Energy renovation: Anah and DGCCRF warn against scams and identity theft

After 10.000 reports received in 2022 and 23.000 in 2023, the DGCCRF reported on Wednesday 30.000 reports made since the start of 2024 concerning the energy renovation sector.

And on the side of the National Housing Agency (Anah), which studies the Ma Prime Rénov' aid application files, nearly 1.000 reports were made during the year 2023.

“Reports have only increased since 2020, when the public aid Ma Prime Rénov' was set up,” stressed Valérie Mancret-Taylor, general director of Anah.

The main risk is identity theft, because all that is needed is information about a person's identity and a quote for work to start a procedure to apply for assistance with energy renovation.

"We never communicate personal or tax information" on the internet, by telephone or to an unknown tradesman, because "the fraud schemes are based on this personal information", warns the director of Anah, citing the tax identifier, the bank identity statement (RIB) or the identity card number.

Be especially careful with online simulators that ask for this type of information to calculate the aid to which a household could be entitled: the tax ID is one of the main pieces of information needed to create a file with Anah, and therefore a gateway for possible fraud.

In addition to false files, canvassing, which is prohibited in the energy renovation sector, represents 80% of the reports received by the DGCCRF.

"In 2023, we inspected 800 establishments" among which "50% of irregular practices" were noted and "gave rise to repressive action", indicated Sarah Lacoche, Director General of Competition, Consumption and Fraud Control.

Penalties range from warnings for minor breaches to criminal prosecution for cases that are most damaging to consumers, such as misleading information about the identity of the company or what it offers.

In January, sentences of up to four years in prison were handed down by the Limoges criminal court against around fifteen people prosecuted for a large-scale renovation work scam that claimed more than 200 victims.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.