Answers and Help

The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, statewide consumer group that was created by the Illinois Legislature in 1983, after consumers overwhelmingly supported the creation of such an organization in a state referendum. Our basic mission is to fight for the rights of customers of regulated, investor-owned utilities across the state of Illinois. We have saved consumers more than $10 billion over the years, by blocking or reducing massive utility rate hikes and securing refunds for utility customers. The St. Louis-Post Dispatch has called CUB the "gold standard" for consumer groups nationwide. See theCUB Act that created us.

CUB's mission, as stated in the CUB Act, does not include companies that aren't regulated by the state of Illinois. This includes: cable companies; cellular companies; co-op/municipal electric, gas, and telephone companies; Internet/DSL companies; and long-distance companies. However, we can tell you where to get more information.


Cable TV

If you live in Chicago, you can file a cable TV-related complaint with the city's Cable TV Customer Service Unit, 312-744-4052. Otherwise, file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or contact your cable company. (If you don't know the phone number, look on your cable bill, or go here.)

Although cable is not part of our mission, under the CUB Act, our organization did push for a new, groundbreaking cable law that took effect on Jan. 1, 2008. Read more about it here.
Cellular Telephone
CUB's Telecommunications webpage has a section called "Saving Money on Cell Phones."

You can file a complaint with your cellular company, or with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Co-Op/Municipal
If you have a complaint about your electric cooperative, you have to take it up with the cooperative's board. Likewise, with a municipal company you should complain to your local elected officials.

For a list of electric cooperatives in Illinois, go to the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives.

For a list of municipal electric companies, go to the Illinois Municipal Utilities Association.


Internet/DSL
If you have a complaint against your Internet provider, contact the Illinois Attorney General. If it involves possible fraud, contact the Federal Trade Commission.


Long Distance
Because CUB gets so many calls from long-distance customers, we do have a lot of information on our Telecommunications Page, under the section "Saving Money on Long Distance." There we have a long-distance calculator that points you to low-cost calling plans. We also have a special webpage about a CUB-negotiated $20 credit for long-distance customers who sign up for one of the best plans CUB has ever seen.

No. If you make very few calls, drop your long-distance company and use a prepaid calling card, 10-10 number, or your cell phone to make such calls. Dropping your long distance means you have to call your local phone company so it can complete the change, which it will do for a one-time fee of about $5 to $10. Also ask your local company for "slamming protection" to make sure that another company doesn't try to slap you with expensive local toll/long-distance rates. It can do this "freeze" for free. Remember, even if you drop your long-distance service, you can still make toll-free (1-800, for example) calls—and you can receive long-distance calls.

It could be the result of a scam called cramming. Just because a charge is on your local bill doesn't mean it's legitimate. "Cramming" is when a carrier slaps a charge on a phone bill for a service the customer never ordered or received. Examples include unfamiliar charges for "voice mail," "personal 800 service," or vaguely described services, such as "new calling plan" or "membership fee." If you are crammed, dispute the charge with the company that assessed the fee. If the cramming company sent you a bill through your local phone company, contact the local company to explain your complaint. Subtract the amount you are disputing from your local bill when you pay it. Your local phone company is required to take the charge off and send it back to the company that billed you. That company then must prove the charge is authorized or remove it. If you've already paid for unauthorized services, the guilty company is required by law to refund your money. However, you first may have to file a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General.

That's called "slamming." You've been "slammed" if your local or local toll/long-distance service is switched to another phone company without your consent. If you see charges from an unfamiliar company on your phone bill, call the company and inform it that under Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules, you don't have to pay for the first 30 days of service. If you've already paid the offending company, tell it you want to be credited for any charges—or, at least, that you won't pay any rates higher than you would with your chosen phone company. Call your local phone company and ask it to switch you back to your original carrier and waive any fee it normally would have charged you for switching. Finally, call your preferred carrier and make sure you get back on the rates you had before you were slammed. If you encounter any difficulty through this process, contact the FCC, the Illinois Attorney General or the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to file a complaint. You can lessen the risk of this scam by asking your local phone company for free "slamming protection," which means it will "freeze" your local toll and long-distance carriers.

