Catering professionals are warning about a fraudulent reservation site which lists thousands of establishments in the country against their will.
A scam disguised as a booking platform. The Resto-reza.com site, which lists thousands of restaurants, offers a pseudo table reservation service.
But it is in fact a scam since it is based on a hidden subscription to a “concierge” service billed at 50 euros per month. The restaurants listed have no connection with the platform and report a scam.
A hidden subscription
Users who arrive on the Resto-reza.com site must enter their location and the type of restaurant they want to try. Once the choice is validated, the platform asks them to enter their bank details to pay a reservation fee of 0.01 cents. A sum which may seem insignificant and which many Internet users, especially older people, can pay without asking any questions. But a very well hidden mention appears at the very bottom of the page.
“By clicking on 'book', I confirm that I have read and accepted the T&Cs (3 days free then 50 euros for 7 hours per month), and the transmission of my contact details to the restaurant”, we can read.
By paying the supposed 0.01 cent fee, Internet users will in reality be charged 50 euros four days after making the reservation, and this at the rate of once a month.
This is what happened to several customers, including two retirees who live in Armentières, in the North. Questioned by TF1, they explained that they had fallen into the trap of sponsored ads on Google by wanting to book on their restaurant's website.
“The confusion was total and I really believed that it was the same site,” says Jean-François.
Fortunately, the couple identified the scam in time and managed to cancel the transaction by contacting their bank.
Catering professionals warn
If many restaurants are raising the alert on their Facebook page, the Union of Hotel Trades and Industries (UMIH) as well as the Groupement des Hôtelleries et Restaurations de France have also reacted.
“If restaurateurs are not the primary victims of this scam, they may have to deal with unhappy, or even angry, customers who sometimes go so far as to post negative reviews about the establishment even though the latter does not “it has nothing to do with it”, warns the UMIH of Allier.
React quickly
If you have been tricked by this platform, contact your bank immediately to block current direct debits and request cancellation of the subscription.
It is also possible and strongly recommended to file a complaint for fraud with the competent authorities and to report the site on platforms such as Signal Conso. The latter is responsible for centralizing reports of fraudulent practices to transmit them to the competent organizations.
Finally, to avoid this type of scam, always favor reservations directly via a restaurant's official website or by telephone.
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