THE KNOT – The head of Federconsumatori Macerata, Lorenzo Longo on the arrival of the free market: «We receive on average 15 calls a day from citizens asking for advice. People are disoriented, they don’t know what to do and how to move in this jungle of contracts. With Spi Cgil we have decided to train volunteers in all our local offices ready to provide assistance and precise information”. Between fixed and variable price offers there are average price increases from 11% up to a peak of 128%
December 28, 2023 – 8.23pm
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Lorenzo Longo
Of Mauro Giustozzi
Less than four days away, the time has come for many users in the Macerata area to decide which gas service provider company to rely on in the free market that the beginning of 2024 will bring with it. The countdown has already started a few weeks ago but now that we are getting ever closer to the deadline of January 1st, the concern and uncertainty of gas users who will necessarily have to move from the protected market to the free market is growing.
The Federconsumatori association is feeling the pulse of the impact that this transition is having, and in these last days of the year it is inundated with calls from citizens asking for information, advice, suggestions, also because they are contacted daily, directly or by phone, by companies that invite you to move to the free market without providing detailed indications of what you will encounter.
«Here we are, the protected market for the supply of gas will cease on January 1st – says the head of Federconsumatori Macerata, Lorenzo Longo – and customers, with the exception of the vulnerable, will have to choose a supplier on the free market. For electricity, however, the deadline was initially set for April. In recent days, the energy authority has instead extended the end of the protected energy market to July 1st. This phase has generated a lot of confusion and is characterized by inadequate information on the part of the institutions. Considering the frequent calls we are receiving to the telephone numbers of our offices, on average about fifteen a day, from people who are disoriented, do not know what to do and how to move in this jungle of contracts, we have decided in synergy with the Spi Cgil to train volunteers in all our local offices ready to provide assistance and precise information in order to support users in the transition without making wrong choices and avoiding incurring price increases and abuse. Citizens cannot be left at the mercy of chaos and a disinformation campaign by call centers intent only on winning contracts”.
The national Federconsumatori Observatory analyzed the offers of 8 national supplier companies, comparing the overall annual costs for an average consumption of 1,400 cubic meters of gas. The study shows that, to date, in no case is the free market with fixed price offers more convenient than the protected market. On the contrary, on average it is 49% more expensive, with a peak of 128%. Things are no better in the case of variable price offers which on average cost 11% more than the protected market. Making a comparison between the offers on the free market, between those at a fixed price and those at a variable price, in most cases the latter are on average 37% more expensive. Only in three cases are there lower fixed price offers, but with an extremely reduced convenience margin ranging from -4% to -8%. «The Federconsumatori Macerata – recalls Lorenzo Longo – launched an information campaign throughout the province in recent months in which over 400 citizens affected by this step participated. We have had the opportunity to verify how chaotic the situation of the transition to the free market is, we have in fact collected fears and concerns from citizens who feel lost in this jumble of free market offers which does not guarantee, at least to date, any convenience compared to to the protected person. We suggested that citizens, persecuted by the continuous and insistent phone calls from aggressive call centers, contact our branches so that we can provide them with useful tools that will allow them to better navigate the range of offers offered in the free market. For vulnerable customers, the most appropriate choice is represented by remaining or returning to the protection service, for non-vulnerable customers currently in protection, the generally most useful choice is to evaluate the most convenient proposal from your supplier by making a comparison with other offers” .
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2023-12-28 19:23:00
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