PRESS RELEASE

ENERGY: ANTITRUST, UNFAIR ADVERTISING

CAMPAIGN ‘ENI 3’, FINE OF €250,000 TO THE COMPANY

Ambiguous TV spots with omitted information that can distort consumer choices.

At its meeting on 03^rd September 2013, the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato approved a fine of €250,000 to Eni for having carried out, with its publicity campaign about its offer ‘ENI 3’, an unfair trade practice.

According to the Antitrust, the commercials that were aired on the major television stations during the period November-December 2012 and that promoted the offer for gas, electricity and fuel tariffs, were ambiguous and omitted information and could appreciably distort the choice of consumers with regard to the services that were being advertised. The advertisement, in fact, through images and voice-overs conveyed to potential new customers a particularly tempting offer that consisted in the possibility of locking electricity and gas tariffs for a period of thirty-six months and getting an instant rebate of 6 cents on the purchase of a litre of fuel. In effect the freeze on the price of electricity and gas covered only a portion of the bills (the so-called energy share) which is difficult to be quantified by consumers, whereas in order to obtain the discount on the price of gasoline it was, however, necessary to observe the company’s loyalty programme in the sale of fuel. Other information that was necessary to explain the actual workings of the offer was transmitted in a completely marginal manner, in very small characters and only for a few moments at the end of the filmed sequence.  Consumers were not, therefore, placed in a position where it was possible for them to take an informed commercial decision on the advantages of the Eni proposal.

The proceedings were taken in hand as a result of a report received from the Unione Consumatori.

Rome, 11^th September 2013