Texas Retail Provider To Pay $145,000 Under Settlement With PUC Staff

October 16, 2019

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Copyright 2010-19 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com

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XOOM Energy Texas, LLC would pay $145,000 under a settlement with Staff of the Public Utility Commission of Texas to resolve alleged violations of 16 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) § 25.474, concerning XOOM Energy's door-to-door enrollment practices from January 1, 2018 to January 12, 2019.

The settlement noted that, on June 1, 2018 NRG Retail LLC (NRG) acquired 100% ownership of XOOM Energy

The settlement states, "XOOM Energy engaged in door-to-door enrollments of customers through a third-party marketing company. The process XOOM Energy used for conducting door-to-door enrollments was adopted prior to NRG's acquisition of XOOM Energy. XOOM Energy ceased its door-to-door enrollments in January 2019, which was before Commission Staff instituted this investigation."

The settlement states, "For enrollments via door-to-door solicitation, 16 TAC § 25.474(f)(4) requires a REP, or an independent third party retained by the REP, to conduct a verification of authorization (VOA) by telephonically obtaining and recording all required information from the applicant to verify the applicant's decision to enroll with the REP."

The settlement states, "Under 16 TAC § 25.474(f)(4)(A), the VOA for door-to-door enrollments must comply with the requirements for telephonic enrollment VOAs."

The settlement states, "Under 16 TAC §25.474(h)(5)(B)(vi), the VOA requirements for telephonic enrollments include that the REP must, at a minimum, obtain or confirm access verification data from the customer which may include: the last four digits of the customer's social security number; mother's maiden name; city or town of birth; or month and day of birth; and driver's license or government issued identification number."

The settlement states, "In the event the customer being enrolled does not consent to or does not provide any of the access verification data, 16 TAC § 25.474(h)(5)(C) requires the enrollment be deemed invalid, and the REP shall not submit a switch or move-in request for the applicant's service."

The settlement states, "From January 1, 2018 to January 12, 2019, XOOM Energy enrolled 16,078 customers through its door-to-door third-party marketing company without obtaining access verification data."

The settlement states, "XOOM Energy did not deem those enrollments invalid as required by Commission Rule, and instead submitted switch or move-in requests for the customers' service. XOOM Energy maintains that its failure to obtain access verification data was a technical defect in its process and that it believed it had obtained customer consent prior to completing the subject enrollments."

The settlement agreement states, "XOOM Energy violated PURA §§ 17.004(a)(2) and 39.101(b)(2) by failing to obtain access verification information for the 16,078 door-to-door enrollments because those enrollments should have been deemed invalid under 16 TAC § 25.474(h)(5)(C). XOOM Energy violated 16 TAC § 25.474(f)(4) by failing to obtain access verification data for these customers in compliance with the rules for verification of authorization for door-to- door enrollments, as well as 16 TAC § 25.474(h)(5)(c) by failing to deem these enrollments invalid for lack of collecting access verification data."

The settlement states, "XOOM Energy is no longer engaged in door-to-door enrollments. To prevent future similar violations, XOOM Energy commits that if it plans to resume door-to-door enrollments in the future, it will: (1) inform Commission Staff prior to resuming door-to-door enrollments, and (2) ensure that access verification data is collected at the time of enrollment in compliance with Commission Rules."

The settlement states, "This agreement resolves all claims related to XOOM Energy's obligations relating to violations of PURA §§ 17.004(a)(2) and 39.101(b)(2), as well as of TAC § 25.474 regarding XOOM Energy's door-to-door enrollment practices from January 1, 2018 to January 12, 2019."

XOOM Energy provided the following statement to EnergyChoiceMatters.com: "We appreciate the opportunity to work with the PUCT to resolve this matter. XOOM Energy agreed to this settlement so that we can focus our full attention on moving forward and delivering a best-in-class customer experience. XOOM Energy currently sells exclusively through network marketing and stopped selling electricity door-to-door in Texas nearly a year ago."

Docket 50102

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