In the top 10 scams flooding the popular market, photovoltaics explodes at the top. Last April, on the stand of an exhibition, Nicole, (not her real name), a young retired Catalan woman, suffered the brunt of a double scam set up by a solar panel installation company. A company whose branches are developing rapidly on the Mediterranean coast.
The scam, of which Nicole is the victim, took place on April 12, 2024 on an energy renovation stand at a fair in Perpignan. Interested in solar panels, the visitor from Perpignan was approached by a salesperson.
“In no time, I found myself sitting in front of this salesman who told me to draw up a simple quote, that it would not commit me in any way.” Nicole provides him with all the requested information, when suddenly the employee cites computer connection problems. His computer would crash. “He takes my telephone number and warns me that I will receive a code from his company, to communicate to him without delay.”
A few moments later, the file code arrives by SMS and Nicole sends it to him, without thinking anything bad. “I worked for 40 years in a company, I know my stuff, I never imagined that this code would be used to validate an estimate. For me, a quote is a quote, not a contract!”she complains when she discovers the fraudulent practice the next day.
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The code sent by SMS is valid for an electronic signature
At the end of the line, the same man contacts her for additional information for the mandatory submission of a photovoltaic installation request to the town hall.. “Already ?”asks the customer who sees herself insisting the day before with the merchant. “I had made it clear to him that I would only do the work if I obtained state aid, for me it was very clear.” Nicole is still unaware that the premium will be derisory compared to the amount of the estimate. Above all, she discovers, by calling the seller back to put an end to the project, that she can no longer cancel the purchase.
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Through the black magic of the SMS code, the quote was transformed on the stand itself into a contract duly signed electronically by the consumer. “I was amazed.” How can we think that an encrypted text message, sent without any further explanation, would validate a proposal made at a trade show? Without the slightest hand delivery of documents. “I received them immediately in my mailbox. 22 pages of general conditions”, during which Nicole discovers between the lines, written in lower case, a key sentence: no retraction is possible, no delay granted in the event of acquisition at a fair or show. “However, I hadn’t bought anything, I had only consulted and I was trapped”, is indignant from the Perpignan resident who sends a registered letter to the company to inform it of the cancellation of her quote set at 14,333 euros less the Enedis bonus, or 13,283 euros for 3 kW, or six solar panels. Not really a bargain price either…
At fairs and exhibitions, no withdrawal period possible
Regardless, furious Nicole turns to the UFC-Que Choisir association. “They had already dealt with this company. Upon reading the documents, they realized that it had not complied with certain information rules. The dispute was long and difficult but the advisor managed to denounce the transaction .” At fairs and exhibitions, sellers are required to display that the consumer does not benefit from a right of withdrawal; the warning was missing. “Fortunately, I had not paid a deposit because given the pressure that the salesperson put on me, I would have won my case, but I would certainly never have been reimbursed”, believes Nicole. Cooled in his desire to equip himself with solar energy.
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