Stiftung Warentest warns of the Verivox comparison portal. A drastic change could entice one or the other into the price trap.
- Stiftung Warentest warns users of the comparison portal Verivox.
- If you want to change the electricity or gas provider once a year, you could fall into a price trap.
- Because Verivox has made a drastic change.
Munich - If you are looking for a new provider of electricity or gas providers, you will often first find out on the Internet. The easiest way to do this is on comparison portals such as Verivox . There you will get an overview of various tariffs that might suit you, and you can also sign a new contract if necessary. Especially for those who are not experts on the respective topic, the simple and direct comparison can help and find the right provider .
Stiftung Warentest warns of the Verivox comparison portal
Many users trust comparison portals to avoid having to pay unnecessary additional costs. At the end of 2019, however, Verivox made a drastic change in the order of the listed offers, which could entice one or the other into a price trap. Stiftung Warentest explains: "Anyone who now uses the standard search on the portal's homepage will not always see the cheapest tariff in first place." For this reason, the non-profit German consumer organization warns against the comparison portal and advises instead: "Anyone who regularly uses gas or Electricity tariff changes should avoid the comparison computer Verivox. "
Drastic change at Verivox could make users fall into the price trap
The trick is as follows: So far, the portal was designed entirely for a twelve-month tariff. The old preset search criteria of the comparison portal were primarily aimed at users who regularly switch between electricity and gas providers . Now Verivox surprisingly recommend tariffs with a term of 24 months. Even consumer-friendly criteria such as a short notice period are no longer guaranteed due to the change in the preset search criteria compared to before.
Stiftung Warentest recommends informing several comparison portals
As before, Verivox still sorts its list of results so that the cheapest tariff is at the top. The catch: Only the price for the first contract year would be used. If you look at the total price for 24 months, you will find four to twelve other tariffs in the places that are cheaper than the first place
Stiftung Warentest therefore recommends that anyone who changes electricity and gas tariffs annually should not only get information from one but from several comparison portals. Verivox , however, is explicitly discouraged.
In June Germany was on the verge of a blackout several times. Neighboring countries had to help, the price of electricity went through the roof.
Given some fake test results and even fictitious tests, Stiftung Warentest is now warning consumers. The brazen methods of the fraudsters are stunned.