Frankfurt (dpa/lhe) – The consumer advice center in Hesse is currently receiving numerous complaints about increases in gas and electricity deductions. Some of the adjustments are “completely exaggerated”, said the consumer advice center and recommended that the corresponding information letter and the new deductions be checked carefully. If necessary, consumers should also request a correction of the deductions, it said.
The price brakes for electricity and gas have been in effect since Wednesday. They also apply retrospectively for the months of January and February and are intended to relieve consumers. “All the more annoying that some providers are obviously trying to cash in and push through completely excessive deductions,” said the consumer advice center.
There are currently numerous inquiries about the energy supplier Eprimo from Neu-Isenburg, which has informed customers about the price brake and new discounts. These would be “sometimes several hundred to a thousand euros above what is calculated based on consumption and the applicable tariffs,” according to the consumer advice center. In the case of a complaint from a gas customer, the “previous discount has been increased almost sixfold”.
An Eprimo spokesman explained that the higher discounts result from the increased procurement prices for gas and on the basis of the company’s rolling billing system. The significant increases primarily affect those customers who had previously paid a relatively low gas price per kilowatt hour, in which these increased procurement prices were not yet reflected, and whose annual billing is imminent. The duration of the new deductions is limited in time until this next annual statement – especially in the case of high deductions, this is often only one or two months. From the annual statement, customers could expect lower discounts, about which the company will inform accordingly. According to the spokesman, the claims are not outstanding from previous accounting periods.
