Universal Energy Scam – and how you can get out of it
June 16, 2007I am not affiliated with any energy company or utility provider. I was new to Ontario and had a 7 day old baby when a representative of Universal Energy came knocking at my door, touting the benefits or “rate protection” and “deregulation of energy”, etc. She represented herself as working with the provincial government, saying that they were out to help the average consumer save money and protect their energy costs in the face of a deregulated market. They promise a fixed rate for gas and hydro for 5 years, which is SUPPOSED to save you money, as energy costs are going to go up. All this is done while remaining with your utility company, but your energy “supplier” is Universal. Your energy “provider” is your local utility. The truth is, however, that in the past 8 months, we have paid in excess of $200 MORE for our hydro and $50 more for gas than we would have had we stayed with our utility company and their fluctuating rates.
What’s more, I did not recall agreeing to sign on for 5 years. I told the sleezy skank representative that we were only in Ontario for 2 years. She said that was fine and that we could arrange a different contract. When I finally had the time to read the fine print (well after the 10-day no obligation cancel with no penalty period) I realized that I was locked in for 5 years and that the only way out was to pay a penalty, based on a percentage of the amount of money that Universal Energy would lose from us backing out of the contract. This was in excess of $1000 or so. Frick.
Hence, I sought a way to get out of this contract on a technicality. THERE IS A WAY! And here it is:
1. Contact your local utility company (the people who send you your bill every month, NOT Universal Energy). Have them change the name on your account, preferably to a person’s name who does NOT share your last name. A friend or family member is probably your best bet. Your reason for the change could be as simple as you’re renting your home and the new name is your tenant. Changing the name on the account usually costs $30 or so.
2. Next step, do NOT tell Universal Energy about this name change. Now, Universal has your contract locking YOUR NAME into a rate, but your name no longer appears on the utility bill. You’ve just disappeared off the face of the utility world. If you don’t exist in the utility world, Universal has no hold over you.
3. Get call ID. Universal may call your house and try to track you down. and screen calls that are of the unknown name/unknown number nature. Just let the answering machine pick up if you’re not sure. In this case, you will probably want to take your names off the machine, and leave a more generic message “You’ve reached 555-9797″ instead of “You’ve reached John and Jane Doe.” Universal will try and find you for about 3 months, and after 6 months, they will give up and assume that you’ve moved to an area not serviced by Universal. (In their handy contracts, it states that if you move to an area serviced by them, the contract is still binding).
4. After a sufficient time has passed, you can go back to using your name on your utility bill, although I would not change this until at least a year has passed, if not more.
I got this info from a handy and helpful person on the support line through our local utility. It is strictly off the records on their part, but they said that this works for people who want to get out of the contract without paying the ridiculous penalty. A friend of mine did this a while ago and they have been home-free for 6 months. Their energy bills have dropped back to the regular rates as determined by the local utility company.
I hope this helps anyone else who was scammed.
***Comments are now closed.
Wow that sucks. What a clever way around it though.
this is an absolutely terrific idea and i think you are very kind in taking the time to share this. personally I still have a couple days before the 10 days is up but it may affect my sleep until tomorrow and i call – this shit just bugs me and I won’t sleep well until i have had a person from Universal Scam to confirm that i have been removed from their list and even then how will i know because i gave my gas and hydro bill – man i hate the dishonesty that capitalism always seems to engender . . .
Just to give the above poster (and anyone else reading this) some piece of mind, you can’t be locked into a contract signed up door to door simply from that one visit.
In 2002 the Ontario government brought in what’s called the Consumer Protection Act, which requires all agreements signed door to door to be reaffirmed by the customer between 10 and 60 days after the initial contract was signed. This MUST be done, or there’s no deal.
So to emphasize – you don’t have ten days to get out, the retailer MUST wait ten days before a signed deal can be finalized.
In the case of Universal, they do reaffirmations by phone, and every conversation is taped. And again, they cannot call until it’s reached the 10th day after it was signed, even if the customer really wants the program. In that phone convo as of the 10th day (or up to and including the 60th day after it’s signed) if you tell the rep you don’t want it? Well, they’ll try to talk you out of it (they are trying to build business after all) but if it’s a no, it’s a NO – and THAT IS THAT. Remember without a taped conversation, and (in the case of Universal) without what they call a hard “YES” from a customer on the phone, there is no deal.
