ESCO Seeks Authorization to Resume Marketing to Residential Customers

Buy Energy Direct, LLC has petitioned the New York PSC for authorization to resume marketing to residential customers.

In response to a PSC show cause order regarding sales and marketing complaints and concerns, Buy Energy Direct voluntarily suspended residential marketing in August 2013. The PSC ordered Buy Energy Direct to continue the suspension until further Commission order.

Buy Energy Direct said that it has implemented new compliance programs and measures which justify the lifting of the suspension.

"[It is] important to underscore that Buy voluntarily discontinued marketing to residential customers as a means to ensure that appropriate practices would be followed and implemented, and has maintained this position for more than a year. Needless to say this has had a negative financial impact due to the loss of revenues. In view of the length of time during which Buy has refrained from marketing to residential customers and the improvements and practices identified herein, it would be entirely reasonable for the Commission to now authorize Buy to reinstate marketing activity to this class of customers," Buy Energy Direct said.

Key among Buy Energy Direct's actions is a Telemarketing Quality Assurance Program, which includes:

a. Training Manual for Telemarketing Vendors.

b. Telemarketing Quality Assurance Standards and Procedures applicable to all telemarketing solicitations.

c. UBP Compliant Telemarketing Script.

d. UBP Compliant Verification Script.

e. Randomized review by Buy of telephone solicitations and verifications on a regular basis.

Other actions undertaken by Buy Energy Direct, in addition to those immediately taken last year in response to the show cause order (which included terminating its relationship with the telemarketer whose sales generated most of the complaints) include:

• Engaging a new telemarketing vendor, with training and testing to help ensure proper enrollment and marketing practices.

• Retaining the services of a new TPV company to conduct verifications for its telephonic enrollments, and with training to assure that the appropriate verification processes are followed.

• Hiring a Compliance Officer

• Implementing a toll free telephone number for customer inquiries of any type and utility emergency contact details, and new enhanced telephone system that allows for the log in of all calls that are not immediately answered.

• Responding to all customer complaints in a timely fashion.

• Allowing any customers enrolled by the terminated telemarketer to cancel service without penalty, and providing these customers with a credit if the amount billed exceeded the comparable utility price.