Video Transcript
The door-to-door sale men will say they can save you money on your natural gas bills. Two years ago a CBS 2 News undercover investigation documented how those sale men misled customers.
Tonight, Pam Zekman reports the company had changed its name but playing the same deceptive games.
Renee Green was busy feeding her children when a sale man from Just Energy got his foot in her door saying, “I know how to save you guys money”.
An appealing pitch.
I mean we’re pinching pennies right now.
The amount you pay for (natural) gas is base on the number of therms use and prices per therms could fluctuate. Just Energy says that under its fixed price program you’ll be protected against energy price volatility.
You’re taking a gamble that the prices for (natural) gas will go much higher than what you’re paying.
That’s exactly right – historically about 98% of them in fact have lost money or losing money for consumers.
Green says her Just Energy sale told her, if I sign this that my NICOR cannot charge me more than 79 cents a therm. It can go lower but not over 79 cents.
He actually sign her to a five year contract to pay a total of $1.04 a therm.
Over six months CUB (Citizen Utility Board) estimate Green would have lost about $540.
I definitely felt like I was scammed.
In another case, a sale man asked to see a homeowner’s People’s Gas bill. Apparently so he can jack down her account number and switched her to Just Energy without her permission.
I never sign anything, what he did was fraud, it was fraud.
Two years ago a CBS 2 Investigator producer worked undercover as a sale trainee and learned firsthand about the misleading pitches used by sale men for U.S Energy Savings, the old name for Just Energy.
The Attorney US Office charged its parent company with consumer fraud.
Last May (2010) settled the case agreeing its sale staff will not made any misleading statement.
They’ve changed their name but they seem to be using some of the same deceptive games to signup business.
We need to put a stop to it as soon as possible.
And CUB is trying to do just that in a pending complaint before the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). Just Energy fired the sale man in Lillie Johnson case and cancels both her contract and Renee Green’s.
A company official says it verify sales with calls and letters. He said it is compliant with The Attorney General settlement agreement and had served hundreds of thousands of customers in Illinois.
The best advise that we can give to people is that if you get one of these solicitation. You should NOT just believe in the sale men, you should read the contract and if you don’t understand it. DON’T SIGN IT.
Yea, but even Lillie had that issue though.
She did and they switched her. They did cancel it right away before made a payment or require to make a payment.
You are saying about not to sign any thing. But what if you did not signed any thing but their sales persons make a false document in your name putting your false signatures on that document. Yes it happens, and I am in serious tension and unnecessary correspondence with many stackholders for the last 5 months. I am surprised that this is happening in Canada???????????? People can make false documents and I told them again and again that these are not my signatures, take your water heater back, but still they are sending bill using umbrella of Enbridge. What a interesting storey. If you contact me, I will tell you more interesting yet terrible story. But finally I have made mind to go to Superior court against vender, OEB and the Enbridge.
You're talking about water heater from National Home Services (parent company Just Energy)?
Enbridge is only giving license to companies to use their billing system. They are not affiliated with these companies.
Faking signature is just out right fraud and this happened before in Canada with Just Energy in Alberta. It was on the news last year and they charged the sale people with fraud.
Yea, its bad that this stuff is happening in Canada.
What did the court say?
I am not a victim of Just Energy rather morEnergy in Ontario. I am wondering if some tv anchor can interview me to expose their fruadulent bussiness practice. I contacted to the company by phone, email, fax and in person and told them that their agents/sales prepared my fake documents but they are so cheap that they are wholy involved in this practice.
Try Pat Foran at CFTO/CTV, he might be interested
in doing a piece about door-to-door sale on hot water heater.
His email is alert@patforan.com
Here's a link to Enbridge website that shows all the vender/companies that use Enbridge billing system.
https://portal-plumprod.cgc.enbridge.com/portal/s…