Hundreds of dealers of new and used vehicles have been singled out by a survey by the Directorate General for Consumption, Competition and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) published on Monday. The survey was conducted between 2021 and 2022 among 2,200 points of sale.
Result: “nearly two thirds of the establishments presented anomalies, of varying severity”, according to the DGCCRF. These anomalies related to “good consumer information” or “fair commercial practices in the sector”. Second-hand cars or two-wheelers, for example, were presented as new or “first-hand”.
Optional services “imposed” on customers
On used vehicles, the labeling omitted certain essential information (date of entry into service, history, mileage, origin). More or less significant reductions in the odometer have also been noted, up to a reduction of 121,000 km, as has the sale of damaged vehicles without warning customers.
Some establishments also billed “packages” of up to 1,200 euros for various services on a new vehicle without specifying that they were optional. However, the law provides that the preparation costs, included in the total price, are limited to washing the bodywork, polishing, checking fluid levels, supplying and installing a set of license plates.
More neglect than anything
In the case of purchases with credit, the obligations were “not always clearly indicated” and the contracts “sometimes unbalanced in favor of the professional”, notes the DGCCRF. Some also offered additional commercial guarantees in exchange for taking out a loan from a partner organization, at higher than average rates.
The DGCCRF has therefore drawn up more than 1,600 warnings, 1,500 injunctions, 320 criminal records and 170 records of administrative fines. “In many cases, however, it was more negligence than a desire to overcome regulatory obligations,” tempers the organization. “Professionals reacted quickly to comply. »