France launches English version of customer complaints service
An English-language version of the French government’s online consumer protection platform has been launched as the country welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors for the Rugby World Cup.
The English-langauge SignalConso platform - also available as an app in French and English - offers consumers the ability to formally register complaints about customer service and report any problems such as a lack of available information, faulty or dangerous products, issues with transport, accommodation, restaurants, taxis, private-hire vehicles, or car rentals.
A total 14 percent of all complaints registered on the French SignalConso platform concern sectors that are related to tourism, a major source of revenue in France in any given year, but especially as the country is hosting Rugby World Cup 2023, and is gearing up for the Olympic Games in Paris next summer.
An English-language FAQ section is also available for English-speaking visitors to major sporting events.
The platform is intended to encourage the amicable settlement of disputes between consumers and businesses - and the English-language version is intended to help anglophones with more limited French find answers to any consumer-related problems they may face during their visit.
The government also said that it would also allow officials with the Direction Générale de la Concurrence, de la Consommation et de la Répression des Fraudes (DGCCRF) to detect fraud specifically targeting tourists more rapidly, and identify professionals who are the subject of numerous reports in tourist-oriented sectors.
READ ALSO The 14 scams that tourists in Paris should be careful of
Since SignalConso was launched in French in 2020, it has been used to file nearly 500,000 consumer protection reports to the DGCCRF.
Over the 12 months to May 2023, 195,000 reports were filed, including:
- 75,000 for online shopping.
- 23,000 for in-store purchases.
- 18,000 for renovation work.
- 14,000 concerning travel and leisure.
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The English-langauge SignalConso platform - also available as an app in French and English - offers consumers the ability to formally register complaints about customer service and report any problems such as a lack of available information, faulty or dangerous products, issues with transport, accommodation, restaurants, taxis, private-hire vehicles, or car rentals.
A total 14 percent of all complaints registered on the French SignalConso platform concern sectors that are related to tourism, a major source of revenue in France in any given year, but especially as the country is hosting Rugby World Cup 2023, and is gearing up for the Olympic Games in Paris next summer.
An English-language FAQ section is also available for English-speaking visitors to major sporting events.
The platform is intended to encourage the amicable settlement of disputes between consumers and businesses - and the English-language version is intended to help anglophones with more limited French find answers to any consumer-related problems they may face during their visit.
The government also said that it would also allow officials with the Direction Générale de la Concurrence, de la Consommation et de la Répression des Fraudes (DGCCRF) to detect fraud specifically targeting tourists more rapidly, and identify professionals who are the subject of numerous reports in tourist-oriented sectors.
READ ALSO The 14 scams that tourists in Paris should be careful of
Since SignalConso was launched in French in 2020, it has been used to file nearly 500,000 consumer protection reports to the DGCCRF.
Over the 12 months to May 2023, 195,000 reports were filed, including:
- 75,000 for online shopping.
- 23,000 for in-store purchases.
- 18,000 for renovation work.
- 14,000 concerning travel and leisure.
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