N.Y. Attorney General Seeks Conditions on ESCO's Marketing to Residential Customers, Own Review Continues

The New York Attorney General said in comments to the PSC that Buy Energy Direct, LLC's eligibility to serve residential customers should not be reinstated until several conditions are met.

Buy Energy Direct voluntarily decided to cease marketing to residential customers under a prior show-cause order regarding customer complaints, and the PSC later directed that Buy Energy Direct be prohibited from marketing to residential customers until further PSC action. Buy Energy Direct has submitted a compliance plan to resume residential marketing.

The AG said that Buy Energy Direct's authorization to market to residential customers should not be reinstated unless and until Buy Energy agrees to reimburse all consumers, "who were harmed by Buy Energy's deceptive residential marketing practices"

The AG said that although Buy Energy has represented to the PSC that customers submitting complaints who were enrolled by its previous telemarketer were provided a credit if the amount billed exceeded the comparable utility price, "it is likely that numerous additional consumers await restitution."

The AG also sought to impose the following additional requirements on Buy Energy Direct:

(a) Buy Energy must provide in-person training to all representatives who will market on behalf of Buy Energy and each representative must sign a written confirmation that he or she completed and understood such training.

(b) By the fifteenth day of each month, Buy Energy must review a random sample of no less than 50 recordings of sales made by its representatives during the prior month to ensure that the representatives' conduct complied with the UBP.

(c) Buy Energy must record all telephonic marketing presentations and make them available to the Commission for review upon request. The AG said that while Buy Energy asserts that it will on a random and regular basis review a meaningful sample of sales recordings and verifications to ensure that the telemarketing vendor is following the standards codified in the telemarketing quality assurance program, "Buy Energy has not committed to recording all actual telephonic marketing presentations and retain such recordings for review by regulatory authorities."

The AG also said that in parallel with the PSC proceeding, the NY AG is conducting an ongoing investigation into Buy Energy's past marketing practices with respect to residential consumers. "That investigation has not been resolved," the AG said

"While this investigation is pending, the NY AG respectfully requests that the Commission delay resolution of Buy Energy's request until such time as the NY AG investigation is concluded or, in the alternative, only grant it pursuant to the conditions outlined above," the AG said