Well present in Haute-Marne (Saint-Dizier and Chaumont), very active, the UFC Que Choisir association chaired by Jean-Paul Pierron is looking for new volunteers to carry out all its missions: advising, defending its members and conduct shelf surveys.
Who says territory and economic fabric says commerce. Who says commerce says consumers. And who says consumers often says UFC What to choose. Well, not everywhere: a department like Aube, a city like Troyes does not have antennas as structured as those installed in Saint-Dizier and Chaumont. In Haute-Marne, the association was created on June 16, 1976 by Michel Treilhaud; it then had a single office, in Saint-Dizier. The Chaumont office was opened in April 2012.
In both structures, volunteers receive people who need help to resolve their consumer dispute or come to seek advice. The main subjects covered are disputes over housing, banking, automobiles, home furnishings, energy, insurance, various energy and communications operators.
When a consumer contacts the association, whether via the UFC website or directly, a physical meeting is organized. The person presents their case within one of the two offices; she benefits from initial advice. They are free. For the UFC to take up the issue and manage its development, the consumer must then join the association. It will cost him around thirty euros, which is often very little compared to the sums involved that he can hope to recover. You should know that UFC Que Choisir wins 60 to 70% of the cases in which it is involved.
Around five files are processed every Tuesday during the Chaumont office. Around fifteen cases are processed each week in Haute-Marne, for disputes ranging from 100 to 30,000 euros.
Furthermore, surveys initiated by the federation are carried out at the local level by a team of volunteer investigators. They are carried out discreetly in different brands and/or commercial structures on targeted products. “In the future, I would like surveys to be carried out more regularly, particularly in the south of the department. For this we are always looking for volunteers » specifies President Jean-Paul Pierron. Those interested should contact the association.
The association has around 500 members. Around fifteen volunteers participate in the smooth running of the association: around ten for handling disputes, four for investigations and one for administration.
Jean-Paul Pierron also specifies that he would like to recruit new volunteers, because he emphasizes “ we are increasingly in demand in departmental bodies in which we participate. Like the Departmental Commercial Development Commission (CDAC), the Departmental Council for the Environment and Health and Technological Risks (CODERST) and several others, but also through increasingly numerous exchanges with the federation to participate in regional commissions.
Volunteers have devoted more than 3,200 hours to serving the association to handle disputes, participate in various meetings and carry out surveys. The president takes the opportunity to thank the volunteers for their perfect involvement, but also for their personal investment in 2023. The volunteers entered 276 disputes, they received around 400 people and responded to numerous emails and telephone calls.
During the last general meeting, the association wanted to raise awareness among the members present about the precautions to take to avoid scams. Major Thomas from the Chaumont police station then reviewed all the traps to avoid in order not to be fooled and supported these examples with some figures. In the police zone, in Saint-Dizier and Chaumont, since the beginning of March, around ten complaints have been recorded relating to scams. The major clarified and warned that “in most cases you will not see your money again; I advise you to apply a few rules to avoid the risk of fraud.” He also advised reducing purchases on the Internet except on secure sites. When approaching at home, the professional must present a professional card and your bank card code should not be given even to relatives.
Contacts
UFC, Chaumont. 03 25 03 26 97; [email protected].
UFC, Saint-Dizier. 03 25 56 26 59; [email protected].
