Customer anger at many gas suppliers: hefty price increases, letters that are difficult to understand, cheeky advice…
BILD reader Jens K. (27) from Südbrookmerland (Lower Saxony) received a letter from his basic supplier EWE. It is recommended to him to increase his monthly deduction from 152 to 648 euros in view of the price increases. I beg your pardon? K. should voluntarily pay more than 300 percent more per month?
E-bike salesman Jens: “I couldn’t afford that anymore. Why are they advising me like that?”
Experts recommend NOT to voluntarily increase the monthly deduction. Reason one: It’s an interest-free loan for utilities. Reason two: In the event of bankruptcy, the money is as good as gone.
Jens K. sent BILD the EWE letter from the customer account, a screenshot of its home page and a photo of the letter as proof. 648 euros is mentioned everywhere as “your individual discount recommendation”.
The letter from EWE
Why is EWE advising customers to voluntarily pay 300 percent more even though money is tight everywhere?
EWE communications chief Dietmar Bücker says to BILD: “We have to deny the values mentioned on the letter from the customer shown.” Such a document was never issued and must therefore have been manipulated. A letter was never sent anyway. As a reminder: BILD has a photo of the document in question.
BILD says: It’s adventurous how EWE talks its way out of it. What’s going on there? Most recently, the basic supplier had to admit that it had sent incorrect notices. Now the next EWE buck?
Customer Jens K.: “Thank you for bringing light into the darkness with BILD. It stays at my previous deduction. I’m glad. Thanks.”