Assistance with legal questions about energy contracts

Questioner

In mid-July my partner was approached by a company that recruits customers for a well-known energy company. Without her realizing it, we are now stuck with a 5-year contract. The energy company claims that we have received an email with the contract and all other information. In which it states that we have a 2-week cooling-off period from that email. However, the mail was never received and the cooling-off period therefore expired. The energy company is in no way amenable to reason and I am constantly being fobbed off that I just have to wait and pay. What are my rights and what steps can I still take to cancel this contract

Lawyer

A condition that binds a consumer for more than a year can under certain circumstances be unreasonably onerous, but that is not necessary. For example, it is not the case if you have obtained a considerable discount through a longer subscription and you have been properly informed in advance (for example by telephone) about the content of the agreement, the rights and obligations. I think you agreed and that afterwards you were sent a package by e-mail that may have ended up in the spam?

Questioner

mail was never received, I have been going through all the mail including the spam box. And that considerable discount is very low. 100 euros one-time discount but a 5-year contract. I can name 5 other energy providers that offer much more with a 5-year contract

Lawyer

Is this a business or private contract?

Questioner

private

Lawyer

Then we could try to terminate the contract by not applying the conditions (not receiving them) and cancelling them, and then subsequently cancelling the condition as unreasonably onerous and cancelling them.

Questioner

Hopefully you can still help me, unfortunately it has happened again only now with a different energy company. Again via a telephone sale where it was very unclear that it was about a contract and not about information. Again they claim that everything was sent by email and that this is legally valid. We are now stuck with a contract of 3 years without any form of discount. please advice, they stick to their guns and if we want to cancel it will cost us 250 euros. Not paying the bill results in a collection agency including all the misery that follows. Thanks for the effort

Lawyer

And again nothing received? Did you give the correct address yourself?

Questioner

The email address that the company has is correct. However, I have not received any email from them.

Questioner

the contract etc. also not received by post

Lawyer

Anyone who believes they have a claim on someone else must prove it, so if nothing has been sent then the law has not been complied with.