March 2, 2006
ALERT: Energy Scams
See
reader letters below article
Related
article: JustaGuy: Ontario Energy Savings:
Scum of the Earth
From YayaCanada
Ontario
Energy Savings Corp. called themselves Ottawa Hydro and/or Ontario
Energy to gain access to apartment building and sell their product
I live in a
building with a very distinct, "No Soliciting" sign. A man rang my
doorbell today saying he was from Ottawa Hydro and that he wanted to
check out an increase in my hydro power. I told him I didn't know
who
he was and would not let him in. Obviously somebody did let him
in and
two men knocked on doors in the building, this time identifying
themselves as Ontario Energy, making themselves sound as if they were
from the government. But they really were from Ontario Energy Savings Corp. and they
are selling a hydro service.
There are very elderly people in my building and some who are
intelligence challenged. These salesmen talked to them at length about
how they can save on Hydro and took their names and phone numbers and
will now be hounding them to sign up.
Shoddy sales practices should not be rewarded. I tried to report
them to their own customer service management, and somebody who would
only give his name as Shawn simply said, "Well, we are Ontario Energy
Savings, so they didn't say anything wrong" ignoring that they left off
the last word, and got into the building by claiming to be Ottawa
Hydro. I then called their Ottawa office and before putting me through
to management they wanted my name and the reason for the call, and only
then did they tell me that their management person had "gone for the
day" - at 2:15 pm.
I also tried to report it to the Ottawa police, but apparently
this type of thing is way down on their list of priorities. But
I'm
sure these people will fraudulently get new customers all across
Ontario.
From: "biff"
Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2007 7:47 PM
Subject: screwed over.
this probably the same as universal energy who scammed us with false
advertizing and made us sign up for a five year contract with promise
of saving big bucks over the life of the contract. what recourse do we
have? any help would be most appreciated.
YYC:
Biff is not alone. This
has been going on all across Canada since deregulation. Here's
another example:
CBC:
Energy bills soar for Alberta woman after signing contract
Becky Newhook, a mother of two, says even though she is trying
energy-conserving measures around the home, she is paying about 30 per
cent more for electricity and natural gas every month since signing a
contract with a company called Alberta Energy Savings.
A year or so ago, two sales people from
Ontario Energy Savings
tried to gain access to the apartment building I live in by ringing my
code and stringing me a line. (My name starts with "A" so I'm the first
one non-residents ring if they can't get in.)
"Ma'am, we're here about the increase in your
Ottawa Hydro bill,"
said one of them, obviously wanting me think he was from Ottawa Hydro,
my provider. I replied that I didn't know what he was talking
about,
and said I wasn't interested.
They got into the building anyway, because
someone lower down on
the list got tricked. They knocked on all the doors, this time passing
themselves off as representatives of the Ontario Energy Board - easy
enough to do given their company name.
When they came to my door, I told them there
was no soliciting
allowed in the building. "Oh, I have a right to be here," said
one of
the men pointing to his badge that said "Ontario Energy".
I keep wondering if there's a school I don't know
about that
trains politicians, sales people and televangelists in how to
manipulate language in order to manipulate people. This is what I would
call the downside of psychology. It's being used bigtime for personal
and corporate gain.
The man, of course, denied loudly and
emphatically that he had misrepresented himself as Ottawa Hydro.
I alerted the building maintenance
people and then phoned the
police who were decidely disinterested. "What do you want us to do
about it, ma'am?" the reception officer asked with great irritation.
"I'm just reporting this; it's not my job to tell you yours," I said.
"What has happened," I asked, "to make the police
so antagonistic
to the public these days?" "Fine!" she spat out. "We'll send
someone
over without knowing who made the complaint."
Which was odd, because I had given my name at
the beginning of the
conversation. It was also humorous, because if the police don't
have
phone displays that tell them who is calling, they are some rinkydink
outfit indeed.
I then got on the phone to the
Ontario Energy Board. Talk about buck passing; I was told to talk
to the
manager of Ontario Energy Savings. I tried to, but the
receptionist asked why I was calling, and when I told her why she
said,"The manager is gone for the day."
I have to assume
that somebody, maintenance or the police or both, arrived at my
building and escorted out the men. Or maybe they waited long
enough
that the men had already finished their canvassing and were gone.
I don't know if they've knocked on my door since,
because I no
longer respond unless I'm expecting someone, but I am sure they managed
to trick a few people in the building.
Anyway, here's a Vancouver
forum that discusses the problem, and here's another
site that suggests some of the same actions I took (with
exactly the same response I got from the provincial energy board).
I would suggest that anybody who was scammed
into paying more for
their energy should talk to others in the same boat. Class action seems
the only effective way to go if the "authorities" are not interested.
I have two rules of thumb now: 1) If somebody
knocks on your door
99.9 percent of the time it's not for your benefit; and 2) if at all
possible, stick with the devil you know.
By the way, my Ottawa Hydro bill has decreased
recently, and not
just through my own consumption awareness. They actually lowered the
rate.
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From: Patricia and David
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2007 9:03 PM
Subject: Ontario Energy
Saving Corp.
Yesterday evening, we received a visit from one of their canvassers.
Her approach was offensive and aggressive and, as well, her
presentation was deceptive. I have filed a complaint with the Better
Business Bureau and saw similar complaints that have been filed against
this organization.
- she did not initially identify herself as representing Ontario Energy
Savings Group
- she created the impression that she represented our local hydro
utility and Enbridge Gas by flashing brochures from both of those
organizations
- she told me that "they" had checked our account and that "these"
forms "had" to be signed to guarantee our energy pricing
- I told her at the beginning of her spiel, that we were not interested
in fixed price contracts but she proceeded as if she hadn't heard what
I just said
- she would not identify herself when I asked for her name or badge
number
- she would not give me a brochure or business card with the name of
your organization and phone number; in the end she would only say that
she represented "Ontario Energy Savings" and her parting comment was
that if I didn't sign the forms that night, someone else would be back
in six months (this was said in a threatening and rude manner)
- I don't trust someone who refuses to identify herself, won't leave a
brochure or business card and behaves so offensively
I am not interested in price protection programs for our energy costs.
We have signed up for them in the past (in response to mailings from
our energy provided not cold calls door-to-door) and ended up paying
more than the current rate for the full period of the contract.
YYC:
Many
thanks to Patricia and David
for sharing their experience with "Ontario Energy Savings" - another warning about energy scams
in response to YYC's alert
last March.
See also: "Screwed Over",
a reader letter that refers to a supplier called"Universal Energy", whose major company website
boasts of building "the largest wheat based ethanol facility in
North America".
That's wheat, folks. Bread, the staff of life,
which will end up
costing an arm and a leg to buy, because both "bread" and "dough"
have different meanings for scammers, including the ones in our houses
of government.
The only thing a government is good for, and
in fact was intended
for, is to guard and administer essential services for the benefit of
all of the people such as: roads, communication, health services,
education, justice system, food and drug quality, protection from
military invasion - those sorts of things plus energy. Yet these
are
the very areas where the people are being exploited for profit.
This is evil, this is perversion. Our
governments need to be started over from scratch.
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yayacanada
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