The Antitrust Authority has sanctioned a total of 530 thousand euro and 14milioni big five of the Italian energy market. Eni and Acea have received the heaviest fines (3.6 million). In third place is Enel Energia (2,985,000), followed by Enel Electric Service (2.620000000) and Edison (1.725 million). Verily the most fined is the Enel (5,605,000) by adding the penalties incurred by the two companies (one for the free market, the other for the maximum protection but both directly controlled by the group which is also the first operator in Italy) .
The measures – arrived at the end of four separate investigations – concern “ billing and repeated requests for payment mechanisms do not correspond to actual consumption bills and the obstacles to return redemptions , “he writes the Authority.
during the procedure, the Aeegsi (Authority for electricity, gas and water system) has given an opinion that allowed Antitrust identify and establish “distinct aggressive practices.” Inspections has also partnered the Guardia di Finanza.
HEAVY INDICTMENT
The Antitrust disputes heavy reliefs to 4 companies placed under investigation for invoices covering the period between March 2014 and April 2016. at the conclusion of its investigation, the AGCM has established that the five companies have “put in place a first aggressive commercial practice – continues the statement – namely poor management of the requests and communications end customers that complained about the billing of consumption of electricity or natural gas differing from actual ones . ”
The Authority considers that the practice was “due to deficiencies in the billing process, malfunctions of computer systems and the non-suspension of collection activities (reminder, formal notice and detachment, sometimes without notice) waiting for a clear answer, precise and complete. In the case of large-value adjustments, moreover, companies had not taken measures to mitigate the impact of the bill, without informing the users about the possibility to pay in installments or on longer payment terms . “
According to the Antitrust, these behaviors have violated the right of the client to receive adequate assistance and verification of their consumption, before proceeding to the payment of the disputed invoices and, therefore, “are aggressive commercial practices.”
a second malpractice ascertained from the inquiry relates failure or delay repayment of amounts due to various reasons to end users . The Authority took the view that “the information and procedures adopted by the five operators have not allowed consumers to receive full and timely because the excess amount paid for the supply of electricity or gas,” writes the Antitrust Authority.
bILLS OVERDUE AND DEFAULT INTEREST
both Enel group companies finally, a third was ascertained incorrect practice, which consists in ‘ billing of default interest for late payment, even if the bills received late or not delivered , and in the presence of a complaint.
During the proceedings, the operators have proposed changes to the procedures used so far in the instance management and complaints from consumers, and also to improve billing processes. In the light of these proposals, the penalties were reduced in proportion to the degree of relevance and effective implementation of such innovations.
Enel Servizio Elettrico and Enel Energia “contest the conclusions” Antitrust investigation on energy big. The claim group companies led by Francesco Starace, “believing his conduct on the billing and collection procedures of credits fully adhering to the highest standards of professional diligence and totally responsive to industry regulations.” “Also – it underscores the Enel – the practices refer to an extremely limited series, when compared with the number of customers served by the company, about 30 million, and the number of invoices issued in the reporting period, about 250 million” .
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