Balgarianovinite.com The Commission for Consumer Protection (CPC) said on Thursday it had found unfair complaint-handling practices and unfair clauses in the general terms and conditions of the country’s three electricity suppliers after inspections prompted by numerous reports of high electricity bills.
Following the violations identified, the Commission will impose fines of up to EUR 25,000 for each breach, in line with the law. The CPC has also barred the company from using the unfair commercial practices in question in the future.
During the inspections, the companies were asked to provide detailed information on complaints received, how they were handled and what action was taken. An analysis of the documents submitted showed that nearly all objections to invoices issued between January 1 and March 4, 2026 were rejected as unfounded.
Inspections by electricity suppliers were most often limited to a formal comparison of billed electricity volumes with data provided by the network operator, as well as a review of the tariffs applied.
According to CPC, given the sharp rise in the number of objections filed, final suppliers should have exercised the required professional diligence and taken active steps to establish the objective causes, including by requesting in-depth inspections of commercial metering devices by the electricity distribution network operator.
In practice, consumers who challenged their bills received mostly formal replies, with no real clarification of the disputed issues. According to CPC, this creates only the appearance of a complaints procedure and fails to ensure effective protection of consumers’ rights and interests.
Inspections of the companies’ websites also revealed gaps in the information provided on filing and handling complaints. CPC found a lack of clear, accessible and well-structured information on procedures for registering and reviewing consumer complaints, as well as on the steps companies take when complaints are received.
CPC also found unfair clauses in the general terms and conditions. According to the decision, certain provisions fail to meet the requirements of the Consumer Protection Act because they undermine the equality of the parties in the contractual relationship, place the company in a privileged position and create a significant imbalance between the rights and obligations of the company and the consumer.
The Consumer Protection Commission is also expected to issue a new ruling following inspections of electricity distribution network operators for possible consumer rights violations.
On February 4, the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission said its chair had ordered an extraordinary inspection following media reports of inflated electricity bills for household consumers. Consumer Watchdog Identifies Unfair Practices in Handling of Complaints of High Electricity Bills 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-03-12 18:32:54 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law