"Jamming" occurs when customers attempting to switch phone companies experience an unreasonable delay in transferring the service from one company to another, sometimes leaving them without any service at all. Contact CUB, the Illinois Attorney General, or the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) if you are having difficulty completing such a switch.

CUB's legal and policy teams have saved consumers more than $10 billion over the years by blocking or reducing massive utility rate hikes and securing refunds for customers before the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), the state body that regulates utilities. CUB is currently involved in several cases before the ICC that affect your electric, natural gas, telephone, or water rates. Some cases that we are involved in now include:

Ameren's $247 million gas and electric rate-hike plan. (Docket 07-0585, 07-0586, 07-0587, 07-0588, 07-0589, 07-0590)

ComEd's $361 million rate-hike plan. (Docket 07-0566)

To get more information on a certain case, go to the ICC's "e-docket" page and plug in the docket number of the case orsearch by company. Also, you can file a public comment on ICC cases or call the ICC to let it know your opinion, at 1-800-524-0795.

A good place to start is CUB's "Get Green" page, which is filled with helpful information about how to cut your energy bills. The page includes a CFL calculator, which tells you how much money you could save with those energy-saving bulbs. Take the "Get Green Pledge," to use at least one of the bulbs in your home, and you will qualify for contests to win up to 50 bulbs for your home and up to 10,000 for your community!

Real-time pricing is a new program for Ameren and ComEd customers. If you choose to sign up for real-time pricing, you will get charged a price for the power you use that changes each hour according to the actual market price. The right customers could save money on their electric bills. See if you're the right candidate for real-time pricing.

For Ameren's program, "Power Smart Pricing," call
1-877-655-6028, or e-mail info@powersmartpricing.org. The program's website is www.powersmartpricing.org.

If you're participating in ComEd's program, call
1-866-928-8776, or go to www.thewattspot.com.

Customers of Northern Illinois' traditional regulated natural gas utilities—Nicor Gas, North Shore Gas, Peoples Gas—can choose to have another company supply them with natural gas. That means the utility will still deliver the heating fuel through its pipes to your home, but you would buy the actual gas from an unregulated gas supplier, such as the ones listed here:

Ambit Energy
Cornbelt Energy
Dominion Retail
IGS Energy
Integrys Energy Services
MX Energy
Santanna
Spark Energy
U.S. Energy Savings Corp.


See CUB's fact sheet on the choices for Nicor customers and for Peoples/North Shore customers, and check out our Gas Market Monitor.

CUB has issued consumer alerts about the plans sold by these unregulated gas companies. Our Gas Market Monitor shows that most of the plans are losing or have lost money. (See our IGS Energy fact sheet for one exception.) Consider these offers carefully before you sign up and compare the prices (plus extra fees) to what the regulated utilities charge. Read about the offers in our special fact sheet for Nicor Gas customers and Peoples Gas/North Shore Gas customers.

Absolutely not. You can stay with your regulated utility at prices that are approved or reviewed by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC).

The unregulated companies usually have an "opt-out period" during which you can leave the contract without paying an exit fee of potentially hundreds of dollars. Always know exactly when this period begins and ends. Remember, this is a legal contract, so once you've signed it, you're bound by the agreement and its cancellation fees. Don't do business with these companies until you fully understand the offer.

No. Nicor Gas is the traditional regulated utility. Nicor Advanced Energy and Nicor Services have almost identical names and logos, but they are unregulated gas companies. That means they can charge whatever they want. Nicor Advanced Energy and Nicor Services are sister companies of Nicor Gas, but that doesn't guarantee their prices and services are better than any other company. Read our fact sheet about Nicor Advanced Energy and its "Lock 12" plan and Nicor Services and its "Fixed Bill" plan.

In the fall of 2007, AT&T announced that it was changing the fee it charges for past-due bills from 1.5 percent of the past-due bill to $7 a month AND 1 percent of the past-due bill. After many customers complained, AT&T changed its policy. As of Jan. 1, 2008, AT&T charges $5 a month OR 1 percent of the past-due amount, whichever is greater.

A utility may disconnect your service if:

—You fail to pay a current bill and make no payment arrangements.

—You fail to make payments in accordance with the terms of a deferred- payment plan.

—You refuse to pay a legitimate security deposit request.

—You tamper with utility equipment or benefit from tampering.

