Households whose energy supply is provided by alternative French suppliers have been shocked by a sharp rise in their bill.
Customers whose bills are tied to the regulated natural gas rate and/or state-regulated electricity rates should not currently experience any increase in their energy costs. The government having capped price increases.
This is the case for customers of the historic national suppliers EDF and Engie. But also alternative companies whose prices are indexed to this regulated price.
However, some suppliers have decided to opt out of the regulated tariff. To finally base their rates on market prices, without consulting their customers.
Romain, who lives in Ardèche, started a contract with Planète OUI in 2019. He told BFM Business that “everything went pretty well” for the first two years. But in January, the company was placed in receivership.
A few weeks later, Romain receives a closing invoice from the supplier claiming €1,887.14 for the period from November to February.
“I was shocked – it’s a month’s pay,” he said.
Planète OUI’s tariffs had been indexed to the regulated tariff. But it seems that the company has decided to switch to market rates. Much higher due to recent inflation.
“Nobody told us. If that was the case, I would have immediately changed supplier. They rejected the price cap,” Romain said.
A move to the supplier Mint Energie
The Montpellier company Mint Energies took care of the 120,000 customers of Planète OUI. Romain’s bills were expected to climb to €700 per month from May. An increase of 483% compared to its previous rate.
Another customer claimed on social media that his bills had suddenly gone from €70 to €609 per month.
He and other customers were informed of this increase by a letter questioning “the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the impact of this tragic context on electricity and gas prices”.
François Carlier, the managing director of the consumer group Consumption, housing and living environment (CLCV), told La Dépêche: “Before the start of the energy crisis, Mint was a “discount” operator, offering prices around 10% cheaper than the regulated tariff. .
“To save money, he does not buy supplies in advance and does not build up stocks, so this operator is very dependent on market fluctuations.
“When there was a surge in September, rates went up three or four times on the open market and those who weren’t covered found themselves in a very problematic situation.
“They started to increase their prices by around 25%, but realized very quickly that this would not be enough. »
Are companies authorized to withdraw contracts from regulated tariffs?
It is not illegal for energy suppliers to switch from regulated tariffs to market tariffs as soon as their customers are informed by e-mail or post at least one month in advance.
Mint Energies appears to have done so, but also acknowledged that some announced rate hikes were linked to “mistakes”.
“For some customers, the benchmark consumption rates were not correct,” the company told La Dépêche. “These people have been contacted and offered refunds or compensation. »
Mr Carlier criticized the fact that the company only has to send an email to its customers to inform them of the price increase.
He argued that the message could get lost in someone’s inbox, especially since “the subject matter is often very vague. For example, “Your rate is changing” to announce a 25% increase.
“If you choose one of these operators, the moral is to make sure you open emails from them,” he said.
Romain brought together a group of 150 former clients of Planète Oui. This is to bring the file to the BCM Energy holding company of Planète OUI.
“We are not only fighting against the increase in our tariffs. But also to help people in financial difficulty and in fuel poverty.
Not the only provider to do so
A similar situation occurred for customers of Electricité de Strasbourg (ÉS), who were told that the company was unable to apply the government’s tariff cap and would therefore have to index prices to the rates of the market. If ÉS customers were not satisfied with this, they would have a hard time switching to another supplier. Because ÉS has a monopoly on the region of the city.
This situation led the mayor of Strasbourg Jeanne Barseghian to ask Prime Minister Jean Castex to oblige ÉS to “translate the measures announced by the government into a commercial effort on all of its gas supply offers”.
What should I do to avoid surprise price increases?
The CLCV filed a complaint against four energy suppliers, including Mint, for “processes that are particularly harmful to their customers”.
Mr. Carlier also argued that when a supplier moves from a regulated tariff to market tariffs, “it is not a change in the contract”, but should be “a new contract”.
He advised consumers to stick to the regulated electricity tariff. As well as large, well-established suppliers to ensure “contractual security”.
The regulated gas tariff is phased out in July 2023. And is therefore no longer available to new customers. But it is always advisable to opt for the biggest companies, which remain the most stable choice.
