Litigation before the Energy Ombudsman for price issues doubled in 2022, in a context of rising gas and electricity prices, according to a report published on Tuesday.
Last year, the number of disputes registered in general by the mediator compared to 2021 remained stable (30,558 disputes received) but “this stability masks contrasting situations,” he stressed in a statement.
“Unprecedented increases in energy prices have often been conveyed by some providers in a non-transparent, even incomprehensible or misleading manner, which has led to a sharp increase in these types of disputes: the proportion of disputes related to changes in Prices have doubled compared to 2021 (from 8 to 16%)”, he indicates.
“Bad pricing practices”
The Mediator, who has made a habit of citing bad students, issued several “red cards” for the occasion to a number of providers: Ohm Energie, Gaz de Bordeaux, Mint Energie, Mega Energie and Wekiwi.
In particular, it observed four “bad pricing practices” by some: unknown prices at the time the energy was consumed in offers indexed to market prices, contracts that did not allow them to benefit from the price shield (especially in Gaz de Bordeaux), modifications to existing contracts, “without providing fair and transparent information”, and finally strong price increases shortly after the signing of offers at very attractive prices.
On the other hand, other more traditional disputes were less numerous last year due to the improvement in the management of claims by the majority of suppliers, the implementation of smart meters or the temporary suspension of prospecting.
“To improve the functioning of the market, I will publish at the beginning of the school year a guide of good practice recommendations, drawn up in consultation with all the players in the energy sector,” said the mediator, Olivier Challan Belval, quoted in the statement.
Source: BFM TV