—You refuse the utility access to your meter after you have received four estimated bills in a row and the utility has made a written request for access.

—Dangerous conditions exist.

Before your service can be disconnected, the utility must mail a notice to you eight days prior to shutoff or hand-deliver the notice five days prior to shutoff. The notice must detail the amount of past due bills triggering the disconnection and provide you with information on how to contact the utility to make payment arrangements.

A utility cannot disconnect your service:

—After 2 p.m.

—When it is below 32 degrees or expected to fall below 32 degrees within the next 24 hours and when disconnection would mean the loss of your heat.

—On any day before a weekend or holiday when temperatures are expected to fall below 32 degrees and when the disconnection would mean the loss of your heat.

—If you have a medical certificate on file with the utility stating that the disconnection would aggravate an illness in the household. (See "If I have a medical condition..." below.)


Between Dec. 1 and March 31, special rules apply to utilities that provide or control a customer's primary heating source. For example, if you need gas to run your boiler or electricity to run the fan on your furnace, the utility must offer you a deferred payment plan prior to disconnection, even if you have broken an agreement in the past. The utility also must contact you to discuss the bill and notify you of any energy-assistance programs that might be available. The company also must wait six business days after notification to allow you time to make arrangements to pay the bill.

Once your service is shut off, you are no longer considered a customer of the utility and you lose your rights as a customer. The means the utility can demand payment of the entire past-due amount up front, plus a security deposit, plus a reconnection fee.

You can avoid disconnection if you enter into a deferred payment arrangement to pay off your past-due bills The utility must give you a deferred payment plan, if you request it, as long as you have not been disconnected and have not defaulted on such a plan in the past 12 months.

If you receive a disconnect notice, contact the utility immediately and try to make payment arrangements. If you find the utility unresponsive, call CUB's Consumer Hotline, at 1-800-669-5556 (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.), or the ICC's Consumer Services Division, at 1-800-524-0795 (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.).

If you need help paying your electric and gas bills, check with LIHEAP—the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program—to see if you are eligible for financial assistance. Note that rules on disconnection are more lenient if you are LIHEAP eligible. Get more details.

If getting disconnected would aggravate an illness of a member of your household, you may postpone disconnection for two consecutive 30-day periods in any 12-month period. To do this, you must...

1. get a notice from your doctor;
2. agree to a deferred payment plan to pay off your past due amount;
3. continue to pay your current bills.

Here's more information on the requirements to get a medical certificate.

There are many utility-related disputes tenants can fall into with their landlords. CUB has a fact sheet to help you avoid those pitfalls.

For Chicago tenants, you should know that city law gives you the right to get a report of the previous year's heating costs before you sign your lease. This is called a "heating disclosure." The form must be printed from the City of Chicago's website, filled out by you, and submitted to ComEd (electric heat) or Peoples Gas (gas heat). The utility companies will then fax or mail the requested heating information back to you.
Here's the form.

For more information about your rights as a tenant, check with the Illinois Tenants Union, which also points to other helpful agencies.

Yes. A security deposit is an upfront payment the utility can request in addition to your monthly utility bills. A utility can request a deposit for a number of reasons, including:

—If you are applying for new service and have failed to pay an overdue bill at a previous address.

—If you have had utility service for less than two years at your current address and have paid late four or more times in a 12-month period.

—If you have tampered with utility equipment or benefited from tampering.

—If you have had utility service disconnected and are seeking re-connection.


The utility must calculate the deposit based on the last 12 months of your home's usage, adjusted for changes in weather conditions. Using that average, the company cannot request more than one-sixth of your annual bill.

Remember, a utility cannot demand a security deposit after you have had continuous service for more than two years, regardless of the number of late payments you have made. The only exception to this rule is if you have been disconnected, tampered with utility equipment, or benefited from tampering. You still can be charged late fees and you are always subject to disconnection for non-payment of bills.

Also note that the utility must give you a deposit receipt, or certificate of deposit, including your name and address, the type of service, the amount of deposit, the interest rate, the date, and a serial number. Keep this receipt, and any cancelled checks, until your deposit has been refunded to you.

You must pay at least a third of the amount requested by the utility within 12 days of receiving the deposit request. You are allowed an additional two months to pay the balance.

