Let’s stop the madness
February 3 2010 by Ellen Roseman
I’m angry. Believe me, it takes a lot to make me angry. If I flew off the handle all day, I’d never last in this job.
What makes me furious is seeing people pay too much for energy at home and at business because of deceptive marketing. This racket has been allowed to go on for more than a decade.
Ontario has introduced a bill to curb energy sellers last December, which will take many months to pass into law. What about all the victims who are still being roped in?
Today, I got a bunch of new complaints, which I’ll post below.
– One marketer is tricking people to enrol in long-term contracts by sending them cheques in the mail. If they cash them, they’re in.
– One marketer signed up a person who had passed away a few months earlier. His executor had a hard time getting the contract cancelled.
– One marketer signed up a newcomer to Canada to a carbon offset plan, costing about $150 a year and delivering nothing but the dubious benefit of a clear conscience.
Why, oh why, is this allowed to go on? When will it stop?
JM
Feb 3 2010
My girlfriend, a single working mother of two children, received a small cheque ($29.99) in the mail last November from Just Energy.
She thought the cheque had something to do with a water heater that was changed earlier in the year by National Home Services. That proved to be incorrect.
In the course of her usual banking, she deposited the cheque via ATM into her bank account in November. She did not sign the cheque or even look at the back of it.
Yesterday, she received a letter from Just Energy stating that by virtue of having deposited the cheque in November, she is now caught in a 5 year gas supply contract at a rate of 33.9 cents a cubic metre, which is about 3 times the current spot rate being charged to retail customers by Enbridge (12.9 cents).
The ‘trick’ here is that the reverse side of the cheque contained the words:
“To enroll, cash this cheque at your financial institution. Just Energy will supply 5 years supply at 33.9 cents/m3 under your natural gas supply agreement and JustGreen free of charge”.
Both Enbridge and the OEB have said to her that cashing the cheque, regardless of whether it is signed, is all that is required to create a contract with Just Energy.
I believe that if this contract is enforced and current spot prices remain more or less flat, she will over the life of the contract be charged ‘excess’ gas charges of something like $10,000. This seems grossly unjust to me.
I feel that baiting people with cheques is sneaky, underhanded behaviour and should not be sufficient to create a binding contract.
Steve Garganis
Feb 3 2010
Ellen, you’ve written several articles about dangers of signing long term contracts.. Everything from cell phones to Energy…
Here’s another example of how long term contracts usually don’t benefit the buyer… this is also true in the mortgage biz as we have seen too many consumers hand-cuffed to high interest mortgages because the prepayment penalties are outrageously high and unfair in many cases….
CanadaMortgageNews.ca
RR
Feb 3 2010
I have read with interest your articles on how consumers have been treated/mistreated by energy suppliers. I now find myself in their ranks.
A friend passed away last summer and I took on the task of administering his estate. I have had nothing but co-operation from his former suppliers, banks and customers.
The surprise came last month when the Union Gas bill for his building started to show “gas supplier’s” charges from Summitt Energy, separate from Union Gas charges.
The effect is an increase from 23 cents per cubic metre to 45 cents.
I’ve contacted the telephone number supplied on Jan. 12, 25, 26, 27th and today (Jan. 28).
Each time, I am greeted by Tony. He always insists he can do nothing, only his manager Ajay Gill is in a position to act. Leave a message on his voice mail.
Many messages later, I have not heard from anyone.
————————————————————
Update, Feb. 1:
After badgering for a correction in the billing, today I received assurance that a cancellation agreement is ‘in the mail’. I do not have a fuzzy warm feeling that anything good will come from that. Shall I keep you informed ??
————————————————————
Update, Feb. 3:
Today was a high water mark. Summitt Energy told me they are removing themselves from this billing for gas and hydro.
I spoke with Union Gas and they confirmed that Summitt was withdrawing, effective March 1st. No word on the bogus billing for November through February.
To that end, I contacted Jim Wilson’s office (my MPP) and they are seeing what they can do to arm-wrestle a cheque or credit out of these re-sellers.
The question occurs to me: Who sired this specie of creature that does not invest anything, but is allowed to piggyback on well established reputable firms in the field of necessary utilities??
It boggles the mind.
Gaetana Girardi, Summitt Energy, director of compliance
Feb 3 2010
Dear Mr. B:
Unfortunately, after a thorough review of your accounts, Summitt Energy is of the opinion that your evergreen contract is valid.
You signed for this contract on Oct. 13, 2009. Your reaffirmation call for your evergreen contract was also done Oct. 13, 2009 while the agent was at your home.
On that call, you confirmed with the CSR that the agent gave you a copy of the contract and the brochure, which outlines the terms and conditions of that contract.
The CSR also confirmed with you that the price for your Evergreen contract will be $12.99 for 5 years, which you agreed to on your reaffirmation call.
The CSR further went on to advise you in that call to take a moment to go over the brochure left with you, which outlines your terms and conditions.
Summitt Energy is of the opinion that you understood what was being asked of you.
The brochure gives you your cancellation options in Section 9, which states “Customer may cancel the contract without penalty at any time during the period that ends 10 days after receiving a copy of the Agreement.”
Mr. B, if you would like to have this contract cancelled with Summitt Energy, exit fees would be applicable.
Attached is a copy of the exit fee letter for your evergreen contract.
————————————————————
Dear Mr. B,
We are sorry to have received your request for the early cancellation of the Evergreen program that you signed up for
on 10/13/2009.
Summitt Energy’s Evergreen program supports reforestation, tire recycling and landfill gas recovery projects across Canada. Your support of these projects helps reduce greenhouse gases right here at home.
We must all do our part to support a greener future, for our health and for the quality of life of generations to come.
Summitt Energy’s carbon credits are CSA approved and make a real difference here in Canada. A green future is only
possible through the dedication of concerned citizens, and we can make a difference, one home at a time.
Through your registration on 10/13/2009, you committed to joining the thousands of people who are making a
difference through Summitt Energy’s Evergreen program. By supporting carbon reduction projects for the long term,
you are creating a cleaner and safer environment for Canadians, our native animals and our habitat.
We are asking you to continue that commitment today.
If you’ve decided to cancel your support, you will need to close your account by paying liquidated damage fees, as
per section 11 in the Terms and Conditions of your contract with Summitt Energy.
