“Your CPF is about to expire, use your rights”… A message that will soon be illegal? Deputies passed a bill to ban the commercial prospecting of a personal training account holder, hoping to dry up the flow of requests individuals suffer.
Approved unanimously at first reading by the 73 voters, the text aims to prohibit “any commercial prospecting of the holders of a personal training account” (CPF), “by phone, email” or through social networks, to protect your personal data, but also your training credits.
Any breach would be sanctioned with a fine of up to “75,000 euros for a natural person” and “375,000 euros for a legal person”. A vote that the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, welcomed on October 7.
The text is not intended to “prohibit companies from promoting their training,” insisted Bruno Fuchs, a deputy from the MoDem group who was the rapporteur for the text. “It’s about going back to basics: it’s the account holder who decides on their training and who makes the decision to contact an organization.”
However, he stressed that the text did not prohibit all recruitment of training organizations, but those that clearly mention the eligibility of training through the CPF. Deputy Delphine Batho (Ecologist) pointed out this limit, advocating, unsuccessfully, to prohibit any telephone survey without explicit consent.
It remains to be seen whether the illegality of campaigning around the CPF would quickly lead to a reduction in requests. “It will not immediately dry up the flow, but the fines and the risk of a procedure will be quite a deterrent,” he wants to believe. Bruno Fuchs.
Parliamentarians David Guiraud (LFI) and Christophe Naegelen (Liot) insisted on the need to strengthen the means of the Fraud Repression Agency. The communist Pierre Dharréville denounced the “commodification of vocational training”, which he said opened the door to these abuses.
The CPF, which has existed since January 1, 2019, allows any active person to acquire training rights in euros and no longer in hours, through an online platform. It is the Caisse des dépôts et consignations (CDC) that directly pays training companies, sometimes empty shells that seek to divert public money. In almost three years, 5 million people have been trained at a total cost of 7 billion euros, according to the CDC.
Fraud rose sharply in 2021, Tracfin, Bercy’s financial intelligence unit, detailed in July. Suspicious reports transmitted amounted to 116, compared to just 10 in 2020. This represents suspicions of fraud of €43.2 million, compared to 7.8 million a year earlier.
Beyond the ban on scrutiny linked to the CPF, the text adopted on Thursday provides for legal certainty “exchanges of information between the CDC, the powers of France, the state services responsible for competition, the repression of fraud and professional training controls “.
A modification also provides for a right for the CDC, the possibility of receiving from the tax authorities all the “necessary documents or information” for the prior control of the payment “of the sums owed”, and “for the recovery of the sums unduly paid” under a personal training account.
A government amendment also intends to grant it the power to “intervene directly” to “obtain forced collection”, without going through administrative channels, where the delays are too long, explained the minister.
Regarding the quality of training, a government reform establishes that the subcontractors of a training company must observe the same requirements as the company that has been approved by the CPF. A decree in the Council of State must specify the contours of this provision.
A measure intended, in particular, to prevent some from “warping their certifications by unscrupulous operators”, according to Bruno Fuchs. “It is a clear political signal,” according to the deputy. “There are too many abuses in certain formations.”
Still, some of the fraud probably won’t be able to be solved by banning scrutiny. Methods have evolved, Tracfin director Guillaume Valette-Valla explained in July.
The networks have clearly professionalized and now include transnational criminal organizations, particularly outside the European Union, following the model of older frauds such as those in the carbon market. The text must now go to the Senate.
Source: BFM TV