Also, if no reaffirmation happens in the 60 days? It’s a dead deal – it happens all the time to retailers. They legally MUST get that “reaff” as it’s called in the business.
Even THEN, again specifically in the case of Universal there is one last out you have…
It is an unadvertised, never mentioned, internal policy of Universal to release any and all customers who request cancellation of a finalized deal within 24 hours of it being finalized. So even if you reaffirm the agreement by phone, as long as you second guess yourself within 24 hours of finalizing it, they WILL let you out. They don’t have to legally, and other retailers may not be so forgiving, but…let’s just say I have something of an insider’s knowledge on just how it works around there.
As for the above poster’s idea on getting out? That should work well – pretty clever I’d say.
Hope this helps folks! Remember – never EVER show ANYONE your utility bill at the door!!!
p.s. As someone who follows energy prices closely? With all that said, skip locking in on electricity, but a lock in price on natural gas can and most definitely has saved people lots of money in the past. And given that natural gas supplies in North America are getting tighter and tighter with each passing year (and given that prices have tripled since 2000) locking in natural gas is a very, very smart idea. I would recommend http://www.energyshop.com – gives you some good comparison prices. It’s genuinely something worth investigating if you figure you will be in your existing home in the longer term (five years or more)
Not bad, check out my site revealing trolls that want your money. Not your confidence in a better deal.
Bill
Damn…I wish I would have read this 5 days ago, before I sent Universal Power a cheque for my cancellation fees of $600+….
Still worth it to get rid of these assholes!!!! They better not DARE step foot on my doorstep again!
So this will work, guaranteed? I just found out that my parents signed up with them about two years ago. The good news is that they both have different last names so this plan could work beautifully, but I don’t want to risk them getting in any trouble or forced to pay anything in case Universal finds out.
i have been scammed too! for almost going now to 8 months my electricity bill for a 2 bdrm 1 washroom apt is no less than $399.63 when i was paying half that with toronto hydro, these guys at universal power represnted themselves at my door as toronto hyrdo reps even with name tage and badges!!!!!!!!!!!! i forwarded info to my local utility company and peter silverman on the news , if worse comes to worse i will take them to court!!!!! they misreprented themselves and said we had to pay a penalty fee if we opt out of the contract, since i got the contract there is nothing stating on it about a penalty fee!!!!! beware of these guys they are scamming Toronto Hydro customers!!!!!!!!!!!
Can you believe the nerve! One of these idiots showed up at my door. I am the defacto anti-Universal Energy Corporation Internet troll. I have threads all over the web filled with their nonsense and scams. I was not scammed by them but had two days wasted in a scam-interview.
They actually had the audacity to sell their snak-oil in the “lion’s den”, our “Restricted to Canvassers” building.
I will step up my pursuit.
Billster
Thank goodness for you
I am just about to sell my house and called them to see if this would void my stupid contract and they said are you staying where you will still receive gas and hydro. Duuuh. They tried to fish everything out of me to find out when and where I was moving too. They got nothing from me. I will move, change my telephone number and put the utility bills into my mothers name who is moving in with us.
If there is a will there is a way and you found it. Cheers to you this holiday season.
People, check out my site for more information about this scam
Bill
http://www.freewebs.com/uegscam/index.htm
I too have been scammed by these assholes, but why is it that there can’t be anything done about all this? Because we signed a piece of paper and were mis-informed and yeah, i remember taking the phone call and saying yes, cuz i thought i was saving money, why would anyone sign a contract if they were going to lose out on money ppl are trying to SAVE money! I now know that i am an idiot! my husband had been with hydro one for 8 years and i signed and everything got switched over, how can they get away with doing that? How can we stop them?
I have been scammed as well and I am trying to get out. I have been in this for the past 10 months and have been trying to get out for the past 5 months. I have no memory of them calling to confirm within 60 days. My hydro bill isn’t even in my name it’s in the address of the building. Can you request to hear the verbal agreement that they have taped? Because if they don’t have that recording then technically there is not contract.
