offer, the price paid, the identified breach, and the requested solution: cancellation, refund, compliant delivery, or cessation of automatic debits. Set a reasonable deadline of eight to fifteen days and attach copies only. This step is not always a condition of admissibility, but it clarifies the dispute. Note that a formal demand does not necessarily interrupt the limitation period on its own; its effect depends on the applicable law and the steps subsequently taken.

The role comparable to that of the French DGCCRF is performed by the consumer protection services of the ministry responsible for Industry and Trade and its local departments. The ministry’s name has changed through successive government reorganisations; you should therefore use its official name in force on the date of the report. Up-to-date contact details for the regional and provincial directorates are available on the ministry’s institutional portal and the official Maroc.ma portal. The file must identify the seller, explain the chronology, quantify the amount concerned, and include the relevant evidence.

Authorised officers have investigative and reporting powers under Law No. 31-08. They may examine commercial documents, record advertising, and forward official reports to the competent authorities. Reporting is normally free of charge, but it does not itself order repayment of the price. No general deadline guarantees a response within thirty days. In practice, follow up in writing after thirty days, then at around sixty days if you have not received an acknowledgment of receipt or case number, while continuing to monitor your judicial deadlines.

When the dispute concerns the use of a telephone number, email address, or other data for marketing purposes, a complaint may be submitted to the CNDP under Law No. 09-08. If possible, first exercise your right to object with the organisation and retain proof of doing so. For a bank, telecommunications operator, insurer, or payment institution, an internal complaint followed by referral to the ombudsman or sector regulator may supplement the remedy. These parallel steps do not automatically suspend the limitation period for civil proceedings.

A criminal complaint is appropriate when the facts go beyond improper performance of the contract: false identity, repeated collection of payments without delivery, forged documents, knowingly false advertising or the seller’s organised disappearance. It may be filed with the police, Royal Gendarmerie or King’s Public Prosecutor at the Court of First Instance having territorial jurisdiction. The Public Prosecution Service determines the legal classification, may order an investigation and may close the case, prosecute or request further enquiries. Closure of the case does not necessarily prevent a civil action based on the contract.

The complaint must set out the facts chronologically and identify the persons, numbers, bank accounts, social media pages and points of sale. Attach invoices, receipts, statements, timestamped screenshots, messages and formal notices. Keep the original files, as printing may remove useful technical data. A recording made by a participant in the conversation may be considered by the court, but its public dissemination creates privacy-related risks. Instead, provide it to the investigators or lawyer, who will assess its lawfulness and relevance.

The penalties are set out in Articles 166 et seq. of Law No. 31-08. For breaches of the advertising rules referred to in Articles 21 and 22, Article 174 provides, in particular, for a fine of 50,000 to 250,000 DH. Other breaches, particularly those relating to distance selling or direct marketing, are governed by separate punitive provisions. The practical summary is therefore as follows: seven days for withdrawal from a distance contract, fifteen days for the refund provided for by Article 32, no current jurisdictional threshold for a local court, and 50,000 to 250,000 DH for the aforementioned advertising-related fine.

A simple complaint may mention the loss and state the intention to seek compensation without automatically making the victim a civil party. Applying to join proceedings as a civil party before the investigating judge requires a judicial investigation to have been opened, including where it results, under the statutory conditions, from a complaint combined with an application to join the proceedings as a civil party. This step must be distinguished from filing a simple complaint with the police or Public Prosecution Service. The victim may also submit a civil claim before the criminal court hearing the case, at the permitted stage, or bring a separate action before the civil court.

Prepare the case file before making any report. Keep the complete advertisement with its date, the contract and its general terms and conditions, the invoice, delivery note, proof of payment, correspondence, calling numbers and complaints. For an internet page, capture the visible address, date, price and account identity. A report by a judicial commissioner may strengthen evidence at risk of deletion. Its cost depends on travel, urgency and the number of findings; estimates observed in practice range from a few hundred to several thousand dirhams, with no uniform national fee schedule applicable to all reports.

A complaint to the trader, an administrative report and the filing of a simple criminal complaint do not normally incur a filing fee. A civil action may entail court registry, service, translation, expert assessment and enforcement costs. Their amount depends on the value of the claim and the required steps; request an estimate from the court registry or lawyer rather than relying on a fixed amount found online. Legal aid may be requested by a person who meets the statutory requirements, but approval depends on an assessment of the case and financial resources.

Lawyers’ fees are freely agreed. Based on the fee estimate ranges commonly observed by practitioners in 2026, a consultation often costs between 500 and 1,500 DH and litigation between 3,000 and 15,000 DH, or even more in the event of an expert assessment, appeal or multiple defendants. These are not official rates. A written fee agreement must specify the services included, disbursements, any taxes, enforcement costs and the handling of an appeal. Also check whether travel and hearings outside the city are billed separately.

An amicable agreement may be reached within a few weeks. An administrative report often takes several weeks or months, with no uniform statutory timeframe. A first-instance civil case frequently takes six to eighteen months, depending on the city, expert assessments, adjournments and difficulties with service; this practical range is not a guarantee. The most costly mistakes are allowing the withdrawal period to expire, deleting messages, sending original documents, waiting for an administrative response before acting or believing that a complaint is sufficient to obtain a refund. To secure your strategy, consult a lawyer practising in this field on AvocatLib.