Letter L-45-20
The Code of Conduct states that The Third-Party Verification (TPV) call is not required if the consumer executes
the Agreement with no contact by a salesperson, through any means (e.g. in-person, telephone, online), at the
time of contracting. In this case, a salesperson was onsite, so therefore the TPV call is required. Just Energy's
“Re-Contract” call provided for the contract renewal was not in compliance with the TPV call script. Items that
were not verified within the call include:
-
Confirmation that the customer has been provided with a copy of the signed agreement;
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Just Energy’s independence from FortisBC or the government;
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Customer’s understanding that entering into the agreement is entirely voluntary;
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Customer’s agreement to a bid price of $4.78 for a term of five years; and
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Customer has the right to cancel the agreement without penalty within 10 days.
Further, the “Notice of Appointment of Marketer” for the 2016 renewal is unsigned by the customer.
On this basis, the BCUC determines the renewal contract shall be cancelled as of the inception date.
The customer will return to FortisBC for their natural gas supply and Just Energy will reimburse the customer for
the difference between Just Energy's fixed natural gas rate and FortisBC's variable natural gas rate for the period
the renewal contract was in effect. Please note it may take one to three billing cycles for the change to appear
on the customer's bill; a credit will be posted at that time.
Sincerely,
Original signed by:
Marija Tresoglavic
Acting Commission Secretary
DD/aci
Enclosure
cc:
Mr. Erick Wesby
Ms. Kyla Shea
Corporate & Consumer Specialist – US East
Resolution Management Specialist
Jus Energy Limited Partnership
Jus Energy Limited Partnership
ewestby@justenergy.com
kshea@justenergy.com
An application for reconsideration of this determination can be made following the guidelines enclosed.
File 62922 | Customer Choice Program –
– Just Energy Limited Partnership
2 of 2
Customer Choice Program
Dispute Reconsideration Guidelines
January 2012
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page No.
1.0
INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................1
2.0
STEPS IN THE DISPUTE RECONSIDERATION PROCESS ...............................................................1
2.1
Submit a Dispute ................................................................................................................. 1
2.2
The Reconsideration Process .............................................................................................. 2
2.2.1
Phase I – Initial Review ........................................................................................... 2
2.2.2
Phase II – Commission Reconsideration ................................................................. 2
3.0
ALTERNATIVES TO THE RECONSIDERATION PROCESS ..............................................................3
3.1
File for Leave to Appeal to the Court of Appeal of BC ........................................................ 3
3.2
The Office of the Ombudsperson of BC .............................................................................. 3
British Columbia Utilities Commission
CUSTOMER CHOICE PROGRAM
Dispute Reconsideration Guidelines
1.0
INTRODUCTION
If a Customer or a Gas Marketer believes the Commission has made an error in the course of making a decision
on a dispute, either party may raise the issue for further review by applying to the Commission for
reconsideration. The Commission will not reconsider a dispute decision on the basis that the parties are
unhappy with the decision. For a reconsideration to proceed, the applicant is required to establish a prima facie
case (a case that until it is rebutted establishes that an error has been made) that reconsideration is warranted.
The following is an outline of the reconsideration process for the Customer Choice Program. This outline is used
by the Commission to determine whether to accept an application for reconsideration and how to proceed with
that reconsideration.
2.0
STEPS IN THE DISPUTE RECONSIDERATION PROCESS
2.1
Submit a Dispute
Applications for reconsideration must be received by the Commission in writing within 30 days of the date of the
disputed decision. An application for reconsideration must:
identify the disputed decision to be reconsidered including the dispute number, FortisBC account
number and gas marketer’s name;
state the legal or factual grounds upon which the decision should be changed;
state the applicant’s desired outcome;
contain the name, address and telephone number of the applicant or the applicant’s representative;
and
be signed by the applicant or the applicant’s representative.
Applications should be addressed to Customer Choice Program and can be submitted via email, mail or fax to:
Email: customer.choice@bcuc.com
Fax: (604) 660-1102
Mail: Sixth Floor - 900 Howe Street, Box 250, Vancouver, BC V6Z 2N3
Once the Commission receives an application it will conduct an initial review to determine whether the
application shall proceed.