Out of the woodwork
My thread that I started a year ago has been viewed several thousand times over. Every once in a while a brainwashed employee from Universal starts to call our posts as “needing attention”. While hiding the fact that many people are getting scammed into these ball’n'chain stupid contracts.
Expose these bums I say…
Bill
I called Toronto Hydro and they told me that there is no possible way you can change the name on the bill. You can have a co-signer but that doesn’t solve the problem. Why can’t you just CANCEL the bill and put it in say, a boyfriend’s name? They will still probably call but you say they will eventually give up, right?
Why hasn’t anyone mentioned this idea?
Thanks for the response. My boyfriend would be in on it and his credit is spotless. If I try to cancel with Toronto Hydro, are they going to need permission from Universal Power?
Not sure how this works. And what can Universal Power do as far as sending my name to a collections agency?
Do they have a leg to stand on?
If I just ignore them, they will go away?
I wanted to add my two conts on this issue, as I have been working on getting out of a contract for my local convieince store. I live about 1 minute away from the store and they know me by name. When I went in one day they asked about this issue. I agreed to work on the issue for them, for free. This website has been a safe haven for me, cause with all the info you have provided, I have found the way out. My client did not give a verbal confirmation of acceptance and therfore is no longer locked in. If you are simply threaten them with action and let them know that there is thousands of people who feel the same way, trust me they dont want bad publicity.
Does anybody have a copy of the contract, specifically Section 12 parts (a) through (b) that they could share? I can’t seem to find mine…
I will get Section 12 to you in the next day. My issue: My name isn’t on the Enbridge Bill, therefore, can’t my live-in partner call and say he never gave consent?? Lawyers help please
Also, is it 120 or 150 days the supplier has to supply gas before you can cancel? Contract says 120 days or April 1, 2008 the sooner of, and the FAQ’s say 150 days.
Does anyone think Small Claims Court grant an order? [S.12(e)
12. “The company” may cancel this agreement before the end of its five year term, without prejudice to enforcement of any other legal right or remedy, if:
a) you don’t make a payment on time or in accordance with this Ag;
b)you don’t meet your other obligations under this Ag;
c)your gas utility tells the company that you have an arrangement with another natural gas supplier or agent to supply natural gas to you;
d)you authorize the transfer of your account with the company to another natural gas supplier before the end of the term of this Ag;
e)the company is required by law or regulation or judicial, regulatory, administrative or other legal order or process to cancel this Ag;
f)a change in law requires a change to the Ag that the company does not agree to;
g)you make an assignment or any general arrangement for the benefit of crditors, or commence or acquiesce in the commencement of a proceeding under any bankruptcy or similar law for the protection of creditors or have such a proceeding commenced against you or otherwise become bankrupt or insolvent…
h)you move to a location where the company is not able to supply you with gas.
Looks like most of these posts are people from Ontario. I’m in BC and Universal Energy is making the rounds here now. I did sign but I never gave her my utility bill- i felt something was pretty fishy when she asked for that! They still need to do a verbal authorization and I definetly won’t be authorizing!
As an update to the post, it is probably a good idea to change your phone number, not just get call ID.
If you cancel your contract and they send you a bill for the “buy-out” balance, it is your decision whether or not you need to pay it. I’ve also been informed by a representative of a major bank that when looking at your credit history and rating, if Universal is the only blemish on your record, it will most likely not affect your ability to get a loan, line of credit or mortgage.
If you have a less than stellar credit rating, however, you may want to talk to your bank representative and see what the best option is for you (should you choose to go this route).
I would just like to say that this is a great article for anyone to read that has had contact with UNiversal. I am from Michigan and they are hitting our streets hard to scam new customers. I wrote an article on our site warning people of this company. Hope you don’t mind I provided a link back to this outstanding information. Best of Luck to all of you who are trying to get away from this company.
@Something of an expert.
I generally agree with everything you have said and with your knowledge I can tell you have a relationship with this company. But I disagree with locking in your gas prices. Although it is true natural gas is non renewable and prices will continue to increase however it will is highly unlikley that they will surpass the prices set by Universal which currently are 50% higher than the local utility companies in toronto. Infact in the past 3 years the only time the utilities prices exceeded universal’s was for a short tiime maybe 6months and the difference in prices was not very larger maybe <10%.
