Beware fraud when buying winter wood in France

Buyers are being warned to beware of fraud as they begin to stock up on logs and wood pellets for winter.

Numerous complaints were lodged with consumer protection body the Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes (DGCCRF) following the start of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which triggered a sharp rise in energy prices.

In some areas, the price of wood pellets more than doubled, even though almost all are produced domestically.

The DGCCRF also reported outright fraud in several cases, including people posing as farmers offering wood for sale at attractive prices on free platforms such as Leboncoin or Facebook, complete with photos. 

They took payment for orders – and then vanished.

The DGCCRF, which has offices in each department, carried out inspections during the winter of 2023-24.

Its officers rarely deal with the public. 

Instead, the Ministry of Finance, overseeing the DGCCRF, operates an online platform called SignalConso, where consumers can complain.

Of the 185 merchants inspected, 45 were issued with warnings, while 29 received injunctions – legal orders to take corrective action.

It is estimated that seven million households heat with wood, either as logs or pellets.

Inspectors found:

• More than 50% of businesses failed to offer customers the legally required right of withdrawal from contracts;
• 37% did not display their prices clearly; 
• More than half of those using telephone marketing had not checked lists against Bloctel, France’s do-not-call register;
• At least one business falsely claimed a partnership with EDF;
• 62% failed to inform customers of their right to approach the médiateur de la consommation or the médiateur national de l’énergie in the event of a dispute. Online sellers lacked regulatory information, and 70% of contracts had illegal clauses, including limits on compensation.