By Sagar Dommaraju If you’re looking for a good reason to read your electricity and gas bills, just check out Vicki and Jim Pelton’s story. The retired Ottawa couple overpaid by $1,500, until CUB and a TV station worked to get them a full refund after 17 months of inflated…...
Big victory over consumer confusion
Nicor Advanced Energy—an unregulated gas supplier that has sparked complaints from confused customers whose gas bills went up—will change its name and logo, under a settlement hailed as a consumer victory by Attorney General Lisa Madigan and CUB. The settlement is part of Atlanta-based Southern Co.’s proposed buyout of Nicor…...
CUB’s proposal to videotape electric pitches featured on ABC 7
Check out this story by a member of ABC 7’s I-Team, Jason Knowles, on CUB’s proposal to videotape door-to-door pitches by alternative energy suppliers. (The sales people would videotape themselves making the pitch, but the customers would not be filmed.) We’re fighting the good fight! https://ow.ly/4mRBP9...
Fight misleading marketing: Send a message to the ICC
Here’s a good example of how current Illinois law breeds misleading electric and gas marketing: One logo is for Illinois’ biggest regulated gas utility. The other is for an alternative supplier that has sparked hundreds of complaints/questions over the years—many from confused people who were stuck with high bills. A lot…...
Consumer to CUB: You saved my butt!
I received this report from a CUB member about an encounter he had with an alternative supplier–a company we haven’t heard of in the market. The consumer thanks everyone at CUB for “saving my butt.” Last Wednesday night (March 9th), shortly after dinner, my doorbell rang. Very unusual for my doorbell…...
CUB helps Roselle consumer get $500+ refund
Thanks to CUB’s help, retiree Helen Conrades had a little celebration on St. Patrick’s Day—light beer over ice—and some kind words for the consumer group. “Love, love, love you,” said the Roselle woman, who was celebrating a $539 refund check she had just received from an alternative gas supplier. “My…...
The alternative supplier said what????
A former CUB co-worker relayed this bizarre, fraudulent phone pitch he received from an alternative supplier–we’ll call the company “ACME IL Electricity.” This is a good example of the kinds of reports we get every week from Illinois consumers. My notes are in red. Alternative Supplier: “I’m calling from (ACME IL…...