Hey,
I’ve been by your site a few times. . .I got out of the contract. My husband thought it was the same people we had be dealing with, when they came to our door, after, I said, I don’t think these were the same company.
10 days later (after not really thinking about it) I received a call. The guy on the phone said “you may have costs due to cancellation with your other energy marketer”, I said, we had thought we were dealing with the same company. The guy laughed.
I phoned their customer service, told them what had happened. Filed two complaints one with the guy who was at my door, one with the guy who called me.
Got a confirmation #
Then let my other energy marketer know (who we have been happy with).
Then I blogged like hell about it, and sent off an email to Universal Energy, which I posted.
If they EVER come to my door again, I will call the police and charge them with trespassing.
crazy!!!! i have recently received notification from my local gas supplier that i had switched to Universal Energy. Although i did sign up with the electricity…i have no recollection of signing my gas bill over to them. What exactly would i be bound to if i have not signed nor received an endorsement cheque that they send out for confirmation…also i don’t recall confirming anything over the phone. They seems to think that a cancellation penalty is in order. Big mistake for sure
Well maybe you guys should do your research , i signed up with this company and its great. Yes your bills go in the start but after 2 years your saving alot of money. #1 its not a saving program its a protection program if the price goes up your price will not increase so you never have to worry. I been doing this for the past 12 yrs and i have saved a ton of money and i can sleep at night not worrying how much the rates go up. Beacuse if u follow the rates they have been increasing almost every year , they have gone down due to the mild winter but should go back again.
Again read in the contract its all there . ITS A PROTECTION PROGRAM like your car insurance imagine driving every day without it u dont need but u never know . So whats the problem guys ???
Get your facts stright
Mark,
Well, maybe it’s a protection thing if you are not already signed with a marketer, and you are already with UE. I don’t think it’s consumer protection when they do not fully inform the consumer, or they do not let you know up front that you will be getting hit with bill to break your contract with another energy marketer, or they imply that you are already with them.
It’s also not consumer protection to have someone laugh at you when you ask questions, or when they push their way into your house after you have told them to leave.
Obviously, many people have had problems with them, otherwise there would not be so many sites that are saying “stay away”. I do know that my one neighbour is fine with them though and other’s have been fine with them.
I did not like the tactics, and the aggressiveness of the rogue marketer.
Get your facts straight, it’s not all about you.
The sales person was nice and explained everything to me i asked him many questions and he said if i am unsure of this program i shouldnt sign up. And ever since i am paying less then my whole street and i got another 3 yrs to go . i’m locked in at 26 cents on gas while my street is paying 29 and 32 . i still get tons of them commin but i flash my yellow card and they dont bug me .
i guess i got lucky with my sales person.
And if this was such a scam why is the canadain government allowing this ?
There actually helping you save money or atleast im guessing that .
Mark,
I would have to say that you are lucky in your experience with the sales rep. As for the government, I recently received a letter from my MPP addressing private energy suppliers, warning against signing with them and their unethical tactics to lock you into a rate which may lead you to paying up to 70% more on your energy bills. In fact, the letter calls for anyone who has had any interaction or relationship with these companies to write to their government representative and voice their concerns. This leads me to believe that these businesses are coming under scrutiny due to the tremendous volume of customer complaints against them.
I am glad that things worked out for you, but you are probably one of the very few.
This company is a biggest utility scam, they prey on the innocent people and scare the customers into signing up a contract which they don’t explain.
This is the letter i had from the universal energy, asking me to pay $1352.04, in order to cancel my contract with them.
I have scanned the letter and put it up on the net in order to show the reality, and how crooked these people are.
http://arvins.us/0/rfd/ue1.jpg
http://arvins.us/0/rfd/ue2.jpg
http://arvins.us/0/rfd/ue3.jpg
if you want to cancel the contract with these company please search the net and you will find unorthodox ways to cancel these contracts.
