The French Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes (DGCCRF) have finalised evaluating all the data provided by its CPC counterparts and is launching a nation-wide inquiry on the acts covered in the complaints, which have also affected a large number of French consumers.

We have been informed by Brian Hayes MEP that European Commissioner for Consumers, Vera Jourová, is continuing to follow this issue very closely, in the context of f the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Regulation.

In response to the plight of hundreds of Irish owners, Brian Hayes has been instrumental in bringing this issue to the attention of the European Commission.

According to Ms Jourová:

The DGCCRF is currently performing checks in order to identify the involved traders which are still active on the market, as many asset management companies have gone into liquidation, before it can subsequently initiate the necessary enforcement actions which will follow against the concerned traders.

This is a major dossier that requires significant resources both at national and local level in order to conduct all the necessary investigations, and we are assured that the French authorities will take due account of the seriousness of the case.

We are awaiting confirmation on the exact number of complaints the DGCCRF has received, and on the scope of their investigation. As many owners are keenly aware, the parties involved in the contrivance of the #FrenchLeaseback properties scandal are not limited to developers and sales agents, but also include operators, notaires and French banks.

See more on the Commissioner Jourová’s call for investigation into #FrenchLeaseback mis-selling  and on the CCPC’s role in bringing this to the attention of the DGCCRF under EU rules for cross-border consumer complaints and the Dec 2017 update from the CCPC.