Gas, Consumerism No Profit alarm: 'After stop of protected market, boom of unilateral changes'

The end of the protected market of gas , which ceased last 10 January, has led to a surge in unfair practices by energy operators to the detriment of users, including unilateral changes to contracts that have not been properly communicated and the unsolicited activation of supply contracts. Raising the alarm is the consumer association Consumerism No Profit, which in the last few hours has released a report on the phenomenon for the first quarter of 2024.

As part of the +TUTELA project - carried out in cooperation with 'Reclami gas e luce' (a portal specialising in disputes between users and energy operators) and Udicon - which collects user reports on problems related to electricity and gas supplies, the consumers' association drew a picture showing that the first three months of the year saw a surge in unilateral changes to contracts by suppliers.

According to Consumerismo No Profit, the central problem concerns consumers' failure to receive advance notice of tariff changes, a practice that does not comply with the provisions of the code of business conduct established by the Arera, which requires a written notice to be sent to the consumer at least three months before the new tariffs are actually applied, with the changes becoming effective only from the first day of the month following the date of receipt of the notice. "However," denounces president Luigi Gabriele, "the lack of a tracked sending system for these communications and the possibility of considering the letter as received, unless proven otherwise, after ten days of sending, introduce significant regulatory gaps, leaving ample room for subjective interpretations that can lead to conflicts between suppliers and consumers. The seriousness of this phenomenon is accentuated by the exorbitant gas price increases communicated unilaterally by operators, which in some cases have reached 600%."

In the first quarter of 2024, moreover, the energy sector witnessed a worrying phenomenon linked to unfair commercial practices - Consumerism analyses -. Prominent among these was the unauthorised change of supplier, with consumers finding themselves, without warning, faced with bills from a new manager for whom they had never authorised service. This practice, in addition to generating immediate insecurity and confusion, led, in some cases, to disconnections of supply due to delinquencies not attributable to the consumers involved. The consumer association recalls that current regulations, such as the Code of Business Conduct and the Consumer Code, clearly set out the requirements for the validity of contracts, including the need for explicit and traceable confirmation by the consumer. However, reports received indicate that these requirements are not always respected, highlighting gaps in both regulation and practical application. "The end of the protected gas market, and the imminent halt for the electricity market as well, are leading to a worrying growth of aggressive and unfair behaviour to the detriment of users, which in addition to harming consumers' rights, creates millions of euros of economic damage for the citizens involved," Gabriele concludes.