SUMMER SCAMS | M6 | Zone Interdite

Every year the arrival of summer signals the return of the scams. The vacationer is the ideal target for professionals with dubious methods, but also for outright crooks. A team from the Tony Comiti press agency carried out an investigation for M6 and the Zone Interdite magazine programme on several of the flagship sectors in the summer vacation industry. The results are alarming.

First, it’s the campsites that pass themselves off for something they are not. Outwardly three-star, but with a service that is often disastrous: dilapidated and filthy rentals, lack of staff and safety measures. Every year, thousands of vacationers are tricked by professionals who don’t hesitate to attract customers with deceitful advertising.

For the crooks, no scam is too great. Even for the summer’s star performer: the recreational vehicle… As numerous buyers have discovered to their cost. Over the last few years, sales of these tourist vehicles have rocketed and with them, the scams. In particular, in the second-hand market. Some sell RVs that don’t exist, others invent schemes to sell off wrecks that break down after just a few miles at top prices.

But very often the scams are difficult for the consumer to detect. Such is the case of the summer fruit and vegetables that vendors offer during the vacations: strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries… If you listen to the merchants, the fruit has just come fresh from the adjacent field. However, the ‘made in France’ label is often a big con that impacts small market gardeners as well as large retailers. This investigation into fake French fruit reveals large scale fraud, and a well organised system.

Even more stealthy, the trap of so-called ‘hand-made’ ice cream. The label, often posted in large letters on the window, rings out like a guarantee of quality for consumers. And yet a legal loophole allows merchants to use industrial methods and offer for sale ice cream called ‘hand-made’ but stuffed with artificial flavouring and colouring.