Before participating in the general assembly of the departmental association – which has 800 members – this Saturday, June 26, in Chartres, the national president, Alain Bazot, 62, spoke of the action of his association for the defense of consumers .
Why did you get involved in this association?
I am 18 years old. I was going to study law and become a university teacher. I attended a meeting and discovered the relevance of their review, which opens people’s eyes. I am in a vision of counter-power.
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What is the reason for your presence in Eure-et-Loir?
Since deconfinement, this is my first participation in our 140 associations in France. The Eurelian team is dynamic. It revives strongly and the group renews itself. I feel a new breath, with the imminent opening of a branch in Châteaudun. This group also uses our online litigation site, making it possible to deal with problems and develop its corporate purpose, to promote a sober and responsible consumer society. We must enlighten and educate the consumer, even young people. Partnerships will be forged with works councils.
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What are your current concerns?
Our fights focus on proximity, citizen mobilization and issues of food, waste, sustainable consumption, water quality… We have just launched reverse auctions on energy. We have already gathered 300,000 consumers. They will be canvassed by one of the nine gas applicants who will have won the auction. They will have an individual discount, between 13 and 20%. We are the ones who impose the purchase contract and the specifications on the distributor.
Do you have other hot topics?
Public transport. After a study, we questioned the candidates for the regional elections on their requirements on quality, punctuality, adaptation of schedules, opening of lines… And penalties. But they are cautious about a bonus-penalty, a pressure. I think we need a carrot or an economic stick, for the good of the users.
“Things are being put in place against this plunder of our private life”
Do you handle a lot of disputes?
Around 100,000 per year, on various themes, such as the renovation bonus, Internet operators with questionable practices, e-commerce which sometimes offers bogus discounts, banks that refuse to reimburse their customers who are victims of credit card fraud , etc.
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Consumers complain about telephone canvassing.
Files are sold. There are not enough protections for our data. Operators know everything about us and target our areas of interest, instrumentalize our habits and our tastes. It’s incredible. But things are taking place against this plundering of our privacy, of which connected objects are a part.
Your monthly magazine is a good communication medium.
The association was created in 1951. And the magazine in 1961. It is our economic lung. The magazine is expensive for us, but we are independent. We don’t have advertising. We print 500,000 copies. We have insolent economic health. Our website is partially paid and we have 200,000 subscribers. What costs us the most are the tests, but we have shared with other associations around the world. This month, the tests cost us € 500,000.
Thierry delaunay
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