This charge is the remaining amount of carbon offsets owing, $12.99 per month for the balance of your contract:
Liquidated Damages: $753.42
GST: $37.67
Total Due: $791.09
If you wish to complete the cancellation of your contract, please send a certified cheque, bank draft or money
order for the full amount of the liquidated damages payable to Summitt Energy. Upon receipt of your payment, it may
take up to 60 days to process the cancellation through your utility(s).
If you require any further assistance, please call our toll free customer service number at 1-877-222-9520.
Regards,
Customer Service Department
Summitt Energy
Phone: 877-222-9520
Fax: 905-366-7063/1-877-222-9520
Email: customerservice@summittenergy.ca
BB’s response
Feb 3 2010
Dear Mrs. Gaetana Girardi,
You keep ignoring the facts I mentioned the past few weeks.
I signed and confirmed the evergreen and electricity contracts based on the false information given to me by the sales rep and the unlawful means used by him. I have been duped.
As you probably know, your company and your sales reps have an obligation to comply with the OEB Code of Conduct. Your sales rep did not comply with this Code of Conduct.
He falsely claimed to be working with Toronto Hydro (my utility provider).
He illegally accessed my personal information and account number from the bill.
He lied to me, saying that the entire building was signing the contracts and that it was something that had to be done. He made it sound like it was mandatory.
He pressured me to sign both contracts. He also lied to me concerning the “evergreen contract” and ticked off a box after he left my apartment.
He did not mention the reaffirmation calls, the purpose of these calls and the 10-day cooling off period (he just said that “someone will call a few days later to check if he came to my apartment”).
He clearly took advantage of the fact that I was a newcomer and this made it easier for him to dupe me.
He did not even leave me his business card.
All these facts are against the OEB Code of Conduct. If your salesrep had followed the Code of Conduct, I wouldn’t have signed and confirmed the evergreen and electricity contracts. Based on these facts, the contracts should not be valid.
This is a scam and I am a scam victim here. I am therefore asking to cancel the contracts without penalty fees.
Duping a newcomer and then asking him to pay $800 to cancel is totally unacceptable, Mrs. Girardi. I have not even received a bill from your company.
You are asking me to pay for something I never used and I never wanted. It does not make any sense.
I have never experienced anything like this before and honestly, I did not know that some people could act that way, especially in a country like Canada. This is not the way an honest company should do business, and as the Compliance Director, I hope you share my view.
Larry
Feb 3 2010
Do you deal with Direct Energy? If so, you are paying wildly higher rates for your gas consumption than you should be — three to four times OR MORE!
And so is EVERYONE else who has a contract with Direct Energy.
Simply stated, if you have a contract with Direct Energy (as we do), you are overpaying by a ridiculous margin and I’m sure that a huge number of your readers are as well.
We have the proof, a simple chart called Historic Natural Gas Rates, obscurely placed on the internet by the Ontario Energy Board! There is no manipulation of figures here and no hidden agenda. A simple truth!
Most people dealing with Direct Energy are paying wildly higher prices than the current rates regulated for Enbridge. What’s more all Direct Energy’s “promises” of savings and suggestions of higher gas prices to come are all bogus. Do your own analysis.
I’m quite positive that a large proportion of your readers will relate to the “knock on the door” by Direct Energy sales representatives in the past. In our case these sales people claimed that they could save us money from impending gas increases.
They requested a copy of our recent gas invoices and would not provide a quote without reviewing same. In fact, when we said that we wished to see some literature and review things, they advised us that they had no literature and were only in the area “that day”!
They went to great lengths to “scare” us into believing that the price of gas was going to go up imminently and dramatically, but said that they could not help us unless we provided copies of our recent bills.
We thereupon provided copies and the Direct Energy sales people made further claims that they could lock in our gas cost by providing a long term contract, thereby protecting us from these potential price increases. They advised us that others were already enjoying the benefits of their protection plans.
And, most of all, Direct Energy relies on the fact that the average consumer has neither the ability nor the means to substantiate those claims. The only problem with ALL of those claims is that they are completely misleading and inherently false.
The only accurate statement was undoubtedly the fact that Direct Energy had duped many other people into signing agreements, albeit based upon their pressure tactics and false and misleading claims and innuendos.
They rely on the fact that the average person has little means by which they can verify their claims and consequently, we all tend to rely on the large energy providers as “big brothers” who will provide us with a fair deal.
The average consumer is not a financial wizard with a vast and thorough knowledge of world energy trends. There is NO practical way for us to prove or disprove the statements and claims made by Direct Energy.
So, we assumed that they were correct and signed up. Our three business contracts were all signed and then renewed in October 2007 at the rate of 31.9 cents. We had previously signed for our home contract at 49.9 cents and it is up for renewal now.
I suppose that we should have been alerted to something being amiss in October 2007, based upon the differential alone between our home and business contracts. In spite of the time difference in signing these two different contracts, something was obviously wrong.
But, Direct Energy claimed that they were saving us money and we took their word at face value that they WERE protecting us from ever increasing gas prices.
Interestingly, the phone “sales pitch” in the fall of 2007 included a claim that previous gas prices had hit 43 cents and the then current billing period price was 29.1 cents, insinuating that we were already saving money.
They put in writing that “many experts are predicting that gas prices will rise in the future”. They wrote that “locking in our rate now means you don’t have to worry about fluctuations in the market. That’s peace of mind.”
These are all misrepresentations by Direct Energy. We would have been none-the-wiser if we hadn’t “tripped” across the Enbridge Gas Prices going back to January 2006.
Very simply, Direct Energy Has NOT saved us any money nor protected us from the purported “huge” increases. They have charged us 28% more on average in each and every billing period. They HAVE charged us 72% more for each of the billing periods in 2009.
As I mentioned, our three business contracts were renewed in October 2007. And, as I pointed out, Direct Energy claimed that they were going to save us money from the imminent gas increases that were forthcoming. In fact, not only were there NO increases from that date forward, but there were only two periods in the preceding 7 billing periods that were higher than the rate they coerced us to agree to.
Yes, one period (“ONE”) was 43 cents, the other was 33.76 cents. But the average was STILL lower than that which we had been charged!
And, they lied about the then current rate of 29.1 cents in their verbal sales pitch. The chart clearly shows that the rate in October 2007 was 26.01 cents.
