Aggressive telemarketing for energy: consumer organisations call for ARERA and AGCM to intervene

Restrictions are not putting a stop to aggressive telemarketing in the energy sector. Because, despite everything, people continue to receive calls – at home or on their mobile phones – aimed at selling energy contracts. This has prompted consumer rights organisations to take action, calling on ARERA and the AGCM to step up their monitoring.

The starting point is the entry into force on 19 June of the regulation which ‘imposes restrictions and constraints on telemarketing, but only in the energy sector’. ‘Under the new provisions, electricity and gas suppliers can no longer contact customers without their explicit consent,’ emphasises Federconsumatori. ‘It is therefore prohibited to conclude energy contracts over the telephone or via call centres, except in cases where the customer explicitly requests it. This measure became necessary following the closure of the protected market’. The aim was to prevent malpractice and unsolicited activations or ‘changes of supplier without the account holder’s knowledge’.

So, is everything all right, then? Not quite, because as early as the fourth day after the new regulation came into force, the new spamming activities began, with more unsolicited phone calls and a new strategy.

“A member of the public wrote to us this morning, sending us a video showing the latest scam,” the association points out: “You receive a call – which often cuts out straight away – from an Italian number. The member of the public calls back, thinking it might be someone they know, only to discover that they are actually being contacted by an energy company promoting a commercial offer.” It’s a recurring scam where the caller’s number has a prefix very similar to the recipient’s. Half a ring is all it takes. If you then ring back, a pre-recorded message says: ‘Thank you for contacting us; our lines are busy – we’ll call you back as soon as possible.’

According to Federconsumatori, “it’s all seemingly legal, except for the initial contact – the bogus call – which tricks people into calling back”. ‘We urge members of the public who receive such calls to report them to the police and to provide us with the numbers from which they are contacted,’ the association continues. “If, upon calling back, you discover that it is a company offering you a contract, hang up immediately and do not comply with any requests.”