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Below is a small sample of some of our recent success stories. Please note that all disputes handled by EOQ are treated on an individual basis and the outcomes vary case to case.
Internal processing oversight
Pat called EOQ with a marketing complaint against an energy representative who door-knocked his home. Pat complained that the representative was very "heavy-handed" and demanded to see his electricity account. Pat said he felt pressured into signing a new contract with the energy company because it was implied that if he didn't sign, it would affect his current electricity rebate (disability support pension). Later that day, Pat emailed the energy company to cancel his contract. The next day Pat decided to phone the energy company to confirm his cancellation. A few weeks later he received a letter from the energy company welcoming him as a new customer. After phoning the energy company to ask why he was sent a welcome letter when he had cancelled his contract, he was informed that he was still a customer of the new energy company. Pat then decided to call EOQ for assistance.
After EOQ intervention, the energy company confirmed that Pat had emailed to cancel his agreement and called the sales agency the next day to confirm his agreement had been cancelled. Due to an internal processing oversight, one section of the energy company was not aware that Pat had called to cancel his agreement. The energy company offered an apology and cancelled Pat's contract immediately.
EOQ backs energy retailer on contract validity dispute
A number of weeks ago Mark visited his local shopping centre where he was approached by an energy salesperson. They told him that they were offering a 10 percent discount for new customers so he signed straight away. A couple of weeks later Mark's previous energy company called him at home because it had come to their attention that he intended to change energy retailers and they wanted to make a counter-offer - a five percent discount off his electricity bill. Mark told his previous company that it was too late because he had already signed with the new company and the 10-day cooling-off period had expired. His previous energy company continued to pressure him, encouraging him to call the new energy company to cancel the contract because he wasn't made aware of the hidden fees and charges at the time of signing the contract.
When Mark called the new energy company he was told that the cooling-off period had lapsed and, as stipulated in the contract, he would be charged a $95.00 exit fee if he wished to terminate the contract. At this point, Mark ended the call. About fifteen minutes later, Mark's old energy company called back to find out how the conversation about cancelling his contract with the new energy retailer had gone. When Mark relayed the conversation about being charged exit fees, his previous company told him to contact EOQ.
EOQ carried out an investigation into Mark's complaint and got a copy of the contract he signed with the new retailer. It was decided that his new energy company had not acted in error - the cancellation fees and charges were printed clearly on the contract approximately ten centimetres from where Mark had signed the contract. EOQ told Mark that the contract he signed was valid and he would have to pay the exit fees if he wanted to cancel the contract. Mark decided to stay with his new retailer.
A kitchen without gas
Colleen, a small business owner, was concerned about the amount of time it was taking her energy company to install gas metering at her new cafe. Colleen contacted the company to raise her concerns but wasn't happy with their response, so she decided to contact EOQ for assistance. Colleen advised one of our investigation officers that she had been waiting for over three weeks for the installation of gas to her property and, because her business could not operate without gas, the delay was costing her significantly.
On Colleen's behalf, one of our investigation officers contacted the energy company involved to explain her predicament and the importance of installing her metering as soon as possible. Two days after EOQ intervention, Colleen's energy company installed the meters at Colleen's place of business. Colleen was very happy with the outcome.
Troublesome trees
Jenny contacted EOQ concerned that after she had paid a deposit to have power extended to her new property, the energy supplier wanted payment for tree clearing. Jenny did not see why she had to pay for tree clearing on Council land as there was no tree clearing required on her property. When EOQ investigated with the energy supplier it was determined that Jenny had signed a contract accepting tree clearing as her responsibility.
After intervention by EOQ the energy supplier agreed to absorb the cost of the consultant it had employed to determine the extent of tree clearing required and for Jenny to obtain her own quotes from approved tree clearing contractors. Jenny was successfully obtained a tree clearing quote that was substantially cheaper than the original.
