Consumer advice center warns of misleading letters: Be careful with energy price reductions!

Consumer advice center warns of misleading letters: Be careful with energy price reductions!

The Berlin consumer advice center warns against deceptive letters that claim to offer price reductions for electricity and gas contracts. Such letters are currently in circulation, advertising the energy providers Primastrom, Voxenergy and Nowenergy. Consumer advocates emphasize that these alleged price cuts actually represent new contracts at inflated prices. Customers could be misled into signing a new contract by misleading wording in the letter without understanding the consequences. Energy law consultant Hasibe Dündar warns of the long-term effects that entering into such a contract could have.

The consumer advice center recommends checking the subject line of these letters carefully, as they give the impression that only a price reduction form needs to be filled out. It is important to recognize that this is in fact a new contract. Even if the advertised prices appear lower, they are still well above the average price on the market. In addition, these prices are only guaranteed for three months and could even increase afterwards. Some contracts even stipulate a minimum term of 24 months with unfavorable conditions.

Consumers who have received such a letter should not sign it and should consider the possibility of changing provider. It is advisable to research the current market prices before making a switch. If the contract has already been signed, consumers should check whether it can be revoked. If unacceptable price increases are suspected in the existing contract, legal advice is recommended. The Berlin consumer advice center emphasizes the advantages of switching providers and informs that new electricity contracts can currently be concluded at cheaper labor prices. It is therefore worth comparing current contracts with market offers to find potential savings.