NMa Demands That the Energy Sector Solve Customer Recruitment Problems

The Office of Energy Regulation (DTe) of the Netherlands Competition Authority has called upon all energy companies to cease misleading and unfair recruitment practices. NMa also invites consumers to give notification of any malpractices in relation to recruitment. Since last summer, the regulator has received an increasing number of troubling reports from consumers about the recruitment of customers. In a letter sent today to all energy companies, DTe asks the companies to draw up a joint code of conduct in the short term. If the sector does not present a code of conduct before the end of this year, DTe will draw up its own supplementary rules.

Peter Plug, Acting Director of DTe: "The recruitment of new customers by energy companies is essential if the market is to work well. We are therefore certainly not against the use of direct recruitment methods, such as telephone sales or door-to-door selling. However, if consumers are put under pressure to switch suppliers by unfair or misleading advertising, confidence in the energy market will be seriously undermined. Discouraging switches and incorrect information provided, for instance, by service centres are an obstacle to the proper functioning of the energy market. We would like the energy companies to root out these problems themselves."

The code of conduct should regulate the most important matters in the area of switching to a different supplier (from recruitment to cooperation with regard to switching). DTe will monitor compliance with the code of conduct closely. If DTe receives reports that a company has infringed the code of conduct, it will intensify its regulation and conduct an in-depth investigation. Where the law is infringed, DTe will take action to enforce the law. In the case of energy companies which adhere to the code of conduct, the code will serve as a 'mark of quality' for good recruitment practices.

Consumers who experience problems with customer recruitment or switching to a different energy supplier should contact the Information Line of the Netherlands Competition Authority: tel. 0800 0231885.