The Estonian Consumer Protection Board ended in May a misdemeanor procedure against the state-run energy group Eesti Energia, fining the company 1,400 euros over unfair commercial practices.
Estonian watchdog fines Eesti Energia over unfair commercial practices
21st June 2013, 18:51
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Ahead of the opening of the electricity market at the beginning of this year, several people complained to the watchdog that Eesti Energia had given them misleading information about the formation of the electricity price when concluding a contract by phone, the board said. Their claims were substantiated by phone call recordings.
The consumer watchdog fined Eesti Energia 1,400 euros. The company has paid the fine by now.
Eesti Energia said the proceeding launched by the Consumer Protection Board concerned one customer complaint and a regrettable instance that occurred in October last year.
«The customer turned to us on Oct. 2, 2012, five days after the start of the selling period. The root of the problem was that the customer service employee, who had been dealing with electricity sale only for a few days presented some of the sale arguments to the customer as facts. The correct way to do it would have been to speak of them as estimates based on historical electricity market information,» the company said.
«For example, it was explained to the customer that the colder the weather turns, the higher the price generally becomes. The employee also made a mistake when comparing our own packages, claiming that one package was nine cents more expensive than another instead of 0.9 cents.»
The cause of the mistake was the employee's scant experience, not intention to mislead the customer, Eesti Energia said. «We extended our apologies to the customer and concluded a new contract in accordance with his wishes.»
The Consumer Protection Act stipulates that the offering and sale of goods and services must be honest with regard to consumers. A commercial practice is unfair if the trader provides false information or presents factually correct information in a way that is likely to deceive the average consumer and influence the consumer to make a transactional decision that he or she would not have made otherwise.
Besides the energy company's misdemeanor proceeding, the watchdog was busy with other topics last month. Consumers experienced problems with e-commerce, footwear, and telephones and other communication means. All told, 3,095 complaints were filed with the Consumer Protection Board in May.