According to UFC-Que Choisir, the law adopted in early October to fight against CPF scams does not really solve the problem.
The consumer association specifies that if this law is a step in the right direction, its actions should remain very limited. Indeed, it only concerns the CPF. Thus, cold calling for more or less serious training organizations can continue without problem.
The National Assembly finally reacts to the abuses surrounding the CPF
Few are the lucky ones today who have never had to struggle on the phone against aggressive cold-calling to follow training courses without paying thanks to their CPF account. For several years now, many companies have been taking advantage of the weak control exercised over the training courses eligible for the Personal Training Account to offer their services this way, with no real way of differentiating them from real serious organizations. Sometimes offering iPads or cashback to those who followed them, these training courses, on the other hand, usually have little educational value and owe their success only to their apparent free nature.
Faced with a problem that was becoming more and more visible, the French authorities finally reacted at the beginning of the year, and many of these bogus formations were deregistered from the list. But, obviously, not all of them. The intense telephone canvassing to promote them, which has not stopped, is proof of this. This is why the National Assembly decided, at the beginning of October, to take action by adopting at first reading a bill to simply ban cold calling mentioning the CPF. The bill must still be accepted by senators, but it is already criticized by UFC-Que Choisir.
A circumscribed and ineffective solution, according to UFC-Que Choisir
If the consumer association does not dispute the idea of the law, it explains on the other hand that it does not expect it to really change the situation. For its spokespersons, the limitation of this law to the CPF will allow more or less serious training organizations to continue to promote themselves by cold calling. The only difference is that they will no longer be able to explicitly mention the Personal Training Account in their pitch.
The UFC criticizes the government for reacting only belatedly and in an extremely circumscribed manner to this kind of untimely calls or scams. This lack of anticipation therefore gives scammers and call centers time to turn around and find a new deal as soon as the old one is compromised. The association’s solution to this, which it has been defending for many years, is to simply ban cold calling.
Sources: Freebox Universe, Administrative procedures
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