No Gas from You!

I really don't like door-to-door salesmen of any stripe. I should stop answering the bell, but sometimes you get suckered. A few times, at least 3, in the last two years I have had my doorbell rung by reps from company peddling natural gas. Each time, I saw someone with a badge and something that said Nicor. Thinking that there may be an emergency, a gas leak or something, I opened my door to talk to the guy.

Each encounter I had with these folks was unpleasant, leaving me feeling bullied. One kept calling me, "Stupid, Stupid" loud enough to for neighbors to hear, when I refused to sign-up. Another told me that gas prices were not subject to supply and demand, so prices would only go up if I didn't lock in prices. The scary thing besides the name calling and the lies, is their tactic of passing themselves off as utility employees and trying very hard to enter my house. These were big guys, pushy guys who when I refused the offer demanded to talk to my husband about it and tried to push past me. As a single, fully competent, female homeowner, it really pissed me off.

So I was really happy to see that the Illinois Citizens' Utility Board has issued an alert about them. I'm not absolutely sure this is the same organization I dealt with, but if you read the article, you will see the similarities.

It looks like a similar scam is documented at the Consumerist --- my favorite blog. See here.