Between Dec. 1 and March 31, the rules for deposit requests ease up a bit if you need the utility service to have heat in your home. During this period, you cannot be required to pay more than one-fifth of the deposit within 12 days of receiving the request and you have four months, instead of two months to pay off the balance.

Under Illinois regulations, a utility company can charge you a deposit WITHIN the first 24 months of service if you pay late four times (if your bill is monthly) and if you or somebody else tampered with the utility's equipment, including the meter.

AFTER the first 24 months of service, commercial customers can get slapped with a deposit if they pay late three times (if billed bi-monthly) or six times (if billed monthly) over any 12-month period. You also will get charged a deposit if you tamper with the utility's equipment, if you apply for service, or if you are reconnected.

The amount of the deposit for small businesses (fewer than 50 employees) is one-sixth of the annual bill. For larger commercial entities it's one-third of the annual bill.

If your utility bills seem too high, or take a sudden jump from one month to the next, scan your bill carefully and ask these questions:

Is your bill being estimated?
If your gas or electric bill has the word "estimated" or "EST" on it, that means the utility did not actually go to your home to read the meter. It estimated your bill based on last year's usage for the same month, adjusted for weather. Companies should only estimate your usage every other month. If your bill has been estimated two consecutive months and you believe it is too high, call the utility, ask why it's not reading the meter, and request an actual reading. For more on estimated bills, read CUB's rules to live by. One way to prevent estimated bills is to read the meter yourself. CUB has a fact sheet about that.

Are you paying for the wrong meter?
If you live in an apartment, or any multi-unit dwelling, always read your bill and make sure the utility company has your correct unit number, meter number, and rate. CUB gets many complaints from consumers who are getting charged for the wrong meter or are being slapped with a higher commercial rate for their electric and natural gas service, rather than the proper residential rate. Even if you live in a single-family home, it's important that you read your bill carefully to make sure you're not getting charged for your neighbor's usage. If you think something may be wrong with the meter reading, call your utility.

Is your meter working properly?
If you think your meter is not accurate, call the utility. You're entitled to one free meter test per year. You have the right to be present during the test and to receive a written report of the results. Also, you can call the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) and ask the ICC to "referee" the test. For a small fee, an ICC official can be present for the meter test.

Are you with an unregulated supplier?
Northern Illinois consumers can choose a company other than their regulated utility—Nicor Gas, North Shore Gas, or Peoples Gas—to supply them with heating fuel. CUB often gets complaints from consumers who say they were switched to one of these unregulated competitors without their consent. Often consumers are switched to higher rates than what they would have paid to the utility. Read our fact sheets—one for Nicor customers and one for Peoples/North Shore customers—and check out our Gas Market Monitor.


Also, always look for strange/unfamiliar charges on your bill. You may be getting charged for a service you didn't request.

If you believe you have been overcharged on a utility bill, and the company does not adequately resolve the problem, you can dispute it. While you are disputing charges on your bill, you cannot be disconnected for non-payment as long as you pay the greater of these two options:

1. the undisputed portion of the bill; or

2. an amount equal to last year's bill for the same month, adjusted for weather.


Remember, you have to pay in full all future bills that aren't in dispute.

To dispute charges, first contact the utility company at the phone number listed on your bill. State your problem, and tell the company you want to formally dispute the charges. Inform them that you know your rights and will not be paying the disputed amount until the problem is resolved. Keep a detailed log of all contacts with the utility, including the time, date, person you spoke with, and substance of the conversation. Also keep copies of the relevant bills, receipts and any documents or letters from the company regarding your complaint.

If the consumer service representative you speak with is not responsive, it is your right to speak with a supervisor. If you still cannot resolve the problem, you may need to lodge your complaint with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC).

For those of you having trouble paying your bills, see if you qualify for Lifeline (assistance to pay your phone bill) and LIHEAP (assistance to pay your energy bills) funding.

Also, stop at CUB's "Get Green" site, for tips on how to cut your electric and natural gas bills through such measures as buying highly efficient, money-saving Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs). (See also How do I get information about making my home more energy efficient and lowering my utility costs, including more details about Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs)?)