Once we became aware of the misrepresentations, we called them on Jan. 12, 2010. We explained that Direct Energy had coerced us into signing under false pretenses, was currently billing us over 4 times the October 2009 rate on our home contract and 2.5 times the same rate on our business contracts.
We explained that we wanted all four contracts cancelled immediately and reimbursement for overpaid accounts. She advised that a manager would call within 4 to 6 hours. No such call was received.
On Jan. 14, 2010, we sent a letter to Direct Energy by email AND mail. On Jan. 21, we received a call from a Direct Energy clerk who began advising us of the penalties for early cancellation of contract.
I advised the representative that we required reimbursement for their high pressure sales and misrepresentation and would provide them 24 hours in which to respond properly.
On Jan. 25, I received a call from Alex at Direct Energy. He too began by advising us of the penalties for terminating a contract and stated that their contracts were binding. He proceeded as if he were totally unaware of the previous two conversations and our letter to Direct Energy.
I responded that Direct Energy was guilty of high pressure sales and gross misrepresentation and I suggested that he read the information that was likely inscribed on our account in his computer.
I am a business person and can truly relate to the many restraints put upon us by governments and societies alike. Notwithstanding, this is clearly a case where such rules, regulations and restraints are required and even then the large institutions abuse their positions of knowledge and power.
Gord Potter, Just Energy spokesman
Feb 4 2010
The cheque was a promotion aimed at existing customers. They have 30 days to cancel penalty-free after getting their first bill.
If customers cashed the cheque without reading the letter, they would have received a second letter with a copy of the cancelled cheque afterward.
The letter was quite clear. Here’s what it said:
“I would like to welcome you as a new customer of Just Energy.
“You have enrolled in Just Energy’s JustGreen program for natural gas supply with 100% carbon offset by endorsing the attached processed cheque.
“JustGreen guarantees you a fixed rate of 33.9 cents/m3 and 5 units (100%) of JustGreen at no charge for the full term of your 5-year plan.
“Your local utility will continue to deliver your natural gas and provide the same level of service you’ve come to expect. The Just Energy name will appear on your utility bill as your natural gas supplier.
“This letter confirms that you have read and understand the essential information and terms and conditions outlined and provided in your new user guide.”
PC
Feb 4 2010
Another tale. What I thought I was signing up for and what I got was so different.
I asked the young fellow from Direct Energy who came to my door, “Would you sell this plan to your mother?” He replied yes, he had already signed her up. I hope she forgives him.
I knew I would be selling my house, so I wanted to know for sure that the contract didn’t have to be assumed by the new home owner (would have killed the deal).
The young fellow assured me that it wouldn’t, but they could sign up.
When I moved, would the contract go with me? He told me I’d have to transfer it to my new location, so you can imagine my surprise when I tried to cancel. The answer was NO, just because you move the contract stays with you.
They agreed to lower the premium if I stayed (from 43.5 cents per unit to 29.9 cents). Union Gas was charging 11 cents for the same unit, but I would have to pay a penalty if I left (gas & yydro).
The gas bill couldn’t be figured out. I called and was told, “yes Mr C, if you decide to leave, you will be charged $1,097.”
Lucky I was sitting down.
How do you come up with that figure, I’d like to know.
Received my first bill for gas and hydro after moving. Direct Energy still charging. The same day, another letter arrives from the collection agency, demanding the money before my credit rating dips……….
I was furious. I’ve called politicians, the company, I’ve sent them payment, the threat of my credit rating, they really have you at their mercy.
I took the contract to my lawyer and he said its pretty ironclad.
Help all you can. I know the low income, fixed income, disabled can go to their local MPPs and MPs for help. I don’t know how many people know that. Maybe you could help them.
Hope someone benefits from my sacrifice and embarrassment of being ripped off.
I know legislation is on its way to have some control over the gouging.
Door to door sales should be limited to Girl Guides and worthwhile fundraisers, not contracts that require a lawyer’s interpretation, full of small print.
Hydro includes a warning in their bills now because of all the complaints, but Direct Energy continues to sign up unsuspecting new customers. It’s caused a lot of unnecessary stress in my life I could have done without.
Let it go, my friends say, but hope I can stop one person from being ripped off as this company grows and multiplies its profits of the back of the common man.
Okay bye, Ellen, help those who haven’t signed yet… and those who have signed with certain circumstances that can get out without penalty … Educate them. Help them.
DM
Feb 4 2010
My husband and I purchased our first home last September. During the first month, a representative from “Union Gas” (who we now realize was from Summitt Energy) came to the door.
He said the previous owners of this house had signed a 5 year protection plan with Union Gas to keep their rates at 32.9c/m3, while those outside the plan were paying 39.7c/m3. He wrote this down on a piece of paper, which we still have.
He also said that if gas rates were to go down, ours would too without penalty. He said that as the new home owners, we would be included in this plan for the next three years, since the original home buyers had already used the first two years of the plan.
He asked me to sign a form to have the benefit changed from their names to ours. He did not mention hydro at any point, just Union Gas. I signed the form at this time.
The “gas company” called us several times after that to ask if we had received the documentation in the mail. I had received no such documentation in the mail and told them so (still thinking I was dealing with Union Gas).
Months went by where we received a bill from Union Gas, as well as Milton Hydro, where no charges from Summitt Energy were made.
On our last bill received in January 2010, there were new charges from Summitt Energy. We phoned Milton Hydro and Union Gas to ask about these charges and they explained to us what had happened.
We called Summitt Energy to cancel (even though we never reaffirmed our contract over the phone) and they are telling us it is going to be $1,300 + tax to get out.
I have just been laid off, making this a huge sum of money to be paid for something we didn’t legally sign onto, or worse were scammed into signing.
We did a calculation after we realized what had happened and we figure we will pay roughly $3,500 extra over 5 years if we do not get cancellation from Summitt Energy.
I applaud you for the efforts you have made to expose these scams (I only wish I had read your column before) and I hope that you continue to help to inform the public.
————————————————————
Dear Ellen,
I want to thank you immensely for helping us with our dispute with Summitt Energy. They have agreed to terminate our contract with no extra fees.
As new homeowners, this was a source of huge stress for us and frankly we now can’t believe how naive we were to fall for the lies of the Summitt sales agent.
We will spread the word amongst our friends, family, and neighbours to try to stop anyone else from being duped into a contract they don’t want to be in.
Thank you so much for your hard work as a consumer advocate!
