Unfinished business, lack of expertise, poor execution, installations offered at a ridiculous price, exaggerated promises of performance… Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister for Energy Transformation, announced last Friday a plan to strengthen checkpoints and support for people renovating their homes, facing increase in fraud.
In 2022, the DGCCRF actually recorded 11,000 reports from consumers related to building energy renovation and fraud in particular. And 17,000 for the period from January to September 2023.
HomeServe and its energy services business HomeServe Energy Renovation investigates best practices to detect fraud.
1) Collect key information about the business or craftsman
It is recommended to do your research on a professional or company by checking as much information as possible such as their website, date of establishment of the company, their siren number, qualifications of the professional, customer reviews, etc.
2) Beware of “trusted” companies
Faced with the proliferation of energy renovation projects, some companies present themselves over the phone as “commissioned” by a ministry or affiliated with a public body to encourage individuals to embark on a renovation project. “While cold calling in the energy renovation sector is highly regulated, it is most likely a scam,” believes HomeServe.
3) Check the label of the company to receive support
Before starting energy renovation work, you need to make sure that the company or craftsman has RGE (Recognized Environmental Guarantor) certification. This is necessary to use certain support for energy renovation, such as MaPrimeRénov, energy saving certificates (CEE) or ecological loan with zero interest rate (eko-PTZ).
To check this, the government’s directory of RGE approved professionals can be consulted.
4) Study the quote
“When reading the price offer, it is necessary to communicate with the company and consult all the documents provided. In fact, you need to be able to entrust the completion of your energy renovation project to someone you trust, HomeServe points out. A reliable company must be transparent about the details of work, costs incurred, assistance, etc. If some information is unclear or difficult to obtain, it is best to be cautious. »
In case of doubt, it is advisable to compare the offer proposed by another expert in order to get a different opinion on the amount of the estimate or on the priority works.
5) Report scammers
In case of proven fraud, the fraud must be reported to the public authorities, DGCCRF, on the official SignalConso platform * to prevent other people from becoming victims. “If there are issues with an RGE-labeled company, it’s also important to report them,” says HomeServe.
* Free government service for consumers to report problems with businesses