You receive a phone call from an electricity company asking whether you would like cheaper electricity, and you sign an agreement via BankID.
After a while, higher bills arrive and you see that the company has added services and that the contract period is longer than you thought.
Almost every week over the past six months, electricity customers in Sweden have turned to the independent service Energimarknadsbyrån for such reasons, Ylva Lövqvist, legal expert in electricity, gas and heating at Energimarknadsbyrån, tells TT.
Must be confirmed afterwards
But regardless of whether you signed the agreement with BankID or in another way during the conversation with a salesperson, you must have confirmed it in writing after you have ended the conversation.
Otherwise, the agreement is not valid, says Ylva Lövqvist.
This is according to the Distance Contracts Act, which exists precisely to protect consumers against pushy sellers and provide some time to think things over.
Companies are cheating customers with verbal agreements. Sometimes customers have not understood that they have entered into an agreement. In other cases, consumers call, desperate because they have not understood that it is an electricity agreement bound for five years, says Lövqvist.
If the customer tries to dispute the agreement, some electricity companies may insist that the agreement is valid even though it was entered into during a conversation.
Then you as a customer should stand up for yourself and take the matter to the Swedish National Complaints Board and, if necessary, to the district court, says Ylva Lövqvist.
Choose based on habits
This summer, electricity prices have been high, and ahead of winter, experts have warned of skyrocketing electricity prices.
When choosing an electricity contract, Ylva Lövqvist advises reviewing your habits.
If you have consistent electricity consumption and want predictable costs, you can fix the electricity price. If you can actively adapt your consumption to the development of the electricity price during the day, you may want an hourly or quarter-hour price agreement.
Over time, the variable electricity price has been the most advantageous, according to Lövqvist.
But during an electricity price crash like in 2022 and 2023, when those with a fixed contract paid around 43 öre per kilowatt hour while the variable price rose to four to five kronor, it was worth having a fixed contract, she says.
Facts: Variable, fixed or quarterly contract - this is how it works:
A traditional variable contract - monthly price - follows market fluctuations and is based on the previous month's average price of all quarters or hours.
A fixed, tied electricity price is set by the electricity company itself. You pay a fixed fee per kilowatt-hour for a certain binding period, regardless of how much or little you consume.
At an hourly or quarter price, you pay the actual price on the electricity exchange for each individual hour, or quarter, that you consume electricity.
If you do not make an active choice, you will receive a designated agreement, which is often a little more expensive than when you make an active choice.
Distance Contracts Act: In telephone sales, the consumer must accept the offer in writing after the telephone call for the contract to be valid.
Source: Energy Market Agency.
