Unfair canvassing

How to avoid energy retrofit scams?

Publié le 12 mars 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Unfair canvassing, obscure quotes, hidden credits, false quality labels... the aid for energy renovation offered by the State gives rise to attempts at fraud by certain professionals. How do you identify them and protect yourself from them? Service-Public.fr informs you.

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Incomplete or incomprehensible quotes and invoices, hidden credits, false RGE labels, violation of rights legislation. These are the most frequent scams in the field of energy renovation works.

France Rénov' and the National Agency for Information on Housing (ANIL) give recommendations and inform on the good reflexes to have to guard against it.

Fraudulent canvassing is practiced in various ways:

  • by telephone;
  • by email or SMS, the issuer posing as a certified body;
  • at home.

FYI  

the administrations do not engage in any canvassing for energy renovation work or for the allocation of financial aid; a company cannot claim to canvass you from the Anah (National Housing Agency) or a public body.

Companies may not set up an account for you or use your tax information or contact information.

Good reflexes to protect yourself from fraudulent solicitation

  • Do not give any personal information during a solicitation (tax information, income, etc.).
  • Never leave your personal details or tax IDs on sites offering energy retrofits. A malicious third party could use them to apply for state aid.
  • Never sign a document during a first visit, take the time to make comparative estimates before any decision.
  • Verify that the withdrawal period of 14 days is clearly mentioned in the document.
  • Receive work with vigilance, verify its conformity with the estimate before signing the receipt of the work.

Please note

the law of 24 july 2020 prohibits door-to-door telephone sales for the sale of equipment or the carrying out of energy renovation works in a dwelling. 

Energy renovation work: check the information about the company approaching you

To benefit from certain energy renovation aids, such as MaPrimeRénov' or eco-loan at zero rate (eco-PTZ), you need to call on a professional certified RGE (recognized guaranteed environment), competent to carry out work or an energy audit.

In case of doubt on a company, the two operators France Rénov' and ANIL accompany you in your steps:

To report a problem with a company labeled EGR, complete the dedicated form on the website of France Rénov'.

You can also check for legal companies by visiting the Trade and businesses Register (TBR) or the website Infograft.

FYI  

you can use the number 33,700 to report fraudulent solicitation:

  • or by SMS, typing ‘voice spam’ followed by the caller number;
  • or via the dedicated page 33700.fr.

You can also report your problem on the site cyber malware.gouv.fr or on the platform SignalConso.

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