Labor promises to ban energy retail pests, double wrongful disconnection penalties

Energy retail pests would be banned from bombarding families with phone calls, and penalties for wrongful discon­nections would be doubled if Labor is re-elected.

EXCLUSIVE: Energy retail pests would be banned from bombarding families with phone calls, and penalties for wrongful discon­nections would be doubled if Labor is re-elected.

Premier Daniel Andrews will also promise to slash the length of time retailers can “back-bill” customers from nine months to four, and outlaw short-term discounts that slug customers more in the long run.

The crackdown on shonks would see a re-elected And­rews Government change the state’s Energy Retail Code to stop telemarketers from calling families to spruik rival offers unprompted — and would also ban door-to-door marketers.

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The Premier said “hardworking Victorians are sick of being ripped off by energy retailers”.

“We’re already putting power back in the hands of Victorians with half-price solar — now we’re going even further by introducing stronger protections for customers, cracking down on retailers who ­deliberately do the wrong thing,” he said.

Mr Andrews said Labor’s $50 bill bonus — a cash payment to any household that goes on the government’s energy comparison website designed to get them a better deal — would be extended to June.

Premier Daniel Andrews says Victorians are sick of being ripped off by energy retailers. Picture: AAP/James Ross

More than 220,000 Victorians have already accessed the cash giveaway.

Cost of living has been a key political battleground this year, with rising electricity and gas costs putting pressure on family budgets. Both major parties have ­offered generous handouts and goodies during the campaign ahead of Saturday’s poll, with Labor’s latest a promise of $150 hampers filled with baby essentials for new parents, and free dental for school kids.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy has offered 50 per cent discounts on new fridges and flat-screen TVs for ­battlers, as well as free ­textbooks for school­children and lower energy ­tariffs for low-income households.

The Energy Retail Code that would be toughened by Labor is policed by the Essential Services Commission, which would get a fourth commissioner to be “an energy cop on the beat”.

The plan would see civil penalties for wrongful disconnections set at $250,000 — the highest in Australia.

A controversial technique used by retailers called “win-backs” — short-term discounts that revert to a higher rate in the long run — would also be banned.

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