Mark,
Do you not see something odd in the fact that hundreds of posts from hundreds of people on dozens of similar websites have complaints not only about the price of UE gas/electricty, but moreso about their sleazy dishonest tactics in getting people to sign up. If they are truly on the up and up, why the need to be deceptive and misleading? Why are seniors and other vulnerable people so over-represented in those who get treated with deception and outright lies.
If you see nothing odd about the fact that you are the only person to report a positive experience, I can only conclude that you are in some way associated with UE and are trolling to try to do some damage control. To assume that everybody else is wrong and that you alone have ‘the facts straight’ is about as insulting as the deceptive practices used by UE.
Used to work for Universal, they will cheat and screw you every which way. The agents get a good sized commission for screwing you and if people sign a 93 year old woman who doesnt know whats going on they look the other way. Some agents are not above forging your signature of mailing you application directly to Universal through Canada Post and thus overriding the mandatory reaffirmation and guaranteeing their commission because if the person doesnt reaffirm they get nothing. The majority of the “agents’ are people who couldnt get a job at McDonalds and have no reservations of screwing you over. The place was horrible there was old strippers, drug dealers, addicts working out of my office. They will persue every means legal and illegal to stop you from getting out of the deal. This includes when you move and mail them all the stuff to legally get out of the deal, because you are moving to a place where they cant deliever service, they may conviently … lose you information sent to them, if you do have to send them anything send it registered mail or it may end up “lost”, and your screwed. Feel bad for the people I signed up but cant change it only warn future people not to do it.
* or mailing your application directly
How doe this affect the smart meters when they take affect. Can we not take advantage of this program?
If I close my account with my hydro company and move to another city, what will happen? Has anyone tried doing this. I am moving away from ottawa, to toronto, and the hydro in my new place will not be in my name, so they won’t be able to know I’ve moved. has anyone had success doing this? What are the possible outcomes? ie. bad credit?
K, I moved recently and called UE to cancel and they said I either had to take it with me or have someone else finish the contract term. I had my new hydro set up with a new name and lied to UE stating I left my husband and I was moving in with my mom who lives in an all exclusive apartment. They still said tough and I had to pay.
So I get the letter (redirected to my new addy) saying I owe $1000. If I just let this go will it go to collections?
Surely after all this time someone can let us know if simply walking away worked for them?
My local utility company will don’t let me change the name on the bill ….so what can I do???? How come this loser can scam us hard working people out of our money???
Lets all get together and file class action suit against Universal Power and stop these A$$holes from getting more richer off our money.
Fiona – I closed my Hydro account and opened it again with another name. I told them that we were changing the responsibilities in our home and they were fine with it. $30 charge to open a new account so they don’t usually mind.
Hey Selena, I am going to try your advice. I was locked in with both Gas and Hydro. Worst thing I ever did. My bills have been unbelievable. I paid $500 to get out of my gas, they cash the cheque and still bill on my account a month later. They claim it takes 3 months or so to get off the billing. Total BS. I will post my success later. I hope these guys rot in hell.
We are having the same problem with UE. We remember them showing up and talking about our gas we had said yes and then when they called to confirm we said no to the Gas. BUT they signed us up for Hydro too. We never knew this and now are getting screwed. You would think that if a customer said no to their “DEAL” that would go for both. In their eyes it was only for the gas. They want $500 bucks to close the account! Where we are moving the rate is 5 cents/kWh and we are locked in with them at 9.5cents/kWh! It is crazy! I have requested our contract and can i request this phone consent too?
The sales person came to our door today and I naively signed up for it. After reading this article (and some others on the internet), I REALLY NEED to get out of this.
It hasn’t been 10 days… I will call them tomorrow to fight to have it cancelled, but for some reason I don’t think they will (they will say they cancelled, but will be “confirmed” anyway)…
Should I change my name or close, then open my hydro account right away, or should I hope and pray that cancellation will take place smoothly BEFORE 10 days?
I am a student and I can NOT afford this kind of mistake.
