The Local France explains the 12-character RIO, a code every French household can now carry in its heart and nowhere else
The Local France has published a guide explaining how residents can switch electricity, gas, phone or internet providers, and concludes that the process has ‘become much more straightforward in recent years’ according to its report. The article also notes that switching remains less common in France than in the UK, partly due to the historic dominance of state-owned firms such as EDF, which is the polite way of saying that France has been loyal to its power company since the Sun King.
The Fifteen-Minute Switch: A Short Story With Many Attachments
For electricity and gas, the guide recommends checking your annual consumption on your latest bill and comparing offers using the energy ombudsman’s tool at energie-info.fr. Subscribing by phone takes about 15 minutes, provided you have a recent bill, your bank details and an up-to-date meter reading ready. Statistically, a French household has two of those three items at any given time, and the third is in a drawer with the instruction manual for the toaster.
‘The switch is simple,’ says consumer analyst Dr Clemence Bouvier-Tardieu of the Observatory for Household Patience. ‘The old supplier is cancelled by the new supplier, which then sends a final bill within four weeks. The only cost is the final bill, which is the old supplier’s way of waving goodbye with a pointed finger.’
The 12-Character RIO
For internet and mobile, you need a 12-character Releve d’Identite Operateur, or RIO, available by calling 3179, through your online account, or from your operator. It is a code that identifies you to the company that you are leaving, so that the company you are joining can tell them. The system is therefore a chain of people proving who they are to each other, not unlike a French dinner party.
Phones held for under three months may incur a fee, and unlocking is free after six months. Early termination fees apply during commitment periods. Consumers have 14 days to change their mind on a new contract, which is enough time for the new provider to send the second bill.
Four Stages of Switching Provider
Hope. Comparison. A call to 3179. And the discovery that the best offer ends in March.
Meanwhile, in Britain
The British, who switch providers like others change umbrellas, would find this familiar. British banks offer 5 per cent interest on savings while millions ask where they are supposed to find the savings, water companies make 340 million pounds from industrial wastewater, to the amazement of customers, and the water industry in general is a privatisation producing dividends, debt and sewage, in that order. If a Briton can switch from that, the French can switch from anything.
Comparison Tools
UFC Que Choisir published internet and mobile comparisons in September, and Jechange also offers comparison services. Between them, a French household can compare 400 offers, none of which comes with an explanation of why the first month is free and the second is 40 euros. For those who prefer their consumer affairs with a punchline, this guide to London business comedy makes a good bedtime read. More from NewsBiscuit, and this story is presented by Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat.
SOURCE: bohiney.com