Dispute Reconsideration Guidelines
1
British Columbia Utilities Commission
2.2
The Reconsideration Process
The Commission considers written submissions from the parties involved in a dispute in two phases of the
reconsideration process. These two phases are outlined in the sections below.
2.2.1
Phase I – Initial Review
In the interest of both efficiency and fairness, and before the Commission proceeds with a determination on the
merits of an application for reconsideration, the application undergoes an initial screening phase. In this phase
the applicant must establish a prima facie case sufficient to warrant full consideration by the Commission. The
first phase is a preliminary examination in which the application is assessed in light of some or all of the
following questions:
Should there be reconsideration by the Commission?
If there is to be reconsideration, should the Commission allow new evidence?
If there is to be reconsideration, should it focus on the items from the application for
reconsideration, a subset of these items or additional items?
Following the Commission’s review of the application, the Commission issues a notice to the other party
involved in the disputed decision requesting them to submit a response to the application for reconsideration by
addressing those questions set out in the notice. Upon receipt of the other party’s response, the Commission
asks the applicant to provide reply comments to the response received from the other party.
After the first phase evidence has been received, the Commission generally applies the following criteria to
determine whether or not a reasonable basis exists for allowing reconsideration:
Has the Commission made an error in fact or law?
Has there been a fundamental change in circumstances or facts since the initial decision?
Is there new evidence or further information that was not taken into consideration in adjudicating
the initial decision?
In addition, the Commission may exercise its discretion and decide to undertake reconsideration of a decision
whenever it deems there is just cause. If the Commission decides that a request for reconsideration should
proceed, the application moves on to Phase II of the process. If the Commission decides that reconsideration
should not proceed, the Commission will provide all parties with written notice of its decision.
2.2.2
Phase II – Commission Reconsideration
If the Commission decides an application for reconsideration should proceed, the Commission issues a Phase II
Reconsideration Notice to the Customer and the Gas Marketer outlining the issues to be reconsidered and
whether new evidence is allowed and setting the schedule for submissions. In moving to Phase II of the
reconsideration process, the Commission will consider written arguments addressing the substance of the issues
approved for reconsideration. When submitting written arguments, the parties must copy each other and must
respond on or before the dates set out in the Phase II Reconsideration Notice.
The Commission bases its decision on the application on the submitted arguments.
Dispute Reconsideration Guidelines
2
British Columbia Utilities Commission
3.0
ALTERNATIVES TO THE RECONSIDERATION PROCESS
In addition to the Commission’s reconsideration process, there are two alternatives available to parties who
wish to challenge a Commission decision or the fairness of the process used by the Commission to arrive at the
decision:
File for leave to Appeal the Commission’s decision with the Court of Appeal of British Columbia
File a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsperson of BC
These options are discussed in more detail below.
3.1
File for Leave to Appeal to the Court of Appeal of BC
The Utilities Commission Act provides a second alternative for challenging a Commission decision. This
alternative is by way of the Court of Appeal of British Columbia. The Court of Appeal will consider only alleged
errors of law or jurisdiction.
An application to obtain leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal must be launched within 30 days of the
Commission issuing its Decision. Applicants must first obtain the court's leave for the appeal before
commencing the actual appeal. The court will sometimes take into consideration as a factor in granting leave
whether or not the party applying has exhausted its other remedies. Therefore, the party applying for leave
may also want to apply for reconsideration by the Commission at the same time.
If a participant chooses to pursue an appeal, the procedures may be quite complex and formal. Normally,
lawyers become involved at this stage, as their knowledge of court procedures and legal arguments tends to be
very useful. It is not necessary, however, to hire a lawyer in order to make an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
3.2
The Office of the Ombudsperson of BC
If a customer is not satisfied with the Commission's handling of a complaint, he or she may contact the
provincial Ombudsperson's Office to review the process used. The BC Ombudsperson reviews the Commission’s
processes, including the process for resolving complaints. The BC Ombudsperson can recommend
reconsideration of a matter because of an error in procedure, but cannot overturn a Commission decision.
Dispute Reconsideration Guidelines
3
You are being directed to the most recent version of the statute which may not be the version considered at the time of the judgment.