New warning over wood pellet scams in France

Police have issued a warning over scams when ordering firewood or wood pellets online.

The gendarmerie of the Sarthe department advised locals to “beware of unusually attractive prices” and to file a complaint if they fall victim to scams.

Read more: Scam alert: Too good to be true home firewood offers in France

Victims might receive a poor-quality product, nothing at all, or have their personal information stolen, the police force said in a Facebook post.

Several business owners have reported that fraudsters used their names and brands to create fake websites and rip off customers.

Consumer group UFC-Que Choisir advises you not to agree to pay via bank transfer before receiving the delivery, and to watch out for spelling mistakes and very fast or cheap delivery offers. Banks often refuse to refund the money once a transfer has been authorised.

Advice on detecting scams is also available in English at granulesdebois.org.

Nigel Dent, 77, transferred €197 to a firm called Energie du Pays, but never received the wood he ordered and was unable to get in touch with them.

Beforehand, he said, he had “checked out the company on Pages Jaune, Mappy and others to find that they had registered the company and had a Siret number and location”.

It was only later that he searched and saw that others had reported the scam.

You can report fraudulent sites at signal-arnaques.com.

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