The magazine “60 millions de consommateurs” published an edifying study by the fraud repression department on the abuses perpetrated by many professionals during home repairs.

Lawyer Roland Perez explains how to protect yourself, Sunday on Europe 1. 

The abuses perpetrated by professionals during home repairs are increasing.

In any case, this is the edifying observation of a study of "

60 million consumers

".

Lawyer Roland Perez explained on Europe 1 on Sunday the protections enjoyed by consumers.

>> Find all of Roland Perez's reviews in podcast and replay here

Plumbers and locksmiths particularly targeted 

The public authorities have for a very long time taken care to clean up the unscrupulous practices of certain companies which take advantage of the distress of families, who urgently ask them for a water leak that cannot wait, forgotten, lost or stolen keys, a window broken or a faulty boiler.

You also know the slogan of Bercy: "do not get ripped off".

Plumbers and locksmiths are mainly targeted by the latest fraud investigation, and we learn that out of 640 repair companies checked in 2019, 407 were in violation or 64% of companies checked.

Non-delivery of a quote, absence of the right of withdrawal ...

The offenses targeted are in particular the failure to provide a quote, which is however mandatory from the first euro to be invoiced, or the failure to display prices on the company's website, which is precisely the channel through which the individual came to appeal to the company.

Another violation: the lack of information given on the customer's right of withdrawal and its possible waiver on the pretext of the urgent nature of the repair.

The false advertisements of many companies are also targeted, in the form of brochures placed in mailboxes bearing the colors and logos of official institutions such as the police, the gendarmerie, the town hall or even the fraud department to make believe in the guarantee of these public services and thus give confidence to customers.

These false advertisements can be worth to the companies concerned, a fine of 100,000 €.

And then finally there are also the false positive opinions left on the sites and discussion forums, or on the yellow pages or even sometimes false qualifications presented by certain professionals.

Find approved service providers or report abuses on the SignalConso platform

But then, what should be done to guard against these abuses when we precisely need urgent repairs?

You must have the telephone numbers of serious and trusted providers on hand, which you will have already selected before you find yourself in an emergency situation.

Word of mouth works very well in this case.

You can also select serious businesses near your home from SYNADEP, the national home repair union.

And above all, it is necessary to require a quote with the mention of all intervention costs, including the cost of spare parts.

You should not hesitate either to make a report in the event of fraud, on the new platform of the DGCCRF set up for all abuses.

This is the platform: SignalConso.