“Beware of a scam”: the story of an 89-year-old lady who was charged 3,000 euros to repair a leaking toilet faucet.
"Flee": another intervention at an exorbitant cost: 1,347 euros for the unclogging of pipes... The opinions left by Internet users concerning this company of "craftsmen" join the case dealt with on September 28 by the police officers of the 15th arrondissement.
That day, an 85-year-old man who lives rue Blomet pushes the door of the police station to file a complaint for abuse of weakness.
Two days earlier, following an electrical problem, he contacted a company specializing in various repairs and which had a storefront and whose address, according to Google, was in the 20th arrondissement.
A very simple repair invoiced at a (very) high price
Two men arrive at the home and find in the electrical panel that a fuse has melted.
The repair couldn't be simpler.
However, for the price that will be asked of him, the octogenarian could, for example, redo part of his bathroom… He must pay everyone the trifle of 2,283 euros, for a total of 4,566 euros.
The anti-crime brigade of the 15th arrondissement first finds and monitors the two suspects before arresting them.
One of them disputes the facts, the sum he requested corresponds to his work, he says.
The second, a mechanic by profession according to what he says, would have been present only to drive his comrade.
In their van, the agents discover a payment terminal as well as tools.
The two men, however, refused to give their codes to unlock their mobile phones.
For these facts, they will be tried next January by the Paris Criminal Court.
At least six other victims
Regarding the abuse of weakness, a preliminary investigation was opened by the Paris prosecutor's office.
The investigations notably made it possible to discover at least six other victims who all filed a complaint against the two men.
The victims of abuse of weakness can be elderly people, disabled people, people in psychological distress or minors.
According to the law, it is the act of taking advantage of a person's vulnerability by inciting him, for example, to pay for compensation at an unreasonable price.
The author faces three years' imprisonment and a fine of 375,000 euros.
Read alsoYvelines: the craftsman charges 40,000 euros for work worth 3,000
These overpriced repairs are often made possible thanks to leaflets that look like official documents on which emergency numbers are listed.
A UFC-Que Choisir volunteer warns: “You have to throw them away.
In case of emergency people have the reflex to call especially when it comes to elderly people who do not necessarily have the reflex to go on the Internet and consult the contact details of real craftsmen.
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