ACM warns of misleading energy sellers
Consumers are increasingly approached under pressure to buy home batteries and energy-efficiency measures, according to the regulator.
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The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) and four civil-society organisations are launching a campaign on Monday against unreliable sellers of home batteries, heat pumps and energy-efficiency advice. The organisations say they are receiving an increasing number of reports from consumers who buy an expensive product or advisory service under pressure.
The campaign is called ‘Stop the conversation. Start your own check’ and is being carried out by the ACM, the Consumers’ Association, the Fraud Helpdesk, the Legal Services Counter and Vereniging Eigen Huis. According to the ACM, the campaign focuses on door-to-door sales, telephone contact and online forms through which consumers can give permission to be approached.
According to an ACM survey of more than 1,800 respondents, 33 per cent were approached by telephone or at the door about solar panels, 30 per cent about a home battery, 29 per cent about energy-efficiency advice and 18 per cent about a heat pump. The percentages concern the surveyed group and are not a measurement of all Dutch households.
The regulator reports that cases range from hundreds of euros for misleading energy-efficiency advice to agreements for home batteries costing more than €20,000 and sometimes €50,000. The ACM does not say exactly how many reports there are and makes no estimate of the total financial damage in the campaign publication.
According to the ACM, a recurring sales tactic is the promise of a fixed payback period. Whether a home battery is financially viable depends, among other things, on energy use, energy prices and how the battery is used, the ACM says. A seller therefore cannot simply promise that an investment will pay for itself within a fixed number of years, according to the ACM.
The ACM also warns against references to the end of the net-metering scheme. According to the regulator, that end does not automatically mean that a household needs a home battery. In addition, there is no nationwide ISDE subsidy for home batteries, while nationwide subsidies do exist for some other measures, such as insulation and heat pumps.
Consumers are advised not to decide immediately and to call an organisation themselves through its official website if a seller says they work on behalf of an energy supplier, municipality or other well-known institution. The campaign does not alter the fact that many companies do offer legitimate products and services. The core of the warning is that energy-efficiency improvements require a tailored approach and cannot reliably be assessed on the basis of a single sales pitch.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The ACM and civil-society organisations are launching a campaign against misleading sales of energy-efficiency products.
- The ACM reports that almost half of respondents were approached by telephone or at the door about an energy product or advice.
- The regulator warns against pressure to decide quickly and against unsubstantiated payback periods.
Left
Arguments Consumers must be protected against aggressive sales, particularly when it concerns large investments and complex energy technology. Supervision and stricter rules are needed to reduce the imbalance of power between sellers and consumers.
Values Protection, affordability and access to reliable information.
Consequences More supervision may limit deception, but could also slow the sale of legitimate energy-efficiency products.
Centre
Arguments The energy transition requires both room for businesses and clear consumer protection. Information, enforcement and comparable information can together improve the quality of the market.
Values Proportionality, freedom of choice and trust in institutions.
Consequences A stronger information position helps consumers choose without making all remote or door-to-door sales impossible.
Right
Arguments Consumers must retain responsibility for their financial choices, and companies must be able to compete with new products. Government warnings should focus mainly on demonstrable fraud and deception.
Values Personal responsibility, entrepreneurship and a free market.
Consequences Overly broad rules can hamper innovation and sales, while targeted enforcement can tackle rogue providers.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The core claims were checked directly against the ACM publication and the accompanying ConsuWijzer page. The text makes clear which figures come from a survey and which information was not specified by the ACM.
- confirmed The ACM is launching the campaign against unreliable energy sellers on 2 November 2026. — Stated in the ACM publication. source
- confirmed The survey was conducted among more than 1,800 respondents. — Mentioned by the ACM. source
- confirmed The percentages for approaches were 33 per cent for solar panels, 30 per cent for home batteries, 29 per cent for advice and 18 per cent for heat pumps. — The percentages appear verbatim in the ACM publication. source
- confirmed There is no nationwide ISDE subsidy for home batteries. — Mentioned on the ACM’s ConsuWijzer page. source
Editor's note
The campaign, the survey and the percentages mentioned appear in the ACM publication. The precise number of reports and the total damage have not been made public in the sources consulted.Sources
- Gezamenlijke waarschuwing ACM en maatschappelijke organisaties — Autoriteit Consument & Markt
- Mooi aanbod om energie te besparen? Stop het gesprek — ACM ConsuWijzer
More on this in Dutch media
- AD — „acm consumenten”
- de Volkskrant — „acm consumenten”
- RTL Nieuws — „acm consumenten”