Unrest about Mega as winner of group purchase, “but not necessary”

More than 90,000 West Flemish families and companies registered for the group purchase of electricity and gas. But according to competent commissioner Jurgen Vanlerberghe there is no reason for concern and the variable contract offers sufficient guarantees for the consumer. “The conditions explicitly state that advance payments cannot be adjusted without the explicit agreement of the customer,” says Deputy Jurgen Vanlerberghe. “We have stipulated that the fixed fee for an earlier departure, which can be done free of charge, will be charged pro rata.”

Bad turn

Last fall, complaints about Mega poured in, both at the ombudsman service for energy and consumer organization Test-Achats. The energy watchdog CREG also reprimanded the supplier for misleading price calculations. “Mega didn’t take such a good turn last year,” says energy ombudsman Eric Houtman. “They accounted for one third of the complaints. This mainly concerned the unilateral charging of increased advance invoices. Or the unsolicited switching of prices from fixed to variable contracts.”

(Read more below the photo)

Rates will fall

†We were in that rising market last year,” responds Elsie Van Linthout of Mega. “The advances are good from the start, even more: they will fall as energy prices fall. Mega has signed the consumer agreement. We are the largest Belgian supplier. I think all the elements are there to have confidence.”

Normally eight out of ten participants accept the winning supplier’s proposal. The contract runs from May 1.