The number of disputes between individuals and energy suppliers exploded last year by more than 35%, according to the National Energy Ombudsman. On his website, the Ombudsman received 22,807 files last year, compared to just under 17,000 the previous year. Olivier Challan Belval, who has held the position since last November, was the guest of Europe 1 on Wednesday to comment on these figures.
>> Find Julien Pearce's morning show in replay and podcast here
"We had already observed an increase in previous years. In reality, if we take the figures from 2016 to 2019, the increase is 86%," recalls Olivier Challan Belval. According to him, a large part of the litigation could be avoided if the actors of the sector better respected the regulations and the procedures."The most frequent disputes that we have dealt with concern invoicing," he said, with, for example, incorrect amounts displayed on invoices sent to customers. "For reasons which are due either to the supplier's information system, or because there was no reading" of the meter (allowing consumption to be measured), adds Olivier Challan Belval.
Italian supplier Eni once again pinned
The report specifically targets supplier Eni. According to Olivier Challan Belval, the Italian company is behind "one in five complaints". As the trend shows, Eni's ability to settle claims would be poor. "This is a problem that has existed for many years since my predecessor. Half of the problems encountered with Eni are billing problems," analyzes the mediator. "When we talk about it with Eni, we have the feeling that they consider it normal. They are rather in denial."
Opening up to competition, a false good idea?
A situation that questions the opening up to competition of the gas and electricity market for individuals in force since July 1, 2017. Could it be the cause of this explosion of litigation? "People change suppliers, adapt their offers. And since there is more activity and movement, there are more opportunities to have problems and transcription errors," admits Olivier Challan Belval , who does not believe that the explosion of litigation "is the consequence of the opening of markets."