Why the Antitrust strikes Facile Energy again
The Agcm imposed a fine of over 1 million 560 on Facile Energy for non-compliance: the company did not follow up on the Antitrust warning which required it to cease the unfair practice ascertained in December 2022. All the details
Fine of 1 million and 560 thousand euros to Facile Energy for non-compliance. The Competition and Market Authority decided this because the company, already fined a year ago for unfair commercial practices, continued with the same conduct. But let's see how the facts went.
WHY FACILE ENERGY WAS SANCTIONED IN DECEMBER 2022
In December 2022, also taking into account the opinion of the Communications Regulatory Authority and in compliance with the opinion of the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and the Environment, the Antitrust had imposed a fine of 2 million euros for the adoption of various unfair practices, aimed at the unsolicited activation of electricity and gas contracts, and for failure to comply with the obligations envisaged, in these circumstances, to guarantee consumers both the return to the previous supply points and the right not to pay the any invoiced amounts.
A few months earlier, Piazza Verdi had also adopted a precautionary measure regarding Facile Energy, temporarily suspending any action aimed at activating electricity and gas supply contracts via teleselling, in the absence of a corresponding expression of will from the consumer or following misleading information , omissions of information and undue influence. In this way the Authority had also suspended requests for payment and the disconnection of supplies pending complaints.
THE REPORTS ARRIVED AFTER THE SANCTION AND THE AUTHORITY'S FINDINGS
In the last year, however, things have not gone as they should have. In fact, around 400 reports continued to arrive in Piazza Verdi, without interruption (of which more than 100 in the period between the end of the sixty-day deadline from the notification of the December 2022 provision and the assessment of compliance by the 'Authority), which highlighted "the persistence of significant critical issues already contested against Facile Energy" in the previous investigation procedure and therefore "the reiteration of incorrect conduct, proving the ineffectiveness of the measures identified by the Company", as stated in the new provision .
In short, the Authority's investigations revealed that this conduct has not ceased and that Facile Energy is therefore non-compliant with the sanctioning provision. The latest reports received continue to refer to the activation of electricity and gas supply contracts, mainly through teleselling, in the absence of an effective expression of consumer will and through the use of manipulated telephone recordings and misleading information and/or omissions; the request for undue payments, even pending complaints; the disconnection or threat of disconnection of the withdrawal point pending complaints or without adequate notice; the imposition of obstacles to the exercise of the right of withdrawal.
WHAT EASY ENERGY HAD PROMISED TO DO TO THE ANTITRUST
Facile Energy, however, after the 2022 sanction, presented a report to the Antitrust in which it described the measures adopted in compliance with the provision of the Authority chaired by Roberto Rustichelli (in the photo). These included the stipulation of new service contracts with telesellers and the adoption of new guidelines; the introduction of an OTP (one time password) system for collecting consent and signing the contractual proposal from the customer; the adoption of binding guidelines for agencies to define staff behavior; the acceptance of the right to reconsider; the indication of the 14 day deadline for exercising the right of withdrawal in the General Conditions of Supply. However, all actions that consumers evidently did not notice.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/perche-antitrust-folgora-di-nuovo-facile-energy/ on Thu, 21 Dec 2023 10:46:10 +0000.