The Senate adopted a law aimed at prohibiting any canvassing concerning the personal training account (CPF), a practice now punishable by a fine of up to €375,000. A step forward to limit fraud, but that may not be enough…
The French should soon be less harassed on the phone, by SMS or by e-mail by strangers inviting them to settle their personal training account (CPF). Indeed, this type of canvassing will finally become outlawed. On December 8, the Senate unanimously and definitively adopted a bill already voted in the National Assembly to this effect. “I mean here all the government’s determination to prevent any abuse of the fundamental right of access to training”affirmed before the senators the Minister Delegate in charge of Vocational Education and Training, Carole Grandjean, as reported 20 minutes. This law “will give us effective levers to better prevent, fight and sanction CPF abuse and fraud”since it will allow “to prohibit abusive canvassing and to sanction more effectively those who practice it, including on online social networks”.
As the text is identical to that voted by the National Assembly, it is therefore definitively adopted. Environmentalist Mélanie Vogel tried to change it by extending the ban on “commercial canvassing not consented to all areas of commercial prospecting, not just the CPF”but elected officials were asked not to make any changes so as not to delay its entry into force, which should take place in early 2023. Subsequently, Carole Grandjean wishes “complete this regulatory action of the CPF, by ensuring that it is better targeted towards the real needs of the economy, that is to say towards the professions in tension as much as the professions of the future”. A nice step forward hailed by the UFC-Que Choisir, which nevertheless points out the limits.
Spam CPF: a very lucrative business for scammers
the personal training account (CPF) is a public funding scheme that gives French people access to training available via the “Mon Compte Formation” platform. It was launched in January 2019 to guarantee that any active person can acquire training rights in euros – and no longer in hours. Each year, the account is funded up to 500 euros for employees and 800 euros for those who are the least qualified or who are disabled. Of course, ill-intentioned people very quickly knew how to take advantage of it and make a very lucrative business out of it. Many unserious companies take advantage of the weak control exercised over the training courses eligible for the CPF to offer their services, without the person being able to know whether it is serious or bogus training. Some do not hesitate to indulge in commercial and abusive practices in order to force the hand, invoking the compulsory nature of training, the expiry of rights, in order to register the person against his will, to divert his money via fictitious formations, or even to steal his identity! A scourge that single-handedly represented a fraud of more than 43 million euros in 2021, against “only” 7.8 million the previous year. So it was time to act…
Spam CPF: a law to put an end to canvassing
To fight against this nuisance, the National Assembly had voted, on October 6, a bill filed by MoDem and Independent MP Bruno Fuchs seeking to ban “any commercial prospecting of holders of a personal training account” to protect workers’ personal data and training credits. A text which obtained unanimity from its first reading – a rare enough fact to be underlined – with the 73 votes of the deputies present that day. She opted for a short text – three articles – going to the essentials . The first article aims to prohibit any form of canvassing concerning the CPF when its purpose is to collect personal data or to conclude contracts for training courses eligible for the system. The only case where the person can be contacted is when training is already underway. Otherwise, it is the creditor of the CPF who must go to the organizations. Agents from the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCF) will be empowered to flush out and record potential breaches, which will be punished by an administrative fine of up to 75,000 euros for natural person, and 375,000 euros for a legal person.
Article 2 authorizes the sharing of information between the Caisse des dépôts et consignations, the France competences institution and the other State services responsible for competition, the repression of fraud and the control of professional training (DGCCRF , DREETS, etc.), in order to encourage their collaboration and, thus, to avoid fraud, to carry out checks and to pronounce sanctions. A third and final article has been added to the two previous ones and provides that training organizations will have to go through a referencing procedure on the “My Training Account” portal. In addition, the subcontractors of a training company will also be subject to the same requirements as the company which has been approved by the CPF, in order to prevent certain “praise their certifications to unscrupulous operators”according to Bruno Fuchs.
If this bill is very well received, some still point out its limits. This is the case of UFC-Que Choisir, which has some reservations. While she welcomes the step forward taken by Parliament, she does not however think that, in practice, this will change much. In fact, companies and scammers will still be able to continue their canvassing, they will simply no longer be able to explicitly mention the CPF. Moreover, the reaction, in addition to being limited, happens as “every time late, after thousands of victims have been taken in”. This is why the consumer association is calling for a total ban on cold calling, whatever it may be. As a reminder, the French State has already banned canvassing in the field of energy renovation and regulated that on insurance. In any case, if you receive a call concerning your training account, hang up, because the Caisse des dépôts, the Ministry of Labor or Pôle emploi will never contact you by telephone about the CPF. In case of problem, report the scame.