EZ
Feb 4 2010
Last October (Thanksgiving weekend), a Summitt Energy rep came to our door saying we were paying too much for our utilities, particularily electricity.
He said that effective May 1, 2009, consumers with a time-of-use meter (Smart Meter) will pay 9.1 cents/kWh for on-peak times, 7.5 cents/kWh for mid-peak times and 4.2 cents/kWh for off-peak times.
I knew we had the Smart Meter installed in late summer so erroneously assumed that was the way we were being billed.
Their rate was guaranteed for 5 years @ 7.59 cents/kWh hour. I have since realized we are still on the Regulated Price Plan @ 5.8 cents/kWh and probably will be for quite some time, accourding to Horizon Utilities.
He also did not explain that there’s a Provincial Benefit fee of approximately $30/month if you do not use Horizon Utilities as the supplier of electricity. That $30 extra fee = $1,800 extra over the 5 years.
Summitt’s gas price is 34.9 cents/m3 and our current price is 12.95 cents/m3. (It was about 5 cents higher when we signed.) There wasn’t much discussion about the gas price. I did not check all this before signing, duh!!!
We moved from Manitoba in April 2009, where they actually have gs rebate programs that are legitimate and do save you a lot of money. This is what we thought we were signing up for.
Ater some calculating, the extra cost we’re looking at approximately $4,00-5,00 more over the 5 years of the contract. They want about $1,400 to cancel. Yikes.
When they called to confirm the signing of the contract, they made 3 phone calls, all from people that spoke very poor English and were almost impossible to understand, but I did acknowledge that I had signed something.
There also was an issue with our Horizon Utilities account number not being written on the form. It is still blank on our contract. They must have found it somehow, though.
Then on Dec. 19, 2 more reps came to our door, stating that the first contract had never been processed, I think because of the missing account number, and they filled out another contract, which I again “stupidly” signed. Duh!!!!
It wasn’t until we received our Horizon Utilities statement on Jan. 28, 2010 that I finally realized I had made a huge mistake. I called their office and spoke to customer service who advised me I could not cancel without paying a penalty of $933 for electricity and $469 for Gas.
I asked how they calculated these numbers, and where it was stated in my contract, but he couldn’t tell me exactly. He told me I should have done my homework and looked Summitt Energy up on the internet.
When I asked him if he would recommend this plan to friends or family, he hesitated, but wouldn’t answer, because their calls are recorded.
I called back a second time on Jan. 28 and left a message for the Manager, Ajay, to please call me in regards to cancelling this contract. He failed to return my call and I left him another message.
When I called to speak to the manager tonight, the young lady hung up on me, after she got very disrespectful on the phone and I called her on it.
I still can’t believe I was so stupid about this entire matter. My only defence is I’m an honest person and way too trusting.
We’d really appreciate help, as my husband is on CPP disability and we really can’t afford an extra $30/month for electricity and probably $50/month for gas.
————————————————————
Thanks for trying to help, but Summitt Energy’s response was to say we have to pay $1,400+ to cancel. Is there anything further we can do, or do we have to just “chalk it up to a hard learned lesson”?
stf
Feb 5 2010
It was very easy to get out of contract (a few years ago): transfer the utility bill to a different name (a spouse, a relative, etc) and get a new customer number. The old contract was then canceled without any penalties, because the old account no longer existed.
second opinion mike
Feb 5 2010
These complaints seem to be a clear statement of fraud on the part of the energy firms who come door to door. It has been going on long enough that the provincial government is clearly aware of the issue and show no haste to fix it.
There are newer and more offensive tactics every month as the slimeball re-sellers invent new scams. At some point, the lack of government action becomes the issue. Arguing with these fraudsters is fruitless….. it is time to point the finger at politicians and force them to fix what they created.
I hesitate to ask how the government allowed the situation to get this bad, but somebody is benefiting from the consumers’ losses.
Maybe it is time to start emailing your MPP en masse and see if the heat creates some urgency.
Lior
Feb 6 2010
All these utility providers should be banned from selling door to door. There are far too many unethical sales going on. Someone who reads this blog and Ellen’s columns on a regular basis would know better, but a lot of people don’t know better until it’s too late.
They don’t understand how these utility contracts work and when confronted by unscrupulous sales people, someone who’s naive may be duped into signing a price commitment that he or she clearly doesn’t understand.
I think the province should set up a compensation fund that these resellers should contribute to in cases of dispute or when customers are duped into signing a contract.
Bex
Feb 8 2010
Listen, I am very sorry to hear about all of your misfortune. The people who sold you these products were clearly misleading and manipulative. However, the government has done things to prevent this, and just as Ellen Roseman says, it’s been going on for years. Figure it out.
JH
Feb 8 2010
I had a visit from a Summitt Energy rep, who told me the Govt of Ontario had recently passed a law which required me to purchase “Green Energy.” If I was audited (and had not purchased same), I could be subject to a substantial fine.
The cost was to be an additional $12.50 per month. I had heard of no such law and sent him away.
Later that same week, I got written material from Just Energy/National Home Services with a pitch to save the environment by signing up for a “JustGreen natural gas suppy agreement and we’ll pay for your green energy carbon credits.”
These ‘energy resellers’ are the snake oil salespeople of this millennium and it is shameful this has been started and allowed by government.
Thank you for your excellent work and hopefully The Star will begin making these questionable practises front page news.
JB
Feb 8 2010
I was paid a visit by two Summitt Energy representatives who claimed that they were sent by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) to see if I had contracted with any direct energy suppliers.
They claimed they were sent by the OEB as a result of the installation of smart meters on our street in Richmond Hill. I was suspicious and I challenged them on this claim of representing the OEB.
When I questioned the young lady to show me proof that they had authorization from the OEB, her associate (a man) quickly backtracked and said they were an independent energy supplier and wanted to check my Enbridge statement to see if I had contracted with another supplier.
The point is that they falsely claimed that they were here on behalf of the OEB. Had I not challenged them on this, they would have probably been able to convince me to produce my Enbridge statement.
If I was not with an independent supplier, they would have used heavyhanded sale tactics to get me to sign up with them.
Not only is this unethical and deplorable, but they obviously have been coached into speaking with homeowners to produce documents that they have no right to inspect.
I can only imagine how many unsuspecting homeowners they had convinced to show them their energy bills on behalf of the OEB.
