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gp1234
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I'm sure none of the streetwise members of this forum would be taken in by this con, but just in case... 
A while back in the local Intermarché shopping mall - hence, one assumes, present with the permission of the landlord - I was stopped by an attractive young lady offering free entries into a prize draw - the lucky winner taking home a free water softener worth 2,800 euros. It was early in the morning, pre-first coffee time of day, and so I unthinkingly filled out the form - name and address, phone number. A warning bell tinkled distantly when the young lady asked if I had ever considered getting a water softener. Anyway I answered yes, as I have recently been landed with a massive bill for the descaling of the water tank in my boiler, all the gunge having reduced the hot water pressure to virtually zero.
Second warning bells tinkled even more faintly, when I realised I'd been given no receipt for my 'prize draw' entry. Still I've never won anything in my life, so I soon forgot about it.
Yesterday the phone goes first thing, and a charming lady announces that I am the lucky winner. Not only had I won the water softener, but there was free installation as well. When would I like their technician to call round to check out the installation and see what was needed? An appointment was made, and for a minute or two after the call I was under the illusion that I really had won something - until my brain clicked into gear (caffeine needed), and I decided to check out how this con worked. I knew it had to be a scam, but forewarned is forearmed.
Thanks be to Google, within minutes I was reading of several people, on French language forums, who had been conned... or come close. Apparently it works along the following lines:
The impression of being above board is conveyed first of all by the location of the first contact. A shopping mall, a big exhibition centre, that sort of thing. Rarely is the approach made in the street. At this time the salesperson establishes whether you actually might need a water softener (quite a reasonable question, in the circumstances, given the nature of the prize). Another question you are asked is whether you own the property where you live.
After a reasonable period of time, all entrants into the 'draw' receive a call, announcing they are winners. An appointment is made for the visit from the so-called 'technician'.
Who then turns up at your door? A cravated salesman or two, complete with masses of paperwork. The 2,800 euro (allegedly) piece of equipment is indeed free. The installation is indeed free. But then over an hour or more of intense technical waffle, geared to reduce the intended victim of the scam to a state of bemused exhaustion, they ask you to sign a compulsory maintenance contract, for a minimum term. All manner of techniques, some bordering on the illegal, are used to convince you that this is indeed a requirement under the law. Of course it is not - but without this signature, the scam has failed. For the inflated, exorbitant sum of x hundred euros a year for ten years, you are in fact paying for a piece of equipment many times over that is likely worth a fraction of the alleged 2,800 euros. If it's worth as much as 1,000 euros I would be surprised. And by the time the contract is up, you'll have paid many times that in 'maintenance' charges.
The 'technician' couldn't find us today. After driving around for 45 minutes, it finally dawned on him to telephone to say that he was lost. I told him it was too late by then, so he had had a wasted journey. He's supposed to call to make another appointment. I'm hesitating - should I tell him I know about the scam and that he hasn't a hope in hell of it working on me, or should I let him keep the appointment and then tell him face to face what I think of their con. Haven't decided yet!
A while back in the local Intermarché shopping mall - hence, one assumes, present with the permission of the landlord - I was stopped by an attractive young lady offering free entries into a prize draw - the lucky winner taking home a free water softener worth 2,800 euros. It was early in the morning, pre-first coffee time of day, and so I unthinkingly filled out the form - name and address, phone number. A warning bell tinkled distantly when the young lady asked if I had ever considered getting a water softener. Anyway I answered yes, as I have recently been landed with a massive bill for the descaling of the water tank in my boiler, all the gunge having reduced the hot water pressure to virtually zero.
Second warning bells tinkled even more faintly, when I realised I'd been given no receipt for my 'prize draw' entry. Still I've never won anything in my life, so I soon forgot about it.
Yesterday the phone goes first thing, and a charming lady announces that I am the lucky winner. Not only had I won the water softener, but there was free installation as well. When would I like their technician to call round to check out the installation and see what was needed? An appointment was made, and for a minute or two after the call I was under the illusion that I really had won something - until my brain clicked into gear (caffeine needed), and I decided to check out how this con worked. I knew it had to be a scam, but forewarned is forearmed.
Thanks be to Google, within minutes I was reading of several people, on French language forums, who had been conned... or come close. Apparently it works along the following lines:
The impression of being above board is conveyed first of all by the location of the first contact. A shopping mall, a big exhibition centre, that sort of thing. Rarely is the approach made in the street. At this time the salesperson establishes whether you actually might need a water softener (quite a reasonable question, in the circumstances, given the nature of the prize). Another question you are asked is whether you own the property where you live.
After a reasonable period of time, all entrants into the 'draw' receive a call, announcing they are winners. An appointment is made for the visit from the so-called 'technician'.
Who then turns up at your door? A cravated salesman or two, complete with masses of paperwork. The 2,800 euro (allegedly) piece of equipment is indeed free. The installation is indeed free. But then over an hour or more of intense technical waffle, geared to reduce the intended victim of the scam to a state of bemused exhaustion, they ask you to sign a compulsory maintenance contract, for a minimum term. All manner of techniques, some bordering on the illegal, are used to convince you that this is indeed a requirement under the law. Of course it is not - but without this signature, the scam has failed. For the inflated, exorbitant sum of x hundred euros a year for ten years, you are in fact paying for a piece of equipment many times over that is likely worth a fraction of the alleged 2,800 euros. If it's worth as much as 1,000 euros I would be surprised. And by the time the contract is up, you'll have paid many times that in 'maintenance' charges.
The 'technician' couldn't find us today. After driving around for 45 minutes, it finally dawned on him to telephone to say that he was lost. I told him it was too late by then, so he had had a wasted journey. He's supposed to call to make another appointment. I'm hesitating - should I tell him I know about the scam and that he hasn't a hope in hell of it working on me, or should I let him keep the appointment and then tell him face to face what I think of their con. Haven't decided yet!
