Claims company Gobaxter wants to start a mass claim against energy companies that increased their variable rates last year. According to Gobaxter, 4.7 million households together have paid almost 2 billion euros too much for their gas and electricity.
Gobaxter bases this statement on a ruling by the court of Amsterdam in a consumer case against Vattenfall. This woman was told on March 22 last year that the energy company would increase the rates as of April 1 because of the war. That interim increase was not agreed upon, she went to court and they reversed the rate increase.
“What matters is that the general terms and conditions do not state specifically when the energy company is allowed to increase the rates. It is too late that you only give that explanation when the rate increase is implemented. Then you adjust the general terms and conditions in the meantime,” says Jochem van Dalfsen of Gobaxter.
Not only Vattenfall was wrong according to Gobaxter, almost all energy companies apply more or less the same general terms and conditions on this point. It states that the rate can be adjusted twice a year, but due to the tumultuous price movements on the energy market, energy companies started doing this quarterly or even monthly last year. According to Vattenfall, the general conditions provide that scope.
On average, a household with a variable contract paid 400 euros too much last year, says the claim company that wants to litigate against the energy companies according to the no cure, no pay principle. Participating in the mass claim, in which one lawsuit is conducted on behalf of large groups of consumers, is free. If Gobaxter wins the lawsuit, 25 percent of the compensation will go to the company. More than 50,000 consumers have already registered.
People are very happy that they might get some of their money back
If every household were to participate and Gobaxter wins, the company would earn 500 million euros, a quarter of 2 billion euros. “We assume several hundred thousand households that participate,” says Van Dalfsen. “People are very happy that they may be able to recover part of the sky-high energy bill. The energy crisis has hit hard.”
“The risk for the energy companies is even greater than the 2 billion euros, because the judge has said that the full change clause in the variable contracts is unfair and that would mean that all rate changes since 2017 are illegal.”
Gobaxter was previously active under the name Mobiclaim. Mobiclaim sued telecom companies that offered ‘free’ telephones with a subscription, while the costs were hidden in the monthly subscription costs. After three years of litigation, it led to settlements between telecom companies and the consumers who had engaged Mobiclaim.
The variable energy price claim can also drag on for years until the Supreme Court finally considers it or until a settlement is reached.
wait
“It is early for such a claim,” says Joyce Donat of the Consumers’ Association. “There will be an appeal in the Vattenfall case, we just have to wait and see whether the case stands up.” She points out that consumers who want to join Gobaxter should also read the general terms and conditions carefully.
The Consumers’ Association will soon have consultations with Energie Nederland, the branch organization of energy companies, in response to the Vattenfall ruling. “How are we going to solve this?” If the energy companies pay back en masse, it can also be a cigar from their own box if energy companies raise the rates to be able to pay the claim. “We can’t have energy companies falling over because of this.”
The major energy suppliers disagree with GoBaxter’s claim. Eneco, one of the defendant companies, says ‘that we are confident that we have agreed on fair and good conditions’.
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss a thing of the stars.