The OEB should investigate Summitt Energy’s sales practices in Richmond Hill. It was definitely a false claim of representation that in my opinion constitutes fraud — unless the OEB has indeed retained them to go door to door and ask to see homeowners’ energy bills.
GR
Feb 9 2010
Last Saturday, I made my daily visit to my 89 yr old mother who suffers from dementia and found a contract on the table that she had signed the previous day for Summitt.
I totally flipped out, as I had just finally got her last contract with them cancelled last December by telling them she had no idea what she had signed.
Again, she said she thought she had to sign it (everyone was), so here I go again trying to cancel it.
Luckily, she has not confirmed the deal in the followup phone call (but she likely will forget and say it’s OK).
Anyway, after contacting their office, I was told to email my request to cancel and ask for a confirmation number, which I have not yet received.
I told them to stop preying on foreigners and the elderly who do not understand. I think it is criminal and should not be allowed to continue. Thank you for what you are doing to try and help.
I have also cancelled a phone and gas contract that she signed. The “No Solicitors or Peddlers” sign does not help at all!
JP
Feb 9 2010
Ellen, I wish I had heard of you a couple of years ago. I’ve been stuck in a contract with Direct Energy since 2006 and tried to talk to them several times about cancelling, but kept being told about the HUGE cancellation fees.
I was never told about the cancellation penalty when I signed the contract. Of course, I was told that I would absolutely save money by switching to Direct Energy!
Is there a way to get out of this ridiculous contract, which I was deceitfully convinced to sign based on the “irrevocable rise of energy costs”?
I can’t believe I was so stupid, and now I can’t take the chance of having anything negative get on my credit report, as I had to file for bankruptcy in September 2007.
Do you think you can help me break this contract without penalty? I recently looked at a friend’s Union Gas bill and she’s paying just over a third of what I am, once you add it all together with transportation and delivery fees.
My latest Gas bill was $398.07 for 655.315 cubic metres. Were I with Union Gas, I would have paid $144.75, including taxes.
Direct Energy has never saved me so much as a dime, just because I was stupid enough to believe the promises their door to door salesperson(?!?!?!) made to me about all the money I would save.
When I got the $398 bill the other day, it sent me over the edge. I’ve just finally gotten to a point where I was able to save a few bucks to back myself up in case of emergency and here this comes.
Best part about the whole thing is that I never will trust anyone trying to sell me something again. If anyone has to try to sell you a product, it usually means their product is likely something you neither need nor want.
I shudder to think what I might have been able to save had I not been fighting these huge bills the last couple of winters!
————————————————————
Ellen, I don’t even know how to thank you enough for what your help has resulted in for me.
I can’t wait to see what the refund ends up being for the last 3.5 years of price gouging from Direct Energy.
I’m forwarding the email I received today from Direct Energy. I’m absolutely flabbergasted! I’m willing to bet this never would have occurred had your name not been behind it. Thank you a million times over!!!!!!!!!
————————————————————
Dear Mr. P,
We know that you have many choices when it comes to utility providers, so we want to share our appreciation for your past business with Direct Energy.
We are writing to respond to the concerns that you expressed in your email regarding your gas contract with Direct Energy (“DE”).
Upon receiving your complaint, we thoroughly investigated your account details.
Our records indicate that you contacted DE by phone on May 9, 2006. During the call, you accepted a contract to secure gas service for a period of five years at the rate of 42.9 cents/m3. The contract began on July 1, 2006 and was due to end on August 31, 2011.
As per our conversation today, we have attempted to retrieve a copy of the enrollment call; however, we have been unable to locate the call at this time.
Under the circumstances, DE will cancel the contract and waive the early termination charges. Accordingly, a drop request has been submitted to the utility and the contract will be cancelled by the utility on March 1, 2010.
DE will also provide you with reimbursement for the period from July 1, 2006 until March 1, 2010 for the difference between 42.9 cents/m3 and the utility rates.
A reimbursement cheque will be mailed to you within 6-8 weeks.
We apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced and we appreciate the opportunity to have served you.
Regards,
Office of the President,
Direct Energy
MD
Feb 9 2010
We were also approached within days of moving into our new home by Summitt Energy. We had moved from Montreal and took possession of our home on Sept. 1st.
Over the Labour Day weekend, on Sunday, Sept. 6th, my wife spoke to a person who came to our door while I was out running errands.
It appears as if Summitt’s unscrupulous sales people are using predatory techniques, looking for moving trucks to misrepresent themselves as you work through the boxes and try to set up your new home and get all your services connected.
My wife is a francophone from Quebec City, who speaks broken English and understands English at a decent level, but not when it comes to understanding legal jargon or contracts.
The representative came to the door and displayed a folder showing Enbridge and Summitt Energy as if they were one and the same. She was led to believe she was talking to our natural gas provider, asking for us to confirm we wanted service. So she thought she was doing a good thing.
The fact that someone came to the door and she had signed something went undiscussed between us, amid all the other things we were doing in our first few weeks of settling in.
A day or so before Summitt called for a confirmation, I found the one small document she had signed, the Registration Form. It was a carbon copy, barely legible with no check marks next to either the gas rate or the electricity rate, as if filled out in haste before she realized and asked questions.
Ee did not have a Customer Agreement with Terms and Conditions that apparently would talk about our Consumer’s Rights and Buyer’s Right to cancel.
I received the confirmation call around Sept. 18th. Despite my better judgement and after being badgered with several requests to confirm I agreed with the contract, without providing any information about my rights, the rates, etc., I relented and accepted.
I figured I would see more information and have another opportunity to deal with this when I had more time.
It is important to note that I still have not received an Enbridge Gas bill with my name on it. I have called them every month when I receive bills with the former owner’s name on it and they have indicated that it is because of a system upgrade they performed in September that is preventing them from creating new accounts for new homeowners.
Enbridge has said this should be resolved by April, as they must create new accounts manually. This hasn’t helped my situation with Summitt Energy.
If I had received something in my name, I would likely have seen the current Enbridge rates and compared them to what I “think” I will be charged by Summitt because once again, I have seen nothing concrete.
I called Summitt today and wasn’t surprised that the rep wasn’t prepared to release me from “our contract,” despite the fact I don’t have a contract other than a Registration Form that doesn’t say much.