Also, CUB's Phone Cost-cutting Kit, on our telecommunications page, is loaded with helpful tips on how to cut your bills. Start with our Rules to Live By—one for AT&T customers, and one for other customers across the state.

Feel free to call us (1-800-669-5556) for a free phone-bill analysis, or analyze your AT&T local bill with our Local Phone Cost-cutter.

Read about the Consumer's Choice local-calling plans, which AT&T is forced to market under a legal settlement with CUB. We designed these plans, which cover local calls, to save most consumers money.

For long-distance service, check out our Real Deal Guide to Long Distance, and get information about the $20 credit CUB secured for Illinois consumers who sign up for one of the best long-distance deals we've ever seen.

It's the Comcast version of the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service that has become more and more popular in recent years. VoIP plans typically charge a flat monthly fee for local and long-distance calling and a lot of calling features. Read CUB's fact sheet on VoIP.

VoIP phone service sends calls over a broadband Internet connection, but Comcast argues that its Digital Voice service is different. You do NOT need to pay extra for broadband Internet to use Comcast Digital Voice. The company installs a device called an eMTA (embedded Multimedia Terminal Adapter) that connects your phone and your cable modem, so the call can travel over Comcast's "advanced broadband network" until it hits the traditional phone system to get to the phone you're calling. It's not immediately clear how much of a benefit this is over other VoIP services that travel over the public Internet—other than the fact that you don't have to pay extra for the broadband connection. You do have to pay extra for a high-speed Internet connection with another company, such as Vonage.

For customers who make a lot of calls and want a lot of features, this could be a good deal, because its price compares very well to other flat-rate plans. Plus the features can be nifty, including being able to check your voice mail online, and receiving e-mail alerts about a new voice mail.

VoIP is an exciting new technology, but it's not right for everyone. The fine print on the company's own website points out potential problems: Comcast Digital Voice, including 911 service, "may not function during an extended power outage, network congestion, network/equipment failure, or another technical problem." (The eMTA could potentially serve as a backup power source for outages that last several hours.) The 911 service requires you to notify the company of your address so authorities can locate your home in an emergency.

The Illinois Public Utilities Act calls for ComEd customers to be eligible to get compensated for damages caused by power outages that:

1. are due to ComEd's negligence; and
2. affect more than 30,000 customers; and
3. continue at least four hours; and
4. result in the transmission of power of less than 50 percent.

Outages that are due to bad weather or customer tampering are exempt.

If you are a victim of a power outage or surge that fits this criteria, you can fill out a ComEd claim form, which also explains your rights. CUB supports legislative proposals in Springfield to give Ameren customers the same rights.

Under the Electric Service Customer Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997, you can file a complaint with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) if your claim is denied.

No, CUB does not provide financial assistance to utility customers, and unfortunately, among agencies/groups that do provide assistance, the funds run chronically low. However, we can refer you to these agencies/groups for help in paying electric, gas and telephone bills.

For questions about assistance for electric and gas bills, contact LIHEAP—the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. You also can try contacting your local Salvation Army.

Most, but not all, phone companies participate in two federal programs that help make local service affordable for low-income customers. Recipients of Medicaid, Food Stamps, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Federal Public Housing Assistance, or Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) help are all eligible for these programs.

The Lifeline program provides a monthly discount on local phone bills. The Link Up program helps pay the one-time service-installation charge. For information on how to enroll in these programs, call your local phone company (AT&T: 1-888-256-5378, Verizon: 1-800-483-4000).

Among some of the other major phone companies in Illinois, a CUB review found that Comcast Digital Voice does not participate in the Lifeline or Link Up programs, but Frontier, Gallatin River, Consolidated, and MCI do. But always call your company to make sure.

You can help fund these programs by making tax-deductible contributions on your phone bill to the Universal Telephone Assistance Corporation (UTAC), a program established by the state Legislature. Call your local phone company about it.

You can become a CUB member by making a yearly donation of $10 (about 84 cents a month). We are a nonprofit group and we count on donations from Illinois consumers to keep fighting for lower telephone, natural gas, and electric rates. Call CUB, at 1-800-669-5556, to become a member and receive our quarterly newsletter, The CUB Voice. You also can donate online. All of CUB's services are free, including a legal team that has saved Illinois consumers more than $10 billion by blocking rate hikes over the years. Please help CUB help you save by keeping those services up and running.

