The Dutch Consumers’ Association (Consumentenbond) has opened a reporting point for residents with variable energy contracts. The organisation wants to determine how many people in the Netherlands have been overcharged by energy suppliers and work towards getting them compensation.

Dutch energy suppliers wrongly increasing variable rates

With an energy contract with a variable rate, the energy supplier sets prices twice a year, but interim rate changes are possible in “exceptional circumstances”. An amendment clause in the terms and conditions states what is considered exceptional.

In March this year, a customer of energy company Vattenfall filed an objection with the Dutch court appeal against interim rate increases and the court ruled in favour of the customer, stating that the amendment clause was unfair.

However, Vattenfall is not the only energy company that does this, which means that the ruling could have far-reaching consequences. According to the Consumentenbond, “millions of consumers have been paying excessively high rates for years”.

Consumentenbond launches reporting point for variable energy contracts

Together with ConsumentenClaim, Consumentenbond has launched a reporting point and is urging all residents who have had a variable energy contract in the past five years to report unwarranted rate changes. The goal is to “gain insight into how many consumers have been affected and how great the damage is”.

The organisations want energy suppliers to compensate consumers for overcharging them. “Our goal is to reach an agreement. Legal proceedings are a last resort. A mass claim also takes a lot of time and we want to be able to take steps quickly. But we are not ruling anything out,” said director of Consumentenbond Sandra Molenaar.

If you have a variable energy contract and have experienced unwarranted rate changes, you can register for the reporting point on the Consumentenbond website (in Dutch).

Call for lower VAT on energy

This is not the first time Consumentenbond has fought for people in the Netherlands. Together with energy experts, Consumentenbond suggested to the House of Representatives that the VAT for energy be lowered from 21 percent to 9 percent.

“Ordinary households now pay no less than 32 times as much energy tax per kilowatt hour of electricity in the Netherlands as large business consumers,” the Consumentenbond told De Telegraaf. Essent and Vattenfall are pushing for the energy tax to be scrapped completely as VAT is already levied. According to Oosterhout Nieuws, Essent argued that most of the rising costs in energy have been because of government policies. 

Wytske Postma (NSC) argued that abolishing all energy taxes would cost the government 8 billion euros, which could be used to insulate homes instead. She suggested that energy companies should contribute more financing themselves, in the energy emergency fund, for example. Lowering energy prices is a priority of the coalition parties and will be discussed further in the Spring Memorandum debate.