On today's Vancouver Sun
THE OTHER TYPE OF GASSSSSS
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...ab3f5af&k=59084Public complains of pushy gas sellers
Consumer association receives 'hundreds of calls'
Bruce Constantineau, Vancouver Sun
Published: Thursday, June 07, 2007
Door-to-door sales people storming the B.C. market with natural gas contracts are like \"snake-oil salesmen\" preying on unsophisticated homeowners, Consumers Association of Canada president Bruce Cran said Tuesday.
Hundreds of complaints about the sales people have flooded his office since the B.C. market was deregulated on May 1, allowing some 14 firms to sell gas supply contracts at fixed terms of up to five years.
\"It's like being pestered by snake-oil salesmen using high-pressure tactics,\" he said in an interview. \"This is very reminiscent of what we had to deal with after phone services were deregulated.\"
Font: ****Cran said one elderly woman recently signed five or six gas supply contracts with different companies.
\"Obviously some of these salesmen have not been very well schooled in ethics and they don't take no for an answer easily,\" he said. \" . . . It would take a very sophisticated person to understand the very different propositions put forward in these contracts.
\"I just don't think the average consumer is anywhere near sophisticated enough to make those decisions.\"
The B.C. Utilities Commission has received more than 600 complaints about the sales practices so far, BCUC commission secretary Rob Pellatt said.
\"Most want to cancel their [new] gas marketer contract,\" he said. \" . . . Many also complain about aggressive marketing tactics.\"
A B.C. code of conduct for gas marketers stresses sales people should never abuse consumer trust, mislead or create confusion in consumers' minds, unduly pressure or harass consumers or exploit consumers' lack of experience and knowledge.
Pellatt said many companies have already terminated sales people for violating the code. He has heard stories of sales people who misrepresent themselves as Terasen officials and others that ask consumers to produce their gas bills.
They'll have the customer sign what they say is a survey or just a confirmation that they have been contacted, when in fact they are signing a gas marketer contract.
About 730,000 Terasen Gas customers in B.C. now have the option of switching to long-term, fixed-price gas supply contracts, something Terasen can't offer.
A Terasen official said 75,000 customers signed with a new supplier since May 1 but 20,000 cancelled their contracts within a 10-day \"cooling-off period\" so the net loss to Terasen so far is 55,000 customers. The cooling-off period allows consumers to reconsider their decision and cancel contracts without cost or penalty.
Access Gas Services Inc. vice-president Tom Dixon, whose firm is one of the new gas suppliers, said he has 20 to 30 sales people soliciting new business now and hasn't received an official complaint from BCUC.
\"When you have hundreds of reps like some companies, it's harder to control them,\" he said. \"I've heard stories of sales people who have actually worn Terasen Gas jackets and hats. That scares the hell out of me, personally.\"
Larger companies like Superior Energy and Direct Energy have hundreds of sales people scouring the province for business now. Superior Energy told The Vancouver Sun a month ago it fired four of its 400 B.C. sales agents in the first week after the deregulated market took effect May 1.
Public complains of pushy gas sellers
Consumer association receives 'hundreds of calls'
Bruce Constantineau, Vancouver Sun
Published: Thursday, June 07, 2007
Direct Energy vice-president Clinton Roeder said Tuesday his company has had four formal complaints from BCUC and has fired one sales agent for unethical behaviour.
\"We have zero tolerance for any unethical or illegal sales practices,\" he said in an interview. \"We're concerned about any complaints because we want the marketplace to be a success.\"
Roeder said consumers should always get identification from sales agents, record their name for future reference, get agents to clearly explain products and billing procedures and make sure they leave behind product literature.
Font: ****Pellatt said consumers who want to cancel their new gas supply contracts after the 10-day cooling-off period should first contact the gas marketer. If the company refuses to cancel, consumers can lodge a dispute on the Terasen Gas Customer Choice number at 1-888-224-2710.
BCUC will adjudicate the dispute and render a decision.
bconstantineau@png.canwest.com