Asking for money is one of the hardest jobs any non-profit, public interest organization has. But, since most of our budget comes from our members, we've got to do it. CUB sends out two different types of fundraising requests. First, at the beginning of the year, we ask all our members to renew their support for the coming year. In addition, throughout the year we send letters updating members on the important utility battles we're waging and asking them to support those efforts. A contribution in response to any mailing during the 12-month period will maintain your CUB membership. If you'd like to receive less mail from CUB, simply call the CUB office at 1-800-669-5556 and ask to have your name flagged for RENEWAL ONLY. After that, you'll only receive the renewal mailings at the beginning of the year.

Another way to eliminate solicitations is to become a "sustainer"—someone who gets a certain donation deducted from their credit card monthly or even yearly. This is the most efficient way to give to CUB because it saves us money on postage and printing costs for the solicitations. CUB has an online form to sign up for our "sustainer" program.

Contact Patricia Clark, CUB associate director.

To update your membership information, you can go to a special page on CUB's website. Or you can call CUB, at 1-800-669-5556, and we will make the appropriate changes in our membership database.

Look at CUB's calendar of events, which should tell you the public events we are holding over the next month.

Because our tiny staff covers the entire state, we try to schedule events for audiences of at least 50 people. If you are part of a group, agency, or organization that could plan an event with at least 50 people CUB would be more than happy to consider holding a speaking engagement or other event, such as a free phone-bill clinic, in which consumers learn how to cut their telecommunications costs. Call 1-800-669-5556 and ask forOutreach Coordinator Shari Currie, at extension 118.

AT&T has been offering $10 per month DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) service as a condition of its merger with BellSouth last year. This is the cheapest we've ever seen the service offered. However, the speed is about half what it is for most DSL service, and you may not meet the requirements of this offer. Read CUB's fact sheet on DSL.

CUB fought for the Illinois Telecommunications Act of 2001, which required AT&T to provide high-speed Internet service (a.k.a. Digital Subscriber Line, or DSL) to 80 percent of its customers in a few years. In 2006, under a legal settlement with CUB, AT&T was ordered to provide DSL to about 95 percent of its customers in the Chicago-area by October 2007.

While the company made these benchmarks, we still get complaints from consumers frustrated by the lack of access to DSL. If you are in area where the service is supposed to be available but you are unable to obtain it at your home, we will submit an inquiry on your behalf to AT&T. Just use CUB's complaint/inquiry form.

While telecommunications companies are obligated by state and federal policy to make telephone service universally available, the Internet industry is different. AT&T is not mandated to offer DSL in specific neighborhoods. Aside from offering general guidelines, federal regulators leave it up to companies to make their own decisions about Internet deployment. The general philosophy is that the companies will respond to consumers' needs for widespread Internet service to increase their bottom lines.

While it's no guarantee AT&T will suddenly offer DSL in a certain neighborhood, CUB encourages consumers with complaints about the lack of Internet availability to let the company know.

The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 requires television stations to broadcast in a digital format only by June 12, 2009. Supporters of the transition say digital TV will allow stations to offer better sound and picture quality and more programming choices. While this may require no change for many households, others will have to take steps to keep from losing TV service. You will be affected if you...

-use an antenna (a.k.a. rabbit ears) on your set; and
-have a set equipped with analog tuners;; and
-do NOT subscribe to cable, satellite, oor a phone company service provider.

You can check whether your TV is equipped to handle digital signals, by reading the owner's manual to see if your set has a digital tuner.

If you have an analog set and want to continue to get TV service you have three options:

-Buy a new TV set.
-Subscribe to a TV service, such as cablle or satellite, that so you can continue to use your old analog TV set.
-Buy a digital television converter box that can plug into your analog TV set. Click here to learn more about the federal government's $40 coupon to help consumers buy these boxes, which are expected to cost $50 to $70 at retailers.

For more information on what you have to do before June of 2009, go to this website built by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

1. This is an urgent or time-sensitive matter. Call our office during the above-specified dates and times, at
1-800-669-5556. Or call the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), at 1-800-524-0795, between 9:00 a.m. between 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

OR

2. You already have filed a complaint with the ICC.