I've told this story several times already: you'd buy an expensive item with a number of years of warranty. And at some point the item would malfunction and you'd be wondering: is it still under warranty?
You'd set out to locate the original proof of purchase and warranty certificate. And if you are a well-ordered person that has been settled long enough in your home you might find it. But if you, for whatever reason, have moved house, your chances to locate that old piece of paper are much lower. Even the more so if you happen to be of the more creative kind, and not very well-ordered.
So here comes into picture a recent purchase from the "Le Creuset" outlet in Corbeil-Essonne, South of Paris.
"Le Creuset" is a relatively posh and reputable brand of kitchen ware, especially "cocottes en fonte" (cast-iron casserole dishes). They are pretty expensive too: as you might (or might not) see in the pictures accompanying this post, the "baby" has a list price of 439€ (although we enjoyed a discount)
Now the interesting part about these casserole dishes is that they come with a "lifetime warranty". But what does that really mean? Whose "lifetime"?
First, let's observe that the condition to have that warranty remain valid is to still be in possession of the original proof of purchase. But these proofs are printed on thermal paper that fades away after a number of years (faster if they are under sunlight). So it's safe to say that in practice, the warranty lasts as long as the text on the proof of purchase is still legible
Let's look at the information on that proof of purchase. I identify first a number:
No. FR00482500013276
Date: 23/12/2025 12:55
Done by "Amandine P" (this is the name of the sales lady)
There are several items in the purchase but the "crown jewel" is listed as
"COC RD TRAD CI 28cm VOL BP 1" with a number underneath: 0024147086291 (what does that number mean?)
Then further down the proof of purchase we have a sequence number, a digital signature and some other info I list below:
Numéro séquentiel 13336
Signature digitale i9hV
Numéro réimpression: 0
NF 525 Certificate (NF525) B 0498
Microsoft Dynamcis 365 Commerce v.44
Numéro de ligne 4
Numéro d'identification fiscale FR94 502 705 502
NAF code: 2599A
SIRET: 502 705 502 00040
Then there is a bar code with the first number above: FR00482500013276 and the legal information about the manufacturer:
Le Creuset France SAS
982 rue Olivier Deguise 02230 Fresnoy-le-Grand FR94 502 705 502
On the back of the casserole itself we see more numbers:
25001 28 090 2461
25185
And then again 024147086291 - now we have a relatively strong indication this is the identifier of the dish itself. Below that number we read TRA COC RD 28 VOL SA
Now that I registered all this here for eternity, "the proof of the pudding is in the eating" - is the vendor / manufacturer going to honor the warranty in the (however unlikely) case that the dish reveals a defect?
Furthermore, given that the name of the buyer is not on the proof of purchase, if my wife bequeaths it to my daughters and a defect appears after her passing, is the "lifetime" warranty still valid?
