• Impersonation of other companies, misrepresentation of future electricity and gas bills, obstruction of contract termination – these are only some of the practices that Fortum Marketing and Sales Polska may have engaged in.
• Tomasz Chróstny, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, obliged the company to, among others, pay a compensation of PLN 49 to all consumers who filed a complaint.
• A ban on the conclusion of contracts for the sale of electricity or gas at consumers' homes will soon go into effect.

Fortum Marketing and Sales Polska (formerly Duon Marketing and Trading) seated in Gdańsk is an electricity and gas seller. The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection has received numerous complaints from consumers concerning the sale activities conducted by its representatives at their homes, i.e. off premises. In February 2020, the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection initiated proceedings and charged Fortum Marketing and Sales Polska (FMSP) with violation of collective consumer interests.

"Many people complained that representatives of Fortum Marketing and Sales Polska impersonated their current electricity and gas supplier, untruthfully promised lower bills, concealed important details of promotions and did not leave signed documents, making it difficult to withdraw from concluded contracts. These practices led to consumers entering into financially unfavourable agreements," says Tomasz Chróstny, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

Practices employed by Fortum Marketing and Sales Polska

• Impersonation of the current electricity or gas supplier when visiting consumers and misleading them as to the purpose of signing of presented documents, e.g. claiming that they are contract extensions or annexes stemming from company reorganisation, when they are actually agreements with a new supplier – Fortum Marketing and Sales Polska – entailing termination of contracts concluded with the current supplier.

Examples of complaints:

This company sells gas through its agents; they come to your house and demand to see the latest invoice for gas, making it clear that they are representatives (...), they ask why acceptance of new contract terms was not sent to their seat.

A representative of Fortum Marketing and Sales Polska S.A. impersonated the supplier (...). He mislead an 80-year-old person by informing them about the need to sign an annex to the current agreement due to a change in address and business name.

• Concealment of details of promotions. Representatives of FMSP did not inform the consumers that taking advantage of the promised discounts, such as a 20 percent discount with a 4-year price guarantee, required them to take additional steps within a strict deadline and applied only up to certain consumption limits. If they failed to file an appropriate application within 30 days of publication of a new tariff approved by the President of the Energy Regulatory Office, e.g. for PGNiG, they had to pay regular rates instead of promotional ones.
• Misrepresentation with respect to future bills. Consumers were tempted by the promise of lower electricity or gas rates. Meanwhile, the bills proved higher than what was charged by the previous supplier, and the representatives of FMSP concealed information about additional fees, e.g. trading fee.

Examples of complaints:

We were promised lower electricity bills compared to (...) – the bills exceeded PLN 500; I have never been charged so much for electricity by (...).

The representative did not inform me about a trading fee of PLN 15 per month. (...) had no such fee.

• Failure to provide consumers with copies of signed documents, potentially making it more difficult for them to review the terms and conditions in detail, withdraw from the contract or pursue claims.
• Failure to inform about the possibility of withdrawing from the contract. A consumer has the right to withdraw from an off-premises contract with no consequences within 14 days of conclusion of that contract. According to regulations, the company was obliged to inform the consumer about that right and provide a model notice of termination. Representatives of FMSP did not always fulfil that obligation.
• Failure to acknowledge withdrawal from contracts. There were cases when, despite the consumer's timely submission of an appropriate declaration, FMSP continued the process of changing the electricity or gas supplier and sent the customer bills and demands for payment.

Commitment – compensation for consumers

Fortum Marketing and Sales Polska stopped concluding off-premises contracts over a year ago. It also proposed compensation to remedy the negative effects of unfair practices. The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection issued a decision accepting the entrepreneur's commitments.

"The decision obliging Fortum Marketing and Sales Polska will make it possible to remedy the effects of unfair practices in an efficient manner, which is beneficial for consumers," says Tomasz Chróstny, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

Every aggrieved consumer who filed a complaint against FMSP not later than one year after conclusion of an off-premises contract (between 1 November 2016 and 14 June 2021) will receive a compensation of PLN 49. Irrespective of the above, the company will waive or reimburse these persons for all fees related to early termination of contract. For those who have not yet done so, FMSP will make it possible to terminate their contract at no cost. With respect to customers who complained about being misled as to the terms and conditions of promotions, the company will, among others, have their accounts for electricity or gas consumption adjusted to reflect the promised discount for the entire promotional period specified in the contract and reimburse them for any overpayment. The company is obliged to inform all aggrieved consumers about their rights. For details, see the decision of the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

FMSP has 6 months from the effective date of the decision to fulfil its obligations.

New regulations – no more off-premises contracts for electricity and gas

On 20 May 2021, the Sejm (Polish Parliament) has adopted an amendment to the Energy Law Act which prohibits the conclusion of contracts for energy, gas and heat off premises, e.g. at consumers' homes. On 1 June, Andrzej Duda, President of the Republic of Poland, has signed the new legislation. The ban on conclusion of off-premises contracts for sale of electricity and gas will enter into effect 14 days after the amendment is published in the Dziennik Ustaw (Journal of Laws). All electricity and gas contracts signed at consumers' homes after that date will be void under the law.

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