Energy provider HEM fined over a million euros for misleading customers

Energy provider Hollands Energie Maatschappij (HEM) will receive a fine of 1.1 million euros from the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) for misleading customers when selling contracts over the phone. HEM employees calling to recruit new customers were unclear about the terms and conditions of the contracts, according to the watchdog.

Therefore, "customers realized later that they had been signed up for an expensive contract under false pretenses," the ACM alleged. The regulator said that the telemarketers who worked for companies hired by HEM did not tell customers that they were actually working on behalf of the energy provider. Instead, they allegedly told customers that they were calling about their current energy contract or spoke about price protection.

They were also very forceful. Customers who requested to leave HEM were charged high termination fees by the energy provider.

The ACM received many complaints about the company. The watchdog had earlier warned about the HEM's high prices.

HEM defended itself by saying that it was not the energy company but the intermediaries that engaged customers in a misleading manner, the ACM noted. The energy provider also stated that the company is preparing measures to ensure that they stick to the rules in the future and added that they felt that the decision to issue a fine was treated arbitrarily.

The ACM claimed that HEM is responsible for the misleading sales calls. They also did not believe that the preparation of measures to prevent this from happening again would have had a significant impact on their decision. HEM has not responded to questions regarding the fine.

The ACM had put HEM under tightened supervision in December because customers had to wait too long for money that the energy company owed them. HEM objected to the extra supervision.