This girl came to my house yesterday trying to get me to sign with Universal Power. She first came around noon and I wasn’t home but my mother was and my mother told her that she wasn’t interested, that she was happy with what we have now (Hydro One). So the girl asked her if she paid the utilities and my mom said no (my mom is ill and lives with me). So the girl wanted to come back when I was home so my mom told her I’d be home around 3:30. So my mom told me what had happend so I’d be ready for her when she came back. I was in the back yard watering the garden around 4:30 and she showed up again at the front door. I was busy and told my mom to tell her to come around through the side fence (I wasn’t stopping what I was trying to get done to listen to her pitch). Anyway, she came around and told me that gas prices were going up and that I could get a fixed rate with them. I said that at least 2 of Universal’s sales people come around a year and I always say no and that I’m still saying no. She said “oh all I need is a copy of your hydro bill”. I said I pay the bill and shred it in my shredder right after. She had a strange look on her face then said well you would have just got your latest bill last week and I said “ya I did….and I paid it…..and shredded it after, that’s what I ALWAYS do”. She seemed irritated with this. Then I told her that my mother (who was totally taken advantage of) signed with them where she used to live on her own and that when she moved in with me and the utilities were put in my name I was able to get her out of her contract with no penalties. That loop hole does absolutely work. They can’t touch you in that circumstance. You do have to provide proof though. I had to photocopy an old bill of hers and a bill of mine to prove she does not have that utility in her name any longer. It worked anyhow. They can’t hold you to a contract if that utility is taken out of your name. Just be prepared to provide proof of it which we did and it was easy to get out of it at that point. I also told the girl that my mother’s bill was way higher that mine ever was. She kept saying, “well that’s because the increases are on the way within the next few years” and that’s when I said…”well the last half dozen people that have come to my door since 2004 have said the same thing and guess what, my bill with Hydro One has not increased at all, it actually went down by 30 dollars”. These sales people are so annoying. They will do anything to get a copy of your bill. Don’t give it to them! Just before she finally left she said, “well keep your next bill because there will be another person around again this summer.” I never said anything to her but thought to myself…….no, I don’t think so. They will NEVER win with me. No way, no how! My next bill will get shredded along with all of them after I pay them ( I don’t need to save my stubbs as I use online banking so a record of the payment is always listed as a transaction in my account).
It appears my information was sent to a collection agency. Total Credit Recovery USA Group.
Is this for real? Could this hurt my credit rating if I do not pay them? Should I pay them?
Initally When I called my supplier for gas to change the name on the account. I noticed my name was changed, along with my account number. Does this mean I am liable? Somebody please help!
I’m the latest in a string of these scams. Universal scammers have an army of zombies who seem programmed to not take no, I’ve used diplomacy, firmness, sarcasm, nastiness, but they call and come to my door 3+ times daily and don’t take the hint. Well on June 6th, this one rep a little Asian guy who didn’t speak much English and forced his way into my home to “talk about this deal” pretty much refused to leave after. I insisted that I shred my bills as soon as I receive them, and he looked at me like I was from another planet. I must have said 6-7 times I shred, no bill, you understand? And he had this stupified look frozen on his face, pacing from side to side, and mumbling uh-huh, uh-huh, “so you have no bill?” and I wanted to scream “YES, NOW GET THE F*** OUT OF HERE BEFORE I-” but I got so frustrated I gave in and signed. Then I got the confirm call and gave the wrong response…whoops locked in apparently…and stuck with the cancellation fee. Well I saw a loophole strategy posted here but it’s about 7 months old, does it still work I wonder? The one about cancelling and re-signing up on your local utility?
If so I’ll put that to work. Next time the assholes come to my door, I’ll say “yes I’ll get the bill for you” then come back with the bill and the shredder, and drop it into the shredder in front of their eyes and say “oh, my mistake, I’m so clumsy!! come back in a month OK?”
But if Universal is tied to your utility account, will changing the name on the account break that link? I mean if in January, Universal is listed as your supplier and you do what you suggest, your next bill should have a new name on it but are you saying Universal Supplier will not be listed as the supplier? Or do you have to do something extra to remove them as the supplier for your utility?
What happens if they will send your info to the collection agencies? The same way they did to Marty?
Even if you change your account number they Did anybody call a lawyer to see if there is a decent way to get rid of these U scam ?
