On Monday, the Consumers’ Association already came to the gun with other foundations on behalf of 230,000 customers. Earlier, Claimer.nl and the Fair Trade Practices Foundation also demanded money back.
Massaclaim against energy companies due to too high costs ‘seems promising’: are you eligible for it?
On Tuesday afternoon the legal battle was performed with the collective action against ten providers. Customers are represented by the Consumer Justice Foundation (CJF).
She demands compensation for a million number of extra customers. In addition, she represents small companies that say they have been duped since April 2017 by unfair and illegal price increases.
Summons
CJF summons the six earlier parties – Vattenfall, Eneco, Essent, Budget Energieirect and Greenchoice for consumers – and adds Greenchoice for small companies, Engie, Oxxio and Vandebron.
CJF’s claim is the first to specifically represent Dutch small businesses. Below that family businesses such as bakeries and cafés. These companies were forced to absorb the higher energy costs or to pass on to customers.
This promotion is also different: it also focuses on violating competition law.
Consumers’ Association is continuing Massaclaim against energy companies to pay variable contracts: ‘Millions of people may have paid too much for years’
This foundation states that the energy suppliers have ‘tensioned’ together in order to limit competition by using collective unfair clauses to increase prices in an illegal manner. With that, consumers do not benefit from market forces that could print prices.
That is why CJF says to hold the ten suppliers jointly and severally liable. “The goal is not only to challenge individual misconduct, but also systematic failure of the market,” said the foundation at the summons at the Amsterdam court.
‘Contrary to European law’
The basis for the claims, she states, lies in the ‘Change Clauses’ that energy suppliers would be wrongly used since April 2017 to be able to increase the prices of variable contracts in the meantime. Those clauses would be contrary to European consumer law.
The energy companies call their price changes justified and according to what was customary in the market. They state that the prizes followed from the general terms and conditions and had to be necessary to move with the drastically increased purchasing costs at the wholesale markets.
Provider Vattenfall went to the Supreme Court to enforce a final judgment.