Beware B & B owners in France

[La Chouette]

Friends of ours have just had a very bad experience with a French woman in her forties claiming to be a journalist writing articles on our area. She was introduced to them by our local tourist office and initially booked a room and dinner for two nights. She extended her stay to six nights but didn't return on the last night (and they'd already prepared a dinner for her) and needless to say, had skipped off without paying the bill.

We went with them this morning to report the matter at the gendarmerie but I doubt if they will catch up with her. Beware!

Jan

[Nessie]

She must be doing the rounds we had this warning from Clévacances

Une femme très brune, la petite cinquantaine, 1,68 m environ, ni grosse ni mince, cheveux mi-longs, soignés et bouclés sur les pointes, portant des lunettes, mate de peau, d'une allure plutôt chic, vêtue de noir. Une femme au demeurant assez charmante, aimant discuter"
Cette personne se fait passer pour une journaliste, et aurait déjà arnaqué des propriétaires en Ardèche, dans le Gers, dans le Tarn et dans le Lot-et-Garonne, en séjournant chez eux et en partant sans payer.
Soyez vigilants !

[La Chouette]

She must be doing the rounds we had this warning from Clévacances

Nessie

This sounds like her! I'll PM you with our email address, and if you still have the original warning from Clévacances, could you forward it to me please. Our friends belong to Clévacances but say they don't get warnings here......I'm not sure that CV have a representative in the Limousin.

Thanks,
Jan

[Caroline]

A couple of years ago we were asked by the National Police to keep a record of everyone not French that stayed & to let them know within 15 minutes of arrival all the details. Well the local cops are not that interested, (it was all to do with the Basque seperatists blowing up things & staying in a B&B in Tourlouse.) But I started taking scans of everyones passports or id cards, with that as an excuse, more because it gets embarrasing when you get return bookings & cannot remember them! I should think that this woman would be a lot more careful if she was told her id was being scanned at every place she stayed! It gives you a photo too, much better than a discription. We also take something of value from our guests in return for a front door key, again this was as an 'aid memoir', we were constantly loosing keys in the first few years This concentrated the mind on both sides & we haven't lost a key since (except to friends we didn't think we needed to do it with!!) So I shall definately be keeping this up this season! Just a couple of ideas that might be useful!

[Caroline]

I told this story to a friend of mine & this was her reply, should have thought of it too I suppose!

"Did this woman show a press card? Always best to ask journalists to show their press card, and if they don't have one, an official letter from the paper or magazine they are working for."

[La Chouette]

"Did this woman show a press card? Always best to ask journalists to show their press card, and if they don't have one, an official letter from the paper or magazine they are working for."

I suppose it's easy to be wise after the event! The worst of it was that this woman had already spent time in the tourist office, where one of the woman actually reports for Le Populaire and was actually transported to our friend's house by said tourist office woman!

I decided last year that I would ask much more information from people who arrived on spec, after we were given a stolen cheque and lost money.........looking at their ID card and noting its number will be on my list of things to do.

Jan

[La Chouette]

She must be doing the rounds we had this warning from Clévacances

Une femme très brune, la petite cinquantaine, 1,68 m environ, ni grosse ni mince, cheveux mi-longs, soignés et bouclés sur les pointes, portant des lunettes, mate de peau, d'une allure plutôt chic, vêtue de noir. Une femme au demeurant assez charmante, aimant discuter"
Cette personne se fait passer pour une journaliste, et aurait déjà arnaqué des propriétaires en Ardèche, dans le Gers, dans le Tarn et dans le Lot-et-Garonne, en séjournant chez eux et en partant sans payer.
Soyez vigilants !

A big thanks to Nessie who sent me the printout of this warning, which had a appeared in the Depeche du Midi. From that I found another B & B owner and put our friends in touch with him. He confirmed from the photo they'd taken that the same person had stayed with him,and a few days later let them know she'd been arrested in the Calais area, having done at least a dozen other owners this way.

Our friends are grinning ear to ear, just knowing that no-one else will fall victim to this woman.........hopefully!

The power of the forum and the internet....

Jan

[Nessie]

Jan

so please that they have finally caught her, hope you friend might be able to get some money back, although i expect that will be very long winded

[Normandie]

Wandering aimlessly about forumland this afternoon (as you do when you're waiting for the sort of phone call that never comes ) I found this discussion.

http://www.diyfrance.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1271

This took place in lower Normandy not a million miles from me. As a novice, I'm not sure what I would have done.

Probably required them to write out their complaint there and then and told them (nicely but firmly) that their "accident report" would be lodged with both my insurers and the Gendarmes. Or insisted on driving them to urgences immediately. I definitely would not have offered them anything that could be perceived as recompense.

Or am I being too "confrontational" - not professional - and is acceding to their demands the best thing for a small business to do?

I suspect scammers would be reluctant to have their details passed to the Gendarmes but whatever, how deeply unpleasant to have to deal with that.