Three energy providers want money at the same time

The “Upreger of the Month”, the consumer advice center, is about unpleasant cases from our everyday consulting work.

We want to sensitize other consumers not to fall into the same trap. Here a consumer should pay money to three energy suppliers.

What is it about?

A consumer wants to change provider after a price increase. She agrees to a promotional call and ends up with three energy suppliers who want her to pay. Inse Ewen, energy consultant at the Bremen consumer advice center, says: “It is often worth changing providers, but there are some pitfalls that you should be aware of.”

What happened?

The consumer is a long-term customer of an energy supplier (Supplier 1). After he announced a price increase, she initiated a change of provider to a discount provider (supplier 2). Then she received a surprise call. The caller strongly recommended that she cancel the switch order to supplier 2 because this provider was not reputable. It would be better for her to switch to the provider he represents (supplier 3). The consumer followed this recommendation, whereupon supplier 2 rejected the cancellation of the change order as late, while supplier 3 already welcomed her as a new customer. Now all three suppliers claim to have supplied the consumer with electricity and are making debits from her bank account. But it could only have been one!

Legal classification

“After a detailed consultation with us, it became clear that only supplier 1 still had a contract and was allowed to claim payment,” explains Inse Ewen. The consumer will object to the invoices and debits from the other two suppliers.

Tips from the Bremen Consumer Center

After deciding on a new energy provider, consumers can either conclude the new contract directly with the provider or, in some cases, via a tariff portal. The portal usually receives a commission for such changes. The new provider terminates the previous contract for the consumer if they give him the appropriate power of attorney.

Attention: Consumers should declare terminations that are time-critical themselves! This also applies to special terminations, which you can declare without notice. Inse Ewen advises: “So if you cancel because of an announced price increase, don’t rely on a new provider and cancel yourself to be on the safe side.”

Once the contract confirmation has arrived, consumers should compare the prices and contract conditions again with the information in the offer's application and, in the event of any discrepancies, use the statutory right of withdrawal and contact the new provider.

If you are unsure, you can get more detailed information about the pitfalls of switching electricity and gas providers from the consumer advice center's free energy advice. online lecture on Thursday, June 10th .

Further information is also available here .