ACM study: one in ten consumers switches energy contracts following telemarketing calls or door-to-door sales

The Monitor on the consumer experience of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has revealed that one in ten consumers that switched to a different energy contract last year did so following an offer (usually unsolicited) made over the phone or by a salesperson at the door. The Monitor on the consumer experience contains the results of a consumer survey that ACM commissions each year in April and reveals the knowledge, experience, and behavior of consumers with regard to the energy market.

Consumers that take out a new energy contract usually do so through the website of the energy supplier (35%), through a comparison website (22%), or by email, over the phone, or in writing with the customer service of the energy company (14%). Six percent of consumers has switched following an offer made over the phone and 4 percent has done so following an offer made by a salesperson at the door.

Over the past year, ACM has taken action several times against misleading telemarketing practices involving energy contracts. Energy contracts are complicated products. That is why ACM recommends consumers to analyze and compare the different rates always at their own pace, and never to agree to unsolicited offers that are offered over the phone. More information and tips can be found on the website of ACM’s consumer information portal ACM ConsuWijzer.

The Monitor on the consumer experience also shows that the number of consumers that find the natural-gas and electricity prices high or very high has gone down. This is in line with the trend that ACM has observed in the Monitor on the consumer energy market over the past few months. Every month, ACM requests information regarding rates and customer numbers from all energy suppliers for this Monitor.

Monitor on the consumer energy market: Prices of fixed contracts for natural gas went up

This month’s Monitor on the consumer energy market has revealed that fixed contracts for the supply of natural gas have become 2 to 4 percent more expensive compared with last month. The prices on the consumer market thus follow the prices on the wholesale market, where the natural-gas price has gone up over the past month.