Energy salesman signed up woman with mental age of child

Date Published: 19-May-2011

By Darragh McDonagh

Home energy supplier Airtricity has been forced to conduct a review of its sales practices after one of its employees enticed a Galway woman with an intellectual disability to sign up for the electricity provider’s services.

The woman’s family were outraged when they discovered that a door-to-door salesman representing the company had called to her home in Salthill while she was alone and got her to sign a contract with the electricity supplier that she did not understand.

She did not inform her family about the visit from the salesman and, as a result, they only became aware of what had happened when a bill arrived from Airtricity some two months later. The company was immediately contacted about the matter.

“The salesman cannot have been unaware of her condition,” said a spokesperson for the family. “It is instantly apparent from both her speech and her appearance that she is not mentally competent, and to have taken advantage of that fact is just despicable.

“She has the mental age of a child and has an intellectual disability that renders her legally incompetent, meaning that she cannot enter into binding contracts like the one she was enticed to sign by the representative of Airtricity,” he said.

After it was contacted, Airtricity issued an apology and waived the energy charges that had accrued since the incident. It also arranged for the account to be returned to the previous electricity supplier.

“As a result, we have conducted a full review of our sales processes to ensure that our sales procedures remain fair and responsible at all times and that the protection of vulnerable customers continues to be at the heart of our procedures.”

Local councillor Padraig Conneely, who was contacted in relation to the incident, described the conduct of the sales representative as “shameful and predatory” and said that it had reflected badly on the company.

Read more in today’s Galway City Tribune