When taking possession of the house they had just built near La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime), Florian and Émilie received an email from the construction company, inviting them to pay the balance of their purchase. As they tell France 3, the two young owners then ask their bank to make a transfer of 176,000 euros. Only then, a few days later, the nightmare begins.
“The person in charge of our file within the construction company calls me and says: ‘I made the biggest mistake of my career, I got the wrong RIB’”, explains the owner to our colleagues from France 3. In fact, the RIB is that of a company craftsman, who did not even work on the site. If the couple took the news lightly at first, they then understood that the situation was much more serious: “The person did not return the money and spent more than 70,000 euros.”
The couple ordered to pay
After three years of proceedings, the two buyers were ordered to pay the balance, already paid, to the developer. A month after the judgment, Florian and Émilie received a visit from a bailiff, and the sequence of events is clear. Within a few weeks, they will be notified of the amount of the remaining amount due.
“As we don't have them, they will take from our salaries, the cars, then possibly the house,” protests the owner. And for good reason, today, the artisan has vanished into thin air. Added to this are the lawyer fees, which the two victims no longer have the means to pay. An online prize pool has been opened, Émilie and Florian are now counting on the generosity of the French to continue their fight.
France
