Electricity supplier increases discount – illegal, as judged by the court
Created: 2022-10-08 06:23
An energy supplier from Berlin cannot simply increase the monthly deduction if it has to pay more money for the procurement of electricity.
The Berlin district court has now decided that.
Berlin - The district court of Berlin has prohibited the energy supplier EnStroGa from unilaterally raising advance payments from its customers during the billing period if there was no "effective price increase" beforehand.
The Federal Association of Consumers (vzbv) had sued against drastic increases in the monthly deductions by the electricity provider.
According to the terms and conditions, the company should first have effectively raised the electricity price and then adjusted the discount, the
Berlin district court
said in its judgment that has now been published.
For an energy price increase to be effective, it must be announced in good time.
Customers then have a special right of
termination
.
Some of those affected in the disputed cases had also entered into a contract with a limited price guarantee.
The general terms and conditions there stipulated that only higher state taxes could be passed on to the customer, but not higher procurement prices on the market.
The court has now confirmed this.
Increased procurement costs do not justify a breach of contract by an energy provider.
The providers must adhere to price guarantees as well as to the agreed rules on the amount of advance payments.
Companies cannot undermine this legal principle by referring to an energy price crisis.
Kerstin Hoppe, legal officer at vzbv
Electricity price: increase in payments on account illegal
The fact that the energy supplier had nevertheless announced a higher deduction request by e-mail could have prompted customers to have more money debited despite the lack of obligation.
The court therefore sentenced the supplier to no longer unilaterally increase the deductions in such cases.
The Berlin district court now agreed with the opinion of the consumer advocates that the increase in advance payments was unlawful.
That had happened before:
EnStroGa AG had announced to its electricity customers by email in October 2021 that it would drastically increase advance payments.
Instead of 60 euros, a customer suddenly had to pay 84 euros a month – an increase of 40 percent.
Reason: The old amounts are not sufficient "to ensure the energy purchase required for your meter point."
An adjustment of the deductions is generally permissible if the electricity price to be paid increases during the billing period.
According to the Berlin judgment, however, EnStroGa did not adhere to the agreed adjustment mechanism and thus acted in breach of contract.
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The consumer advocates recommend consumers affected by price increases to contact the consumer advice centers.
In individual cases, they can assess whether a price increase is legal.
/
AFP/sth
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