Amid high energy prices, the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) is urging consumers who are struggling to pay their utility bills to call their utilities immediately to learn about protections available to stay connected to service. Some of those safeguards expire July 31. “It’s been a rough year for utility customers,…...
Watch Out For Alternative Supplier Rip-offs With These Tips
During high-priced times, consumers wonder if they should switch to a gas or electric alternative supplier. Be careful. “Alternative electricity suppliers are impacted by the same market conditions that are causing utility prices to increase, so be careful about getting lured into bad deals,” said CUB General Counsel Julie Soderna…...
Consumer advocates secure utility protections after hard winter
Throughout the pandemic, consumer advocates, state regulators and utilities have negotiated consumer protections to try to keep people connected to service. The following is a summary of the latest protections, broken down by the major utilities in the state, according to the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). After reading this, CUB…...
The dos and don’ts of robocalls
Do you get several calls a day from “Scam Likely?” That probably means your number is targeted by robocalls–prerecorded messages from computer generated dialers. Robocalls are irritating, costly, and often illegal. In fact, the call blocking app TrueCaller found that consumers had already lost nearly $30 billion in the first…...
CUB alert: People struggling to pay utility bills should call their utilities to take advantage of landmark consumer protections
CUB urges Illinois consumers having difficulty paying their utility bills during the pandemic to contact their utility companies to take advantage of unprecedented consumer protections available to them. “Anybody struggling to pay their bills during the pandemic should immediately contact their utility to find out what protections are available, and…...
CUB staffer secures $4,800 refund from alternative supplier
If you’ve ever called CUB, there’s a good chance you’ve spoken to Jantay Gray, the woman who often answers our Consumer Hotline (1-800-669-5556). Jan is one of many outstanding consumer advocates on staff. This year, Sandra Marcelin-Reme, CUB’s director of consumer advocacy, sent the staff an email that exclaimed “WAY…...
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