By Samantha Vercellino In 2013, Peoples Gas notified G. Droba of its plans to move his gas meter from the basement to the outside of his house. The Mount Greenwood resident didn’t mind—until his basement suffered severe water damage. During the switch, he said a pipe was jarred loose from…...
Consumer listens to Dad, Calls CUB & saves on Comcast bundle
By Samantha Vercellino Last October, Lisa Karmenzind was ready to pull the plug on her Internet, cable and phone bundle from Comcast. Her monthly bill had jumped from $147 to $202, and she could no longer afford the expensive services. The Peoria-area resident wasted no time trying to sever ties…...
Good riddance to obnoxious exit fees
In the General Assembly’s spring session, CUB championed the only major energy legislation to get passed—a bill that says sayonara to bad fees. State lawmakers unanimously approved a bill (HB 3766) that would cap exit fees charged by alternative power suppliers. Residential and small-business customers get slapped with these fees when…...
CUB helps granddaughter secure $1,286 refund for grandmother
By Samantha Vercellino Ever since her grandmother fell ill, Cheryl took over the responsibility of paying her utility bills. Handling her affairs never troubled Cheryl until the 97-year old racked up $1,200 in electric and gas charges with the alternative supplier Spark Energy. Concerned her grandmother signed up with Spark…...
Consumer sends heartfelt thank you after CUB saves her $60/month
By Samantha Vercellino Wanda Cunningham didn’t know how CUB could help her lower her high phone bills when she first called the consumer group. Now—one year later—the Olympia Fields resident credits her $60 a month savings to that fateful call. Wanda’s call was fielded by Bilingual Environmental Outreach Coordinator Ivonne Hernandez…...
CUB saves consumer from $1,887 mistake
By Samantha Vercellino Nobody likes to receive the monthly power bill, but that rings especially true for Kay Uhrin—whose April statement said she owed $2,230.54! Stunned, the Rockford-area resident immediately called ComEd who claimed she had used 18,223 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity in 29 days. (That’s more than triple her…...
CUB turns bad customer service into a $215 refund
By Samantha Vercellino Almost two years ago Helen Paul cancelled her services with the alternative supplier Kona Energy and switched back to the regulated utility. However, just recently she discovered her termination request never went through. Kona Energy was still her supplier. The Hazel Crest resident wasted no time calling…...
Early morning special includes utility bill help for Rockford group
By Samantha Vercellino Last Tuesday, the Rock Church Wellspring Seniors Group gobbled up eggs and pancakes while learning how to slash their utility bills by CUB experts. The Outreach Team was asked to join the group’s monthly breakfast by John and Mavis Readman of Rockford who have been CUB members…...
