Choosing the right electricity and gas operator in Italy is not easy. The offers are varied and you are often immersed in a real jungle of information which is hard to navigate, especially if you're not a native Italian. So, how can you get around it and more importantly avoid getting ripped off by scams? Let's see what to pay attention to when choosing your gas and electricity tarrifs in 2020.
As pointed out by the Italian newspaper, Italia Oggi, scams, non-transparent proposals and aggressive sales methods can make the choice of electricity and gas supplier a very complicated task. If, on the one hand, the fear of being ripped off often prevents consumers from changing contracts, on the other hand, the desire to save sometimes leads consumers to be reckless and fall into sales traps. It's good to be particulary vigilent of door-to-door, telephone and mail order sales.
With regard to calls that electricity and gas customers in Italy may recieve from call centres, alarm bells should ring if the seller is speaking with a general lack of clarity regarding the identity of the caller and the company, but also if reference is made to certain savings without having provided or shared accurate information on the user's consumption, as well as any excessive insistence on concluding a contract. In view of the transition to the free energy market, postponed to 1 January 2022, customers must also be wary of door-to-door sellers who state that "the protected market has ended and therefore it is compulsory to sign a contract in the free market". This is not true because there is currently no obligation to change to the free market.
You should also be aware of those who try to get customers to sign new contracts. As highlighted by the newspaper Italia Oggi, sellers often like, "taking advantage of the fact that every quarter, and exclusively for protected service customers, Arera updates the reference prices". This means companies can try to talk customers into signing a new contract with the excuse of having to verify the implementation of the update and ask to see invoices. In this case, it is advisable to know that the update is automatic and it is not necessary to sign any documentation. But also pay attention to those who present themselves as representatives of the electricity and gas providers whose duty is simply to carry out technical works: such technicians do not ask for user data or about signing contracts.
So, here's what to do (and what not to do) to avoid scams:
- Do not communicate the POD (Point Of Delivery - a code that uniquely identifies your utilities for electricity supply) or the PDR (the redelivery point (PDR) is a code identifying the physical point where the natural gas is delivered by the supplier) to anyone you don't trust.
- Do not sign documents and contracts without having paid due attention to them.
- If you are in any way suspicious about a seller, do not say "yes" or "confirm" over the phone.
- Do not show your bills or give your details to any door-to-door sellers or to those who call you on the phone; ask for proposals to be made in the written form of a contract.
You can also compare gas and electricty prices on the official ARERA website.
Article seen at: Mercato dell'energia, allerta sui contratti truffa (Italia oggi)
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