Home buyers given wrong French bank details and must now pay again

A couple who were given the wrong bank details for a French house purchase must pay €70,000 again after the tradesperson who received the money in error refused to return it all.

The purchasers were due to pay €176,000 to the cooperative that built the property in La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime) in 2021. 

However, the on-site assistant gave them the wrong Iban and they therefore sent the funds instead to a tradesperson who was contracted by the cooperative to work on a nearby project.

“Up to that point, the story would be almost laughable, but the craftsman in question, contacted by the cooperative, never wanted to return all the money,” Émilie and Florian, the purchasers who lost the money, told Le Figaro. 

Couple taken to court for non-payment

The tradesperson returned €106,000 of the transaction, but kept the remaining €70,000 and vanished from the area.

He cut all contact with the cooperative and has not been heard from since despite multiple attempts to get into contact with him.

The company behind the property’s construction tried to take both the tradesperson and the couple to court to recover its missing €70,000, leading to a three-year case. 

The court in La Rochelle ruled that the tradesperson is guilty of not repaying the money and must return it to the couple.

However, it also rules that the couple still owed the construction company the missing €70,000, which the couple will have to pay again.

“The cooperative is responsible; they gave the wrong bank details. The court may have made a mistake,” said the couple’s new lawyer to Le Figaro. The lawyer is helping them lodge an appeal. 

He added that the cooperative is concerned that collecting the money from the tradesperson will lead to an insolvency case, so is leaving the collection of that sum to the couple, whilst also going after them for the missing €70,000.

Read more: How to see the sale price of property in France near you

Bailiffs sent

Earlier in October, the couple received a visit from bailiffs, asking for the €70,000 on behalf of the company, and threatening to seize their home if they did not pay. 

“[The couple] are acting in good faith and have paid the loan in full. They have two disabled children and are in danger of finding themselves on the street,” said their new lawyer. 

“The cooperative made a mistake in the first place and now it’s the one lecturing others on how to put things right, by taking legal action... It's grotesque,” the lawyer added. 

A fundraiser has been set up by the couple for the €70,000, which as of October 24 has nearly 90 participants. 

Such mistakes are rare

When making a bank transfer, you need a RIB (relevé d’identité bancaire, bank account details) of the relevant account you wish to pay into.

This contains all of the key information to send money over, including the account number, BIC code, and IBAN (International Bank Account Number). 

If you want to ensure you send money to the correct account – cases such as the above are rare, as individuals and companies usually scrutinise the information they send over to people to ensure they are correctly paid – make sure to double check all of the information. 

Printed out RIBs usually include the name of the account holder. You can ask for a physical version of the RIB, with this information, to ensure you are paying into the correct account. 

Read more: How to change bank account in France - and points to consider