TORONTO, July 18, 2013 /CNW/ - Blue Power Distributed Energy Corp./morEnergy Savings Corp. (Blue/morEnergy) will pay a $120,000 administrative penalty and give impacted customers the option to cancel contracts which were signed online and not verified afterward.
The action is part of a settlement agreement filed by Blue/morEnergy and accepted by the Board.
The agreement follows a recent inspection by the Board's Regulatory Compliance staff. It found evidence suggesting that Blue/morEnergy breached its legal and regulatory requirements in two main areas:
- Blue/morEnergy sales agents were signing consumers to contracts without the consumer's knowledge or consent;
- The company did not make proper verification phone calls to consumers who entered into contracts over the Internet.
The company has agreed to send a notice to customers:
- who signed a contract after October 11, 2011 during an in-person visit by a sales agent equipped with an electronic tablet such as an iPad; and
- whose contracts were not verified.
These customers will have the option to terminate the contract without penalty.
As set out in the settlement agreement, customers who wish to continue with their contracted price with Blue/morEnergy can request to do so.
Board staff also conducted a Contract Pricing Audit which revealed that incorrect price comparisons were provided to consumers in some instances. Affected customers will be notified by Blue/morEnergy and will be given the option to opt out of their contract with Blue/morEnergy and will be provided with a corrected price comparison form.
Quick Facts:
- Affected Blue/morEnergy customers are primarily from the areas of Kitchener, Oshawa, St. Catharines, Chatham and Brantford;
- Blue/morEnergy has agreed not to solicit or sign any new contracts with low volume customers for a period of three years; and
- Blue/morEnergy has agreed not to re-apply for a submeter license from the Board for a period of three years.
The Ontario Energy Board is an independent and impartial public agency. We make decisions that serve the public interest. Our goal is to promote a financially viable and efficient energy sector that provides consumers with reliable energy services at a reasonable cost.
Helpful Links:
- View our video on what to know about energy contracts before you sign anything. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Q5srRp8doRM
- Try our online calculator to see what your bill would look like with a contract price compared to the regulated price provided through your local utility. www.ontarioenergyboard.ca/oeb/consumers.
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SOURCE: Ontario Energy Board
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