Particularly vigilant on the prices of masks and hydroalcoholic gels during the health crisis, the DGCCRF said on Monday that it had carried out 41,600 checks and tracked down scams to anti-Covid-19 "miracle" products.
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From April, the General Directorate for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) worked in collaboration with customs, the gendarmerie and financial and tax controllers, in a national "task force" against fraud and coronavirus scams.
"There were twelve + withdrawal-recall + hydroalcoholic gels and we found batches of non-compliant masks as part of the task force which gave rise to withdrawals from the market or marketing bans", explained the Director of the DGCCRF, Virginie Beaumeunier, during a press conference.
Insufficient dose of alcohol
Some hydroalcoholic gels contained, for example, an insufficient dose of alcohol for satisfactory disinfection. Agents have also been trained in internet checks to identify "scams, such as fake disinfectant lamps, fake sterilizers, fake food supplements", detailed Virginie Beaumeunier.
"In the coming months, the DGCCRF will be particularly vigilant on payment deadlines, which are likely to lead to chain bankruptcies", for his part assured the Minister for SMEs, Alain Griset, adding that "exemplary sanctions" will be applied to bad payers who have benefited from state aid.
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In 2019, some 22 million euros in fines for non-compliance with payment deadlines were imposed on 209 companies, according to the annual report of the DGCCRF published on Monday. By targeting "everyday fraudsters", the management checked nearly 100,000 establishments and 15,000 websites and recorded more than 55,000 consumer complaints.