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PUC Issues Proposed $59,000 Settlement with Retail Supplier for Public Comment
The Pennsylvania PUC has issued for public comment a proposed settlement under which ResCom Energy LLC would pay $59,000 to resolve an investigation into alleged slamming, Do Not Call violations, and other marketing violations.
The settlement had been first reported by EnergyChoiceMatters.com last December (click here for full details)
As more fully discussed in our original story on the settlement, informal investigations were instituted by the Commission's Bureau of Investigation & Enforcement (I&E) in September 2012 and July 2013 due to allegations of slamming, and other related unlawful marketing practices in Pennsylvania, including Do Not Call violations. Based on its investigations, I&E determined there was sufficient data to substantiate allegations of violations of the Public Utility Code, the Telemarketer Registration Act and Commission regulations
After the complaints were brought to ResCom's attention, ResCom learned that its third-party vendor, Energy Group Sales, was the indirect source of the marketing calls in question. "ResCom discovered that Energy Group Sales, unbeknownst to ResCom, had been making sales calls on behalf of ResCom through the use of call centers subcontracted by Energy Group Sales that had neither been authorized by ResCom nor received the training ResCom requires of all call centers operating on its behalf," the settlement states.
On July 19, 2012, ResCom terminated its business relationship with Energy Group Sales.
Additionally, on April 12, 2013, the PUC's Bureau of Consumer Services was contacted by an individual who identified himself as a former sales agent at a "Consumer Energy Partners" call center. "The individual claimed that the call center was contracted by ResCom to call Pennsylvania consumers in the PPL and PECO residential markets and that call center agents, acting on behalf of ResCom, called consumers whose telephone numbers were obtained from telephone directories and were not screened to omit telephone numbers of consumers on federal and state 'Do Not Call' lists," the settlement states.
On May 24, 2013, ResCom terminated its business relationship with Consumer Energy Partners.
Apart from the $59,000 civil settlement payment, the settlement notes various remedial measures taken by ResCom as well, including better ResCom identification and script improvements; caller IDs and extended customer service hours; improved Do Not Call list procedures; and additional training.
In a statement on the settlement, PUC Commissioner James Cawley asked parties to address whether slammed customers were financially recompensed for their unauthorized service with ResCom, which was not explicitly discussed in the settlement.
Docket M-2013-2320112
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June 20, 2014
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Copyright 2010-14 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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