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Recent news is that the AGCM has initiated proceedings against Enel Energia to “ascertain the possible violation of articles 20, 24 and 25 of the Consumer Code”. Since January, the authority has received over 600 complaints “from individual consumers and micro-enterprises, also through consumer associations, who complain of having received, during the billing cycles relating to the four-month period October 2023-January 2024, bills showing a significant increase in the price of gas and electricity supplies compared to those referring to the same time period in the previous year. In particular, the reporting parties represent, in addition to the difficulty of sustaining quadrupled disbursements or fivefold compared to the past, of not having received any prior information in written form (via e-mail or paper) from Enel Energia, regarding the contractual renewal and of not having been able, therefore, to exercise the right of withdrawal, nor to choose a different energy supplier”.
Furthermore, “some users report that they regularly receive invoices via email (or on the app), but that they have not received any communication of renewal of the economic conditions through the aforementioned channels and that they have randomly found an email in spam, coming from Enel Energia , to which was attached the communication of renewal, following the expiry, of the economic conditions of supply”.
Responding to the Authority’s decision, Enel explained that it believes it “has always acted in full compliance with primary and sector regulations, as well as contractual regulations”. Enel Energia therefore “is confident that it will be able to demonstrate the full correctness of its actions in the continuation of the proceedings”.
Federconsumatori, for its part, reports: “The amounts of the bills have quadrupled or quintupled compared to the past. But there is more: the numerous citizens who have turned to our counters often declare that they have not received any prior information, in written form , by the company. This serious lack of information, in addition to violating the most basic rights of consumers, has effectively prevented them from being able to exercise the right of withdrawal by choosing a supplier with more advantageous conditions and rates. which involved many citizens, so now we believe it is our duty that society pays the consequences.” For this reason, Federconsumatori will appear ad adiuvandum in the AGCM proceedings.
The association reports that there are a dozen cases in the province of Modena reported to the Guarantor Authority. In all cases we are “faced with an unprovable communication of a contractual modification by ENEL Energia, which has thus multiplied the supply costs, especially for elderly customers. There are several cases of mega bills, exceeding 3,000 euros in the two-month period, even for a total of 10,000 euros, the answers from Enel Energia are disarming; they certainly are many hundreds of them people involved in the Modena area, who largely have not yet realized the enormity of the costs applied to them by Enel Energia, in a phase in which energy costs have almost returned to pre-price levels”.
Tags: Stratospheric bills Agcm proceedings Enel dozen cases Modena