In addition to this form locking me into a 5 year contract with Summitt for natural gas, I was also locked into a 5 year contract for eletricity! I found that interesting because the form didn’t even have a check mark in the box for the 5 year electricity rate, the same way it had no check mark next to the 5 year gas rate.
The rep said he could cancel the electricity contract, but not the gas contract. (I guess they stand to make more money on the gas contract. With a rate of 34.9 cents per cubic meter, it is 15 cents higher than the Enbridge rate.)
If I had the benefit of seeing an Enbridge bill, even addressed to the former owner (assuming I was going to break the law and open it), I would have seen Summitt’s offer was not good.
I was told the only way out of the contract was to pay a severance fee of $926. Not sure how this amount is calculated, but this was never mentioned either.
I am sure hundreds of customers are being caught up in these unethical and abusive practices. I am hoping you can help us cancel this agreement with Summitt.
It’s a lesson to my wife and me not to rush into contracts without checking first.
ER
Feb 9 2010
Like most Summitt Energy victims, my family and I are relatively new immigrants in Toronto, having moved here in 2007. Like most new immigrants, we just wanted to do the right thing and follow the rule of law.
We always had this naive notion that Canada will look after our rights and prosecute people or companies who prey on, or do harm to, its citizens and residents.
Our hydro supplier is Veridian, which started in 2007. We are billed every quarter and we were averaging about $160 per quarter in 2007, and $270.00 in 2008.
In mid-2008, we were approached by Summitt Energy reps. They claimed to be working for Verizon and explained that they were doing door-to-door visits to all households and asking everyone to sign a contract in order to ensure every Verizon customer of guaranteed lower hydro rates.
In 2009, we averaged paying $645 quarterly. In some quarters, our payments amounted to $1,000 plus. That’s more than a 200% increase in our hydro rates. It didn’t seem logical.
The rates were getting ridiculously high when we finally found out that we had signed a contract with an energy broker and that we would have to pay a penalty of $300 to cancel the contract.
We opted for the cancellation, as we definitely could not afford Summitt’s rates. We are currently back to Verizon’s rates now and back to paying about $170 per quarter.
I’m not sure if I can get some refund or if Summitt executives will be penalized. I’m satisfied enough that people will be aware of this fraud and be alert enough and watch out for these !@#$%^&* energy brokers.
Again, I really appreciate the publicity that you are giving this…more power to you.
MJ
Feb 9 2010
Yesterday, my husband misguidedly signed a price protection registration form with Summitt Energy for our home, which we recently moved to a month ago.
The salesperson told him that he was representing Enbridge & PowerStream and that this was to set up our accounts. Since my husband didn’t know about this sales tactic, he thought that this was legitimate.
When I got home and found the form, I called immediately to cancel this agreement, as I know that we have a 10-day cooling off period.
I’ve sent 3 emails, talked to two different representatives and have faxed a cancellation request. I have not heard back from the company confirming my cancellation.
As for the conversations I had with the two reps, they said that they could not cancel the agreement for the following reasons:
- The paperwork has not been submitted by the salesperson, which they told me takes about 10 days (interesting enough, this is exactly how long the ‘cooling off’ period is).
- They themselves cannot access the email (customerservice@summittenergy.ca) and a different person during the day can cancel the agreement.
So I tried calling two times today during business hours and have been on hold for a total of 1 hour with no luck.
I am planning to send a registered letter to the company advising them (again) of the cancellation tonight.
Is there anything else I can do? What if I never receive a confirmation of the cancellation?
DC
Feb 11 2010
I read about the problems people had with Summitt Energy. I had a similar experience when a salesman knocked at my door and made me believe he was from Guelph Hydro!
We have people calling every couple of weeks from different companies, telling us we could save money on our electric bill if we signed up with them!
I would have checked him out before saying “no thanks.” However, this Summitt man said he represented Guelph Hydro and convinced me it was true!
I signed with him and my next hydro bill was almost $100 more than normal.
I drove to Guelph Hydro’s office and spoke to the receptionist, who told me that Summitt was not
affiliated with them and they had a lot of coplaints like mine.
I was told to call Summitt to say I wanted out of the contract. Usually they would want a large fee to cancel, but anyone over 75 years old didn’t have to pay the fee.
I called Summitt and I had to send a copy of my birth certificate, which I did. However it took six weeks before the contract was cancelled.
Perhaps you can pass this information to others to help them, as I found a few friends had the same experience!
PK
Feb 11 2010
Hi Ellen, I read your article about Summitt Energy and I am also stuck in this scam. I am a new homeowner and recently married.
I was approached by a man who spoke with a thick accent and it was difficult to understand him. He said that Summitt Energy owned Oakville Hydro and I had to sign this contract because of some switch in the company. I had no idea this was a complete lie.
He told me someone would call in a few days to confirm the contract and it was just procedure. When they called, I confirmed.
Now, a month later, after speaking with my father and some others, I found out that I had locked in my electrical and gas rates for 5 years.This was a complete surprise.
I called to cancel but their customer representative said that since I confirmed over the phone, they have already bought all the gas and electricity and would cost over a thousand dollars to cancel.
I have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after fighting in Afghanistan in 2006. Stress aggravates my PTSD. Having this man in my house telling me that I had to sign this contract right now was extremely stressful for me and probably contributed to my lack of understanding and judgment.
I don’t understand how this company can get away with this bare faced misrepresentation.I had no idea that there was no switch in hydro companies.
To think I put myself in harm’s way fighting to protect this kind of freedom. It’s sad. Is there any way out of this?
BC
Feb 11 2010
I just wanted to give you another example of deception at the hands of an energy sales person door to door.
The victim is my 20 year old daughter, who lives in a student occupied townhouse in London while attending the University of Western Ontario. She has taken responsibility for paying all of the utilities and cable costs for the unit and is in turn reimbursed by her 3 roommates.
In late October 2009, a representative of Just Energy came to the door to sell a price protection contract to supply electricity. This saleswoman was extremely friendly and nice. She implied that everyone in the neighbourhood was signing up, there were savings to be had and the contract was renewed annually.
While home recently, my daughter showed me the contract she signed and it clearly stated that the term was for 5 years. (My daugher and her roommates all graduate in 2011!)
Clearly this is a case of Just Energy taking advantage of naïve students who are busy with their studies and don’t have time to study the documents or the experience in dealing with such people.
I have since told her to read any document that she is signing thoroughly before making a commitment.
