Sir, – Gas and electricity suppliers operate on a yearly contract that agrees to supply at a discounted price from the “standard rate”.
Immediately on the expiry of this contract, and without notification, the price reverts to the full standard rate.
The onus is placed on the customer to be aware of the expiry date and to initiate discussions on a new contract.
Before agreeing a contract, the suppliers get full data of address, phone, banking details and, most importantly, email. Throughout the year, they regularly contact their customers by email with marketing and promotional data.
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A serious exception to this exchange is that they are extraordinarily silent when it comes to the renewal of the contract.
Surely a service supplier that values and wishes to retain its customers would be eager to email them of the imminent change.
But no, they don’t. Could it be that they prefer to avail of the opportunity to stealthily get customers back on the maximum rate?
Any company undertaking, as part of its agreement, to notify customers in advance of the end of the contract should gain a significant marketing advantage, yet none of them does. Is this not strange? They all seem to be content to swap customers at end of year and feed at the trough that is the “standard rate”, even if only for a few months every year.
I wonder if our consumer protection bodies have a view on this. Surely advance notification of end of contract would be desirable, if not mandatory. – Yours, etc,
L MURRAY,
Foxrock,
Dublin 18.