As part of the implementation of the saves and win-backs regime we are publishing a list of questions asked by participants. Please send any other questions to marketoperations@ea.govt.nz.

1. When a retailer calls its customers (who are in a contract with that retailer,) can the retailer say “what would you like to do then”?  Is this ok or is this seen as enticing? 

Answer

This could be construed as enticement, but It is difficult to give a definite response without the purpose of the call. A customer can legitimately ask a retailer for a better offer (after the customer has indicated they are going to/may switch away), so the prompt comes from the customer and not the retailer. But if the retailer has this knowledge and is enticing the customer to ask for a better offer that would not be acceptable. Prompting of a customer can occur in various ways, which shows the importance of understanding the context. This is similar to discussions on surveys and the way these could be used to prompt or entice a customer conversation about the customer coming back.

2.  For multiple ICP customers, where a switch request is received for 1 ICP only and, during “admin conversations”, the customer indicates that they are “in conversation” with another retailer about all ICPs, does this constitute “intention” and therefore prevent the retailer from making an offer for the ICPs where no switch request has been received from the gaining retailer?

Answer

Our preliminary view on this is that the saves and win-backs amendment does not relate to individual ICPs. So yes, it does constitute intention as the retailer is aware the ICPs will be switched.

3. Where a switch request has not been received for an ICP, but where the customer verbally states an intention to move to an alternate retailer, would an offer at this stage also be a breach of the saves and win-backs Code?   

Answer

Yes, an intention by the customer means any offer from a retailer would be in breach of the Code.