2023-07-04 17:46:00
4.07.2023 19:46
(Akt. 4.07.2023 19:46)
Several suspected cases of fraud were uncovered during the repair bonus funding campaign – which is why the Ministry of Climate Protection has now tightened the safety net for processing the repair bonus.
Mobile phones, kettles, televisions – the repair of almost all electrical and electronic devices has been funded since April 2022 thanks to the repair bonus. In May 2023, however, several suspected cases of fraud became public. Dozens of companies were reported to the Austrian public prosecutor. The total extent of the damage is currently being investigated – the maximum amount of damage caused by the fraud is estimated at almost four million euros.
tightened security
After the suspected cases of fraud, the Ministry of Climate Protection has now tightened the safety net for processing the repair bonus. “In future, to prevent fraud, the subsidy will be paid directly to customers,” the ministry said. “This means that fraudulent businesses can no longer benefit from submitting counterfeit repairs,” it said.
Due to the technical conversion work, no repair vouchers can be obtained until the restart on September 25th. Bons that were requested before July 2, 2023 remain valid for three weeks as before.
From autumn 2023, the entire invoice amount should be paid in the repair shop and the subsidy amount should be paid out directly by Kommunalkredit Public Consulting (KPC). To do this, customers would have to provide their account number in addition to their contact details when creating the repair voucher.
Repair voucher remains anonymous
The repair voucher itself remains anonymous, so the partner company cannot access the personal data of users. Subsidy submissions continue to be made by the partner company. After the company has submitted the invoice, the funding can be transferred from KPC. According to the ministry, all partner companies will be comprehensively informed about the security conversion and will be sent new contracts.
Around 3,500 companies across Austria are taking part in the campaign. 673,061 repair vouchers with a funding amount of 69.7 million euros have already been submitted.
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