January 1, 2025 will mark the entry into force of new measures regarding teleselling and unilateral changes to contracts for the supply of electricity and gas. These provisions, announced by the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and the Environment (ARERA), aim to guarantee greater protection for consumers but, according to Assium (the association of utility managers), they are insufficient interventions that will not solve the problems existing in the sector.
The innovations, while presented as a step forward, do not adequately address the scams and unfair practices plaguing the market, according to the association. One of the main innovations, for example, concerns the customer consent for contracts stipulated by telephone: this consent will be considered valid only if the consumer receives a written document with all the contractual conditions on a paper or durable medium. However, according to the President of Assium Federico Bevilacqua, this measure does not represent a real innovation, since it is already practice among operators in the sector.
Assium criticizes the new provisions of ARERA
In fact, many consumers today already find themselves confirming contracts without having actually read the necessary documentation, often hastily through links sent via email during teleselling calls, and in the end they end up accepting the new contract unconsciously, without having read the documentation and actual economic conditions. Among the new features of ARERA, there are new methods of communicating unilateral changes to contractswhich must be sent via a durable medium previously accepted by the customer. Although this may seem like an achievement, Assium underlines that it is already a practice for distance contracts: sand the customer opts for paper support, no tracking of the communication is requiredthus leaving room for potential abuse.
Bevilacqua warns that these measures could be ineffective in combating unfair practices in the energy sector. The lack of more incisive interventions could lead to a situation where “change everything to change nothing”. To ensure adequate consumer protection, it is necessary to introduce specialized professional figures who accompany users throughout the contractual process, according to Assium, as highlighted by the subsequent legislation by Letizia Giorgianni (FdI). The presence of a certified utility manager, in this case, will serve to protect consumers’ rights, given that they are trained to manage utilities and guarantee users protection from scams and optimization of energy costs.
Assium therefore proposes itself as main interlocutor to promote the certification of utility managers and ensure greater transparency in the market. The association is working to introduce regulations that make certification mandatory for those who work as utility consultants, a step that could be important towards creating a safer and more aware market.
Source: www.hwupgrade.it
