As prices for electricity appear to be taking a larger chunk out of household incomes, competition for the consumer dollar is also competitive. This has led to some door-to-door sales in the area that had made some consumers uncomfortable.
Betty Doyle experienced a door to door solicitor she felt was “pretty aggressive.”
“The twist or the ‘kind of trick’ she was using was making it sound like she was affiliated with Direct Energy and she ‘just needed to see our bill’, and ‘our neighbourhood was missed,’” said Doyle. “She had quite an aggressive spiel.”
She said it took a while before they were able to figure out who the sales person was and what they were offering.
She spoke with her mother who lives next door, and she too found the sales pitch aggressive and had trouble getting the salesperson to leave.
She says she lives in a neighbourhood with a number of seniors and is concerned some may be taken advantage of.
Mike Berezowsky, spokesperson for Service Alberta says there is a number of safeguards to protect the consumer.
“We do have regulations in place for energy marketers so they can’t mislead or deceive consumers, and if consumers do sign a contract at their door for electricity or gas, the have a 10 day period of cooling off to cancel the contract under no penalty,” said Berezowsky. “So first off, they are under no obligation to sign at the door, but even if they do, they have 10 days to examine the contract in more detail and go to the Utilities Consumer Advocate website and see what other companies are offering because maybe there is something more competitive. So they have some extra protection there.”
He adds that in some cases the companies are now doing third party verification calls to ask the consumer if indeed they signed and agreed to the contract, protecting the consumer from the possibility of forged contracts.
He said they have received complaints over the years and have investigated them. They have even successfully charged and prosecuted offenders.
A few things to look for according to Berezowsky if considering entering a contract are the terms, if there are penalties for ending a contract early, or you can't move during the contract without penalties.
“One of the things we have heard that consumers have complained about, is that the ‘government has changed the rules so you have to signup,’ and that is simply not the case,” said Berezowsky.
He adds that often the sales people ask to see a consumer’s bill. Consumers are under no obligation to share this information.
He said an excellent resource for consumers is the Utilities Consumer Advocate website (ucahelps.alberta.ca).
“They have a comparison of all the different contracts in Alberta, what the going prices are and any details about terms and conditions for cancelling. They also have historical regulated rate options for different areas of the province,” he said.
The website also has information on everything from how to read your bill, to choosing a retailer and what companies are out there and what they offer.