On another note, Just Energy sent a prepaid Mastercard for $50 as a bonus to her for signing up, but she never activated it or used it (again too busy to really read the document).
Perhaps parents of university students moving off residence would benefit from a column by you addressing this issue. I am sure there are many other areas that students can be deceived. Most students when moving into housing (usually in 2nd year) are responsible for the lease starting May 1. Smart landlords!
————————————————————
Vanessa Anesetti, spokeswoman, Just Energy:
Hi Ellen, Just Energy agrees to cancel the electricity contract pertaining to Ms. C as a goodwill gesture.
I contacted her and left a voice message, providing the above noted resolution. A cancellation confirmation letter will be mailed to her.
AW
Feb 19 2010
Hi Ellen, the same thing happened to me tonight! Luckily I had the advice of my dad telling me not to sign anything until I research it first.
This is what I am doing right now and found your article and some other online forum complaints.
Summitt Energy, the way they conduct business was totally unethical. The guy lied to me and said that he was with Enbridge and Toronto Hydro and even showed me of billings to try to mislead me (even though his badge states Summitt Energy).
He said I had to sign the Consumer Protection Program with them because it was mandatory and everyone in the neighbourhood was doing so.
I’m just curious at how they are still in business, pretty shady business practices to me and why does the Canadian government allows this.
Just googling it online, you can see that so many people are being suckered into this.
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/became-summitt-energy-scam-victim-671535/11/
David
Feb 23 2010
After a year and a half I have finally convinced my brother in law to cancel the electricity contract he was with our house from Superior. The cancellation fee was a “mere” $650, but at the current rates they’re charging, we’ll recover that in about 8 months.
What really floored me was what they said to try and convince him to stay! And that he almost listened to them! “The rate you’re paying is 8.5 cents per kwh, and that’s locked in for the next 4 years. The regulated rate is 9 cents per kwh during peak hours.” When pressed for information about the Provincial Benefit, he got defensive and proceeded with the cancellation process. He’s still not actually canceled, we need to pay their cancellation fee first (which is unbelievably stupid! I have never encountered another company that did this!) but we’re doing that tonight or tomorrow; we’re just going to drive in, and drop off a cheque. Pray that they don’t try to convince us otherwise at the office because I don’t know I can hold my temper.
Still fighting over our gas with Direct, but even though they’re charging almost 3 times the regulated rate, it still isn’t worth it for us to pay the cancellation fee they want.
And on a good note, I recently had some new neighbours move in. A few days after they finished the move, I returned home to see a Direct Energy consultant walking away from their door. I immediately went up to their door and explained that energy resellers (specifically their salesman) are liars and crooks and if anyone calls from any energy company to say nothing but “no” the entire call. He thanked me and I really hope he took my advice. It’s a good thing the salesman was already on his way, otherwise I might have become very vocal towards him, and I don’t think that would have been a good thing.
TK
Mar 3 2010
Last week my father contacted you about Summitt Energy’s unethical practices.
In October last year, a Summitt agent came to the house and told my father that he needed to see his gas bill to see if he was paying too much for gas. My father showed him the bill and the agent said he was paying 32 cents for gas and if he signed the contract he would be getting a cheaper rate at 14.9 cents.
The agent even wrote 14.9 C on my father’s bill. So my father signed the contract thinking that he was going to be paying half the price of his current gas rate.
The agent then called the call centre and told my father to say yes to everything the operator on the phone was asking him as he listened in on the conversation.
When the first gas bill came in December, my father didn’t review it and just paid the amount shown. The next bill came and it was then he noticed the $14.99 Carbon Offset charge and asked me what it was. I had no idea and called Summitt Energy to inquire.
The customer service rep was very rude and implied that my father was an idiot if he signed something and didn’t know what he was signing for. I tried to tell him that the agent misled him and the rep said my father signed the contract and that was that.
I then asked to cancel the contract and the agent said that was fine but there would be a penalty for early cancellation. I told the rep there shouldn’t be a penalty and they needed to credit my father back the money he paid since he was falsely led to sign for a service that makes no sense at all.
Words were exchanged, which I am not proud of, but this rep was very arrogant and frustrated me. I asked for a copy of the contract and that was the end of it.
A couple weeks later, we received a letter in the mail saying we had to pay a $897.15 penalty for cancelling the contract. We never received a copy of the contract.
I called Summitt once again and asked for a copy of the contract. I was told that they reviewed the recording of the confirmation call and said my father knew exactly what he was signing for.
I asked for a copy of the recording along with the contract. It has been another 2 weeks and we have still not received anything from them.
The second agent I spoke to again was very rude and took a very condescending tone to us, saying my father signed the contract and he’s 60 years old so he should know what he was signing for.
Any advice you can help us with is greatly appreciated and needed. It is not fair for a company to prey on the common working class immigrant citizen to extort money.
John
Mar 10 2010
I work for http://www.RiteRate.ca and have a customer who is at his wit’s end with respect to a charge from Summitt Energy on his Enbridge gas bill.
The $14.99 charge is for Summitt’s Evergreen program. The customer has said a person came to the door claiming they would lower his rate for natural gas and all he had to do was sign is the agreement.
English is not his first language and no agreement was given to him at the time of signing at the door.
I told him to call Summitt to explain what transpired and cancel the agreement. He has since received an invoice for liquidated damages, equal to 57 months times $14.99 plus GST, or $897.15 in total.
The customer feels he was misled. He had no idea he was signing a 5 year contract for carbon neutral credits that would amount to a monthly charge of $14.99 on his Enbridge bill for the next 60 months.
He would be grateful if you could get Summitt to allow him to cancel for free.
Chris Stewart
Mar 24 2010
Here is something new. I cancelled my 5 year contract with Just Energy (after 4 years and 2 months) and expected to get charged a termination fee of around $86, based on my examination of my monthly bills over the last 4 years. The penalty is 5 cents per cubic metre for the months of February to November 2010 (10 months).
The bill came in and was for $125. The reason for the difference … Just Energy takes the annual gas usage from the previous year, divides it by 12 and then multiplies by 10 for the 10-month period.
This method assumes you use the same amount of gas each month. but we all know this varies dramatically and given the 10-month period noted above, did not include December or January. This is the reason for the wide difference.
I also noted they add GST to the bill and the contract clearly states the penalty as 5 cents - NOT 5 cents plus GST; also, the 34.9 cents per m3 I am now paying includes GST, so why would the 5 cent penalty not include GST?
