CUB’s Ivonne Rychwa helped a visitor to one of our popular utility bill clinics secure a $203 refund after being overcharged by an alternative supplier. Ivonne, CUB’s Lead Community Liaison, met Teofilo at the Round Lake Utility Bill Clinic on Aug. 19 and discovered that he was in the kind…...
Scam alert: Who’s at your door?
Warning: Both ComEd and Ameren say they’ve seen an increase in reports of scammers posing as the utility companies to try to bilk customers out of their hard-earned money. One TV station reported on these scams just this month. “Scammers are using increasingly advanced tactics and they are very convincing,”…...
The HEAT Act: One of the nation’s toughest consumer protection laws against gas and electric rip-offs
In a victory for consumers, the Illinois General Assembly has unanimously passed and the governor has signed one of the nation’s toughest consumer-protection laws to fight rip-offs peddled by alternative electric and gas suppliers. At the end of May, the Illinois General Assembly unanimously passed the Home Energy Affordability and…...
Good news on a Friday night: General Assembly passes historic consumer protections
Just wanted to share this statement from CUB Executive Director David Kolata on a major victory for consumers at the General Assembly tonight: STATEMENT FROM CUB EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DAVID KOLATA ON PASSAGE OF HEAT ACT The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) thanks the General Assembly for passing the HEAT Act, historic…...
HEAT Act would protect consumers from predatory alternative suppliers
Today CUB joined Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and other consumer advocates urging the General Assembly to pass legislation to protect consumers from predatory practices and high costs from alternative energy suppliers “This legislation would right some of the wrongs in the alternative supplier industry,” said Bryan McDaniel, CUB’s Director…...
ICC investigates four alternative suppliers
The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has brought four cases against alternative electric suppliers for allegedly violating marketing-related rules. CUB has gotten involved in the cases to make sure consumers’ voices are heard. Buried in the legal language are stories from consumers alleging outrageous behavior from some alternative suppliers. Here’s a…...
