|
|
|
|
|
Retail Supplier to Pay $450,000 Under Compliance Stipulation
Just Energy will pay $450,000 (Canadian $) under an assurance of voluntary compliance accepted by the Ontario Energy Board.
Among other things, the assurance of voluntary compliance addresses a Just Energy system calculating error that resulted in an incorrect termination fee being charged to customers in 132 cases from March 2011 to October 2012. The system calculating error was corrected in June 2013. Just Energy remedied all of these cases by reimbursing consumers an amount equal to the difference between what the consumer actually paid and the corresponding appropriate cancellation fees.
Additionally, during the period January 2011 to January 2013, Just Energy sent 2,060 consumers a letter incorrectly stating that cancellation fees would have to be paid by the consumer unless they were moving to an area not served by Just Energy, instead of advising the customers of their right to cancel a contract without cost or penalty if the consumer moved permanently from the premises to which gas or electricity was supplied.
Of the 2,060 consumers that received the move-out letter:
• 1,616 contracts were cancelled by Just Energy without cost or penalty
• 444 consumers re-enrolled with Just Energy after receiving the Letter
Of these 444 consumers, 59 contracts were subsequently cancelled with no cancellation fees; 3 consumers paid cancellation fees which were reimbursed; and 382 consumers remain on their contract with Just Energy at their new address. Board Staff is of the view that the consumers may have remained on contract as a result of being misinformed with regard to their cancellation rights.
Under the assurance of voluntary compliance, Just Energy will inform these 382 consumers of the incorrect information provided by Just Energy concerning their cancellation rights. Just Energy will provide each of the 382 consumers with an opportunity to cancel the contract and receive a refund for all monies paid by the consumer to Just Energy under the contract since the time that the consumer moved.
Additionally, between the period March 2011 until November 12, 2012 Just Energy received telephone inquiries from approximately 200,000 consumers about various aspects of their contract terms and conditions, including in some instances inquiries about cancellation fees. For any consumers inquiring about cancelling a contract, due to the aforementioned system calculating error, Just Energy may have misquoted the cancellation fee, which may have resulted in the consumer choosing to remain on the contract.
With respect to the approximate 200,000 telephone inquiries made to Just Energy between March 2011 and October 2012, Just Energy will send a letter to each of these consumers informing the consumer that they may have been told an incorrect cancellation fee during their call if the consumer was calling to inquire about his/her cancellation fees. The letter further informs the consumer of his/her right to cancel the contract and receive a reimbursement from Just Energy for the difference in the amount that the customer paid under the contract to Just Energy and the amount that would have been paid to such customer's utility, since the date of the telephone call, in cases where such customer was provided an incorrect cancellation fee amount in excess of the correct cancellation fee amount.
The assurance of voluntary compliance also resolves allegations that during a sales pitch, the salesperson did not immediately introduce himself as being from Just Energy or provide a business card, and had what appeared to be a modified utility bill.
ADVERTISEMENT Search for more retail energy careers: Copyright 2010-
April 7, 2014
Email This Story
Copyright 2010-13 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
NEW Jobs on RetailEnergyJobs.com:
• NEW! -- Gas Accounting Manager -- Retail Supplier -- Houston
• NEW! -- Senior Call Center Representative -- Retail Supplier -- Houston
• NEW! -- Analyst, Trading and Supply Operations -- Retail Supplier -- Houston
• NEW! -- Analyst - Energy & Operations -- Retail Supplier -- New York
• NEW! -- Vice President Risk Management -- Retail Supplier -- New York
• NEW! -- Business Development Manager, Broker Sales -- Retail Provider -- Houston
• NEW! -- Manager, Channel Sales -- Retail Provider
• Regional Sales Manager, Texas -- Retail Supplier -- Houston
• Operations Specialist – Market Transactions -- Houston
RetailEnergyJobs.com
|
|
|
|