“Further investigation” highlights the scams of electricity suppliers – Liberation

The scene is amazing. With her mouth half open, her hands clasped together, Emmanuelle Worgan is lost for words. Literally. “Can we cut thirty seconds? I want to think about how to answer your question properly”, vindicates the former minister, who is now the chairman of the Energy Regulatory Commission. The question seemed simple: “Are you telling yourself today that consumers are paying a fair price for energy?” Published on social networks, this video advertises the show Further investigation “Electricity: Unfair Price”, airs this Thursday March 7, 2024 at 11 PM. Together in their new investigation Magazine XXI, Journalists Hugo Pfeni and Juliet Jonas tackle the excesses caused by electricity suppliers.

False sales pitches

For fifty-four minutes, France 2 magazine looks at the misleading, even fraudulent, practices of many energy companies. The Italian gas giant, ENI, with a turnover of 93.71 billion euros in 2023, has been singled out for several years. At issue are inaccurate invoicing, wrongly charged payments and illegal practices during canvassing. He was fined 3 million euros in 2021 for that “Condemnation and parasitism against EDF”. The investigation reveals the behavior of ENI subcontractor canvassers, who do not hesitate to create email addresses for their clients or claim to be mandated by the state. Sales arguments are false: One of the direct sellers promises a 20% savings on invoices, without including this in the contract. “This is probably an isolated case.” Responds to advertising company. For her part, ENI’s Director of Public Affairs, Naima Edir, assures that a training and control plan is in place. EDF is not spared either. Its canvassing subsidiary is experiencing similar abuse.

The price hike is also a godsend for some suppliers. Two journalists point to the behavior of Ohm Energy, which forces its own customers to cancel their subscriptions. They sell surplus electricity on the financial market more expensively, up to eight times the purchase price: 44.3 million euros thanks to this method. Further investigation, Which Ohm energy disputes. The company is now the target of an investigation by the Energy Regulatory Commission for its practices.

Deceptive performance

Faced with exploding electricity prices, consumers are looking for better deals. But supplier comparison sites have also gone off the rails. The Selectra Group promises “Best Deals” on their comparison sites. Further investigation Declares a deceptive operation, where suppliers pay to display the group’s platform. In a company’s call center, employees look for preferential rates directly on the website of the supplier they want to sell to, instead of going through a comparator. “We ask you to (conclude) contracts by the hour but at most one contract every three calls”, One of them slips away. The photovoltaic panel industry is not immune to scams from unscrupulous sellers.