While many French people have started to think about their vacation bookings, scams abound on the internet, with fake ads.
On Europe 1, Sunday, lawyer Roland Perez gives the keys to guard against these unpleasant surprises that could tarnish this long-awaited rest.
DECRYPTION
Summer is approaching, but we do not yet know if we will be able to travel far from home, due to the coronavirus crisis. The French are therefore interested in renting houses for holidays in France, with stays abroad which seem compromised. A famous site has also just been questioned before the Paris court by nearly a hundred victims of false advertisements for the rental of houses, as the lawyer Roland Perez explains in his morning column. Europe 1, Sunday.
The pandemic is having side effects on consumer law, and vacation home rentals are a prime example.
Nearly a hundred families have browsed a well-known and rather reliable site in an attempt to rent a dream home for the summer.
They literally got ripped off because, after spotting the rental which was very attractive in terms of price and photos, they were asked to chat directly with the owner while assuring them that this exchange would be done with the blessing of the site connection, since the brand's graphic charter was displayed with each email sent.
What, of course, reassure future vacationers.
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Subsequently, sums were sent for the reservation, sometimes several thousand euros, to a bank account which appeared to be that of the site, for a house which either did not exist or did not have never been the subject of any reservation.
A group action was therefore launched last week against the site in question, for violation of the obligation "to ensure the absence of illegal content".
It must be said that the advertisements concerned, despite the complaints, sometimes reappear on the site in question.
Duplicate the ad and photos
How do you go about not getting ripped off?
The first tip is to duplicate the ad in your search engine to check if this ad exists on other sites that could be more or less serious, which could alert you.
The same must be done for the photos.
Which, in the event of scams, are taken from real estate agency ad sites.
A particularly attractive price for a house with a lot of comfort and many features should also awaken the Sherlock Holmes that lies dormant in every potential buyer.
Above all, think carefully before sending money: you have to make sure that it is indeed the referral site that will be the recipient, if necessary by trying to reach them to ensure the transaction, without forget to check that there are indeed customer reviews.
You could try to join these to complete your survey.
And make sure you book with peace of mind for this summer.