Dutch organisations warn of misleading home battery and heat-pump sales

Dutch consumer and fraud organisations say they are receiving more reports of misleading sales pitches for home batteries, heat pumps and other energy-saving products. They are launching a joint campaign to warn people against making large purchases under pressure.

The campaign, called “Stop the conversation. Start your own check”, will include a radio advert. It is backed by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), the Consumers’ Association, the Fraud Help Desk, the Legal Aid Desk and homeowners’ group Vereniging Eigen Huis.

The ACM says it cannot give an exact total for the reports, but says the organisations involved all recognise the increase. Its spokesperson says people have reported being urged to pay up to their bank-card limit, and even being coached to raise that limit so they can pay more later.

The reported cases range from people paying hundreds of euros for misleading advice to older people being persuaded to sign contracts for products such as home batteries costing tens of thousands of euros.

ACM board member Manon Leijten says major purchases such as a home battery, heat pump or new energy contract are not well suited to sales by telephone or at the door. She advises people considering energy improvements to research what suits their home before responding to a salesperson.

In an ACM survey of more than 1,800 respondents, nearly half said they had been approached by phone or at the door to buy solar panels, home batteries, energy-efficiency advice or heat pumps. Many said they felt pressure to make their homes more energy efficient quickly, fearing that energy could otherwise become unaffordable.

The regulator says unreliable sellers exploit that concern with misleading claims. Some imply they are working with an energy supplier or municipality; others promise that a battery will quickly pay for itself, that a subsidy is about to expire or that a discount is available for that day only. In some reported cases, the promised products were never delivered.