Salzburg AG

Electricity customer: “Why do you want 1200 euros from me?”

Michael Kobleder is said to be just an "outlier". Nevertheless, more and more people are coming forward with similar cases.(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

After two exciting cases - of a 7000 euro back payment and a 2000 euro credit note - more and more Salzburg AG customers are reporting adversities with their electricity bills. The company promises to clarify the relationship between credit balances and claims. 

The case of Michael Kobleder is on everyone's lips: he received a 2000 euro electricity credit note and says he has no understanding for the fact that he transferred around 170 euros per month to the electricity provider without consuming it. Kobleder described this as an "interest-free credit", Salzburg AG replied that the customer in question had only used half of the electricity from the previous year and therefore the credit note was logically so high. SAG spokesman Michael Frostel: "An absolute outlier!" - the "Krone" reported.

Reduction after personal appeal
Attentive Krone readers are now getting in touch every day. A Salzburg resident, for example, described on the phone that after years of the same consumption, his partial amount was increased by almost 100 euros in the previous year - from 301 to 396 euros. "I asked customer service directly why they wanted 1,200 euros from me, which I probably won't use," he says angrily. The partial amount was only reduced after a personal appeal to customer service.

Salzburg AG is working out the details of credit notes and additional payments.(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

Higher installments after husband's death
A lady also spoke up. She explains: "After my husband's death, I explained to customer service that my electricity consumption would be lower because I am now a one-person household. Of course, I received a large credit note, which I requested by telephone and later in writing. It was only when I asked the Chamber of Labor for help that the matter was resolved."

"Company works with customer money free of interest and free of charge"
 Things are also going well online. "The customer involuntarily financed the credit himself. With several thousand customers, this adds up to a tidy sum, and the company is practically working with the money completely free of interest and free of charge. That's the mess," writes one user. In the meantime, Salzburg AG has announced that it is working on all details of credit notes and additional payments.