I tried to deal with these people and even offered to send them a cheque for $86, but they didn’t want it. I have now offered to send them a 5 cent penalty on the actual gas used, which I will send them in December of this year once I have the ACTUAL usage (and I know it will be around $80 or less). I sent a second letter to them to this effect.
Just got back from vacation and they now have a collection agent on me. This is a first for me as I always pay what is owed (never had a collection agency come after me), but I will not pay for an amount which has been calculated in a ridiculous way.
I will send the cheque in December to them and see if they cash it. I will be sure to write on the cheque that by cashing it they are agreeing to the amount being a fair payment of the liquidated damages owed (how can they argue that one, as it will be at that point the actual gas usage).
I have complained to the OEB as liquidated damages, legally speaking, need to be backed up with proof that the company actually lost this much revenue. I write contracts for a living, so I know a thing or two about liquidated damages.
RR again
Mar 26 2010
Hi Ellen, I just wanted to let you know that both my gas and hydro accounts have been removed from Summitt.
I actually received a refund for the difference in the cost of their service and what it would have cost me otherwise.
Thank you for your help on this, I really appreciate it.
Wendy R
Mar 27 2010
In keeping with the spirit of those who have been taken by these and to honour three years of great work from Ellen:
SOMEONE please tell me who ACTIVE ENERGY are. Did Union Gas sell a contract to them?
In November (dates inexact due to some family events), Ellen was kind enough to contact Universal Energy and Direct Energy about the contracts I had (blood sucking contracts; .42 per .. signed before I had to make a major furnace purchase (way overpriced; watch out for those 21 Degree flyers; but since I had no heat on a rural Friday night, limited choice).
Ellen intervened at my request when not one but 2 young men showed up at the door, claiming they would renegotiate. Universal Energy (who had made major profits on both hydro and gas) did negotiate honorably, but only after 2 months of prepayment penalties.
Due to family illness, I still have not followed up on the exact status of Union Gas, but what a difference in my gas bill. I also received a letter from Union Gas, to their credit.
However, I still have not received anything from Veridian; that is to be expected, I guess.
TONIGHT, I received another one of our door to door sellers, Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. A pleasant woman insisted that she was representing ACTIVE ENERGY, who were suppliers for Union Gas.
Who are ACTIVE ENERGY? That is my question. She asked for a gas bill, which I could not immediately locate. She insisted I find a bill and pulled out her listing on a Union Gas bill. I KNOW my last bill was from Union Gas, not ACTIVE ENERGY.
By that time I had suggested that the dog would not leave if she came inside the door, but had given up. She insisted that she needed to know if I had received a rebate cheque (do not think so), and that if I allowed her access she could pull up a bill. NOT.
Please inform WHO these people are.. I think there are a few of us who need to know. NO literature was given. I would like Union Gas to comment and or inform. Thanks.
Wendy R
Mar 27 2010
CORRECTION: Apologies to Union Gas:
UNION GAS DID CANCEL THE PRE PAYMENT PENALTIES..
JL
Apr 29 2010
Companies are going into neighbourhoods and having seniors sign contracts that they barely understand.
My father is an 86 year old Alzheimer’s patient. He lives at home with the assistance of a caregiver. His family looks after his needs.
Toward the end of last year, a door-to-door aalesperson representing SUMMITT ENERGY had my father sign a contract for CARBON OFFSETS at a monthly rate of $14.99 + GST.
Another door-to-door aalesperson, representing Livclean, had my father sign a contract for a new Hot Water Heater at a monthly rate of $16.95 + GST.
The old Hot Water Heater through Direct Energy was a monthly rental fee of $13.00 + GST.
We eventually had the credit for the removal of Direct Energy’s Hot Water heater taken off our bill, but this did take 2 months.
I have called SUMMITT ENERGY on 3 occasions. It suggested that this was a VALID CONTRACT. This is furthest from the truth.
The door-to-door salesperson couldn’t care less what or who they were signing up and how it impacts them financially.
My father is hard of hearing and doesn’t understand what Carbon Offsets are. He merely thought if someone representing Enbridge or Direct Energy is saying something needs replacing or changing on the furnace, then they are honest and believable.
I would suggest that the public be warned about devious door-to-door salespeople representing Direct Energy and/or Enbridge informing people that their equipment should be replaced.
This definitely seems to be occurring with senior citizens.
I finally did get someone at SUMMITT ENERGY to stop the charges when I told them that I would take this to the press. This was after they asked me to send them something proving my dad’s age. I do not feel that the onus is on me to furnish that confidential information.
Summitt Energy, however, refuses to reimburse me for the charges from January to April that are on my father’s Enbridge account for Carbon Offsets.
The amount invoiced these past 4 months has been $59.96 + GST for a total of $62.96.
The $62.96 isn’t significant, but Summitt Energy’s attitude isn’t very conciliatory. Instead of apologizing for their canvasser entering a senior citizen into a contract that they do not understand or perhaps cannot afford, they take the attitude “For a customer service gesture, we will let you out of the contract”…….
The issue is that they never should have entered into a contract with a unknowing Senior Citizen to begin with.
Similarly, although we already have the new hot water rental at a higher monthly fee, the previous water heater did not require replacing. I cannot do anything about this, other than to let you know that these salepeople are not entirely ethical.
Lastly, while these charges come through as individual vendors using Enbridge’s billing system. I must think that Enbridge condones these practices and should look into them before offering anyone access to their billing system.
Yes, they likely receive a fee for offering their monthly billing system to third parties, but their reputation is also being tarnished in the process.
KL
Jul 5 2010
Re: What Gord Potter, Just Energy spokesman said in his comment. My mom cashed the $29.99 checque on Feb 01, 2010. without knowing or seeing the binding contract terms on the back of the cheque. She thought it was some gas return cheque from the government she heard about.
Since April, Just Energy has been billing us at a rate of 32.9 which is almost TRIPLE the market price.
Oh, about that welcome letter you talked about, we just got it today, the letter was dated June 25th, 2010. That’s FOUR months AFTER the fact. So how exactly could we have cancelled it within 30 days without even knowing we were enrolled till now? Just Energy is ironically VERY unjust, and it uses deceptive marketing/sales tactics. It’s almost fraud targeting the elders with weaker eye sights!