Electricity and gas: How to get compensation

Created: 02/10/2022 11:28 am

By: Matthew Schneider

Mass terminations and price increases: Many customers are currently having to put up with a lot from their energy suppliers.

But consumers can often defend themselves by demanding their rights.

Thousands of households have had their electricity or gas providers give them notice of termination or massive price increases in the past few weeks.

The reason for this is the skyrocketing prices, which put many low-cost providers, who do their business with short-term procurement, under pressure.

Do customers have to accept these cancellations?

What can you do if the only option left is to go to the expensive basic supplier?

"A termination or price increase is illegal if it is not justified by the special contract including the general terms and conditions," explains Marion Gaksch, a lawyer for energy law at the Bavarian consumer advice center.

"If you get such a message, you have to act quickly."

read meter reading

Whenever you change supplier – even if you don’t want to – you should read the meter readings and report this to the old supplier, the grid operator and the default supplier, or the new energy supplier.

Because: "Without meter readings, the energy suppliers estimate maybe too high," explains consumer advocate Gaksch.

Appeal against dismissal

You have to be quick here: "Immediately afterwards, you should object to the termination or price increase in writing and demand to be supplied according to the agreed tariff," explains the energy lawyer.

"It is advisable to set a deadline of 14 days for this."

A corresponding sample letter is available at this link: https://www. Verbraucherzentrale.de/sites/default/files/2021-12/musterbrief-lieferstopp-energieversorger.pdf.

The letter should be sent at least by registered mail so that you can then download the delivery confirmation from the Internet.

If you want to be absolutely sure, have the bailiff deliver the letter.

This costs some money, but not only the delivery, but also the content of the letter is officially confirmed.

This can be important in later disputes, because the deadlines only begin with the delivery of the claims.

The service is requested at the local district court.

A spokesman for the Bavarian Ministry of Justice explains the costs for this: “In the case of a personal delivery, there are generally costs of eleven euros, with other deliveries – especially if the post is commissioned – of 3.30 euros.” According to the ministry, this may be an additional cost distance-dependent travel allowance of 3.25 euros (for distances of up to ten kilometers as the crow flies) up to 16.25 euros (for distances of more than 40 kilometers as the crow flies) as well as a flat-rate expense allowance of 20% of the fee to be charged (at least three euros and a maximum of ten euros per order).

Depending on the individual case, an additional certification fee and a flat-rate document fee may apply.

Depending on the number of pages, it is more a matter of cents.

Compensation from the energy supplier

The consumer advice centers assume that customers who have been terminated in violation of the contract have a right to compensation.

This is generally based on the additional costs that arise in the more expensive contract.

A calculation example:

The original contract had a term of twelve months.

Energy worth 100 euros is consumed every month.

After six months, the supplier stops delivering.

The customer slips into the replacement supply, where he has to pay 200 euros a month because of higher prices.

After four weeks, he manages to switch to a cheaper provider, where he only has to pay 150 euros.

Instead of the contractually guaranteed expenses of 600 euros in six months, he had to pay 950 euros.

"He is entitled to the difference of 350 euros as compensation," says Gaksch.

The limitation period is three years from the time of the breach of contract.

But there is a pitfall here: "It is difficult to estimate in advance what costs will arise, which is why such claims are easily contested," explains Gaksch.

Certainly, the claims can only be quantified after the end of the contract period.

"Consumers shouldn't get their money's worth in the short term," warns Gaksch.

Call the arbitration board for energy

If the provider does not give in and does not meet the demand for further delivery or compensation, the way to the arbitration board remains.

This can be found on the internet at schleiungsstelle-energie.de.

"In order for the procedure to be opened, you have to prove that you have previously tried unsuccessfully with the supplier," explains Gaksch.

The arbitration board then tries to reach an out-of-court settlement.

Take legal action against the provider

If arbitration is unsuccessful, legal recourse remains.

"If the parties don't agree, you can pursue a civil lawsuit," explains Gaksch.

But that is extremely risky: "In a civil lawsuit, if you lose, you bear the entire cost of the proceedings." Therefore, a lawsuit for a value in dispute of just a few hundred euros is disproportionate.

However, illegal behavior on the part of the suppliers can be beneficial: According to media reports, the public prosecutor's office has started preliminary investigations against the suppliers Stromio, Gas.de and Grünwelt because of the mass layoffs.

Marion Gaksch on this: “Criminal law is not civil law.

However, if there is a conviction, this could also help affected consumers in a lawsuit for damages.”

When the provider goes bankrupt

Discount providers in particular often file for bankruptcy.

Thus, an insolvency administrator is responsible for meeting all obligations.

"By law, however, things like employee salaries or social security contributions are paid first," says Gaksch.

Consumer claims are quite far behind.

"That's why you should assert your claims as early as possible in order to forestall insolvency or at least to improve your chances of getting a share," advises the lawyer.

Whether insolvency proceedings are ongoing is usually announced on the supplier's website.

Consulting a lawyer is hardly worthwhile: "In the insolvency proceedings, work is carried out according to certain tables, so you can't negotiate anything out of it," says Gaksch.

apply for enforcement

If consumers have undisputed claims against the provider that are not settled, they can turn to a collection court, explains Gaksch.

But that only makes sense “when it comes to an open credit or a written agreement”.

However, the company can always object to the court order.

This dispute would then have to be resolved before the civil court.

The district court in Coburg is responsible for dunning notices from Bavarian consumers.

Consumers can submit the dunning application under the following link: www.mahngerichte.de/mahngerichte/coburg.

If successful, the person reminded bears all costs.

According to the Ministry of Justice, these are calculated according to the amount in dispute from the table in Section 34 of the Court Costs Act.

With the 0.5 fee applicable to dunning notices, court costs of 70 euros would be incurred for a value of 4,000 euros and court costs of 133 euros for a value of 10,000 euros.

The minimum fee is currently 36 euros.

Tenant rights for gas and electricity

As tenants, consumers generally have no direct contact with the gas suppliers.

The property management has obligations for this: "The principle of profitability applies," explains Volker Rastätter, spokesman for the Munich Tenants' Association, "that means that the property manager always has to take care of a cheap supply." Tenants can therefore find out why by looking at the receipts their overhead costs increase.

“If the gas provider terminates this contract in breach of contract, the property manager must take action.

He can demand compensation from the provider.

Because in this case, the gas is often more expensive via the default supplier.”

However, this only makes sense if the gas supplier is not insolvent.

Then the property manager has to pay back the money reimbursed by the provider to the tenants via the utility bill.

If the electricity provider goes bankrupt, tenants have little chance of getting their money back.

If a property manager refuses to look for a cheaper supplier or to take action against the old gas provider and the latter is not insolvent, tenants should seek advice from experts as to what extent it makes sense to reduce the back payment of the additional costs.

However, this should not be done independently, as there is a risk of termination if the reduction is too great.

If tenants and landlords disagree, the dispute must be settled in a civil court.

"In the tenants' association, we then try to agree with the landlord if there are several people affected, to take one case as a test case," says Volker Rastätter, "the result of this process is applied to the other cases, because it's the same situation."

Read here how you can save on heating.