10 scams aimed at French Entrepreneurs

By Valérie Aston on 18 October 2011 · Viewed 6789 times · Questions

I have come across two new scams this week aimed at new entrepreneurs: Registre APE and RSI France. So I though it was time to up-date my yearly list of well known scams and save you hassle and money. Most of these scams are invoices sent to newly registered entrepreneurs, designed to make you believe that their services are compulsory.

As a reminder, there are no compulsory business directory for entrepreneurs. In doubt call your accountant, Chambre de Métiers or Chambre du Commerce.

List of scams aimed at French entrepreneurs

  1. New: Registre APE for 234 euros
  2. New: RSI France for 249 euros
  3. Pages-entreprises.info 297,60 euros
  4. RSI : Répertoire des Sociétés et des Indépendants 
  5. SRI : Société de Référencement sur Internet
  6. Registre des Créations first letter for 119,60 euros, followed by second letter for 179 euros
  7. Société de Référencement sur Internet for 249 euros for one quarter
  8. France Annuaire On-Line d’Entreprises 957 euros
  9. Registre des Sociétés Nouvellements Créés for 80 euro
  10. Annuaire Telecom 118 for 260 euros

I also came across two entrepreneurs having signed up for computers and websites contracts, without noticing the three years maintenance contract indicated on the second copy of the contract. Having noticed this details past the seven days withdrawal deadline, nothing could be done to cancel the contract.

Update: surprise, surprise, I only published this article yesterday and I have already come across another scam today! So, one more for the road: some companies are charging to create your business' international TVA number numero de TVA intra-communautaire. Impots will create one for free if you need one!


Valerie Lemiere: Start Business in France

About the author: Valérie Aston

I've been helping people who want to start or already have a small business set up in France since 2009. After graduating from a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, I worked as a senior marketing consultant in the UK and France for various International companies. I worked as a conseillère en création d'entreprises (senior business advisor) for BGE here in France and run this independent business on a daily basis.