By: Samantha Vercellino Don’t let the unusually warm weather the past two weeks fool you. October marks the opening of the winter heating season. Jack Frost will be at your doorstep soon, which means there’s not much time left to get your home ready before the cold hits. Follow CUB’s…...
Which power suppliers are earning the most complaints?
Shopping for electricity suppliers can be a minefield. Illinois consumers need helpful tools to avoid confusing offers, bad deals, misleading marketing, and high-pressure sales tactics. Fortunately, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) publishes an excellent resource: the Retailer Electric Supplier Scorecard. The scorecard reveals which suppliers are earning the highest and lowest complaint rates…...
10 Tips to Cut Your Cellphone Bill
In just a few decades, the use of mobile devices has become ubiquitous (more than 90 percent of households now use wireless mobile service)—but that hasn’t made bills any more affordable. In fact, one of the biggest complaints we hear in the field is about bloated cellphone bills. With new features, expensive data…...
So what the heck is a green plan?
Crain’s Chicago Business has shined a spotlight on a “green” plan offered by Ethical Electric, which has been CUB’s biggest source of questions this year among dozens of alternative electric and gas suppliers. A direct mail piece by Ethical is short on detail on the plan’s actual cost, and how it…...
Julie’s report: Big ICC developments against bad power marketing
Today, CUB sent out an alert from Litigation Director Julie Soderna about two big developments in the battle to clean up Illinois’ competitive electricity market. The consumer watchdog is asking everyone to send a message to the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), urging regulators: Don’t stop now! Here’s what’s happened…. Sperian…...
“No solicitors”
Are you fed up with aggressive and misleading door-to-door marketing? At CUB, we consider it our duty to defend consumers from deceptive business practices from alternative electric and gas suppliers (We even helped negotiate $570,000 in consumer refunds from suppliers in 2015). But we need your help to accomplish this…...