Even if you change your account number they still know your address and phone number
…they still know your address and phone number
I signed up with UE in Feb/2006. One of the major stipulations that I wanted clarification from was about the part where you can get out of your contract due to ‘moving’ where utilities was in someone else’s name or moving to somewhere where they didn’t service. So, I signed up. There was so much talk of prices going up that I thought it would be a good idea to be protected. So, now I have moved in with my boyfriend who has utilities in his name. I called and canceled my local utilities thinking that I was free from UE. Well, this week I received an email stating they noticed I canceled my hydro and gave me a total of $395 for early termination fees plus $600 if I don’t pay them by July 8. I called them right away and told them I moved and services were in someone else’s name. They assumed it was an apartment complex of sorts and said I would have to get something signed and I said sure, that my landlord just happens to be my boyfriend. Their story changed in a hurry and I cursed myself for giving them that information. So, I told them of what I was told back in Feb. about getting out of a contract due to the above mentioned and they said it ONLY applies to rental corporations who include hydro in rent and even if I did fill out the necessary forms, they’d find out that I wasn’t living in those conditions and I’d still be liable. Now they say I have to pay early termination fees or have it transferred into his name or someone else’s. But, it’s not the remaining contract they’re talking about, they want to sign up someone new for another 5 years. I said there is absolutely no way I will get my boyfriend to sign with them or anyone else for that matter. At first I thought I was responsible for $1000 and the guy I was talking to was an @sshole. I requested to speak with someone else and the new guy I spoke with was nicer and said I only have to pay the early termination fees NOT the legal and administration. I am not comfortable in letting this slide in hopes of it magically going away and having it affect my credit rating, no matter how much it works for others. In my opinion, this will be the best money I have ever spent to get rid of them. Wish I knew this sooner b/c my sister was living with me at the time and she moved to Halifax where they are not! Hindsight is 20/20 however and if I had been aware we would have switched the utilities and transferred the UE into her name then when she moved, we’d all be fine. Oh well…lesson learned. And, never again. I dare them to approach me at my new address. EFFERS!
Hello Everyone. This is how I got out of this SCAM.
Someone came to my house yesturday, blah blah blah, same story as everyone elses, and I signed the application. After speaking with my mother and Aunt about this I realized how much of an idiot I am and this morning called UE and asked them to cancel. At first they gave me some junk about how they can’t cancel it at this time, but when they call me to verify I can just say no.
So I hung up, but soon realized this is BS.
So I called back and spoke to the same lady (Mordlyn @ extension 408) and said this:
“I have re-read everything and I wish to cancel, this is my final decision and I would like a Cancellation Confirmation Number” and she said okay.
They had to verify my name, application number and Gas account number, but within a few minutes she gave me my cancellation number (no more of this ‘we can’t cancel you until be call’ BS)
I’ve also emailed them and asked for written verification of my cancellation and assurance that nobody will be calling my house.
So you CAN get out of this before you verify over the phone. just be polite but firm, no need for yelling. They just want to stall you from canceling for a chance that you may change your mind.
I will update when I receive my reply email and GOOD LUCK to anyone else who got DUPED.
Christina
Someone please help, My mom got sucked into this scam and she’s on disability.
From Ontario Mississauga. They came to our door and lied about smart meters, told my mother she had to sign some contract for her electricity bill or else she’ll be charged more money. They are taking 3x more now on every bill and she’s on disability. I called the electricity company (enersource)and complained about it, they kept talking about the government wants to introduce a smart meter system that will charge us more money and that this protection plan she’s paying over $100 is a security, etc. I complained to them why the hell are they charging people for a protection plan 2 years before the government is introducing a smart meter? what if she wants to opt out of this contract? they said she’d have to pay $800 so they could recover their losses.
alchemismo@gmail.com
Everyone, I have taken over their facebook group, the original creator fled and left it open for administration. http://www.facebook.com/wall.php?id=2313229492
share your horrors.
They came to my door yesterday, the guy was speaking so fast, and was repeating “you will save money” he had a folder with visual aids in it and highlighted articles , just in case their victim couldn’t be easily persuaded into this, and he was asking me for my Hydro and Gas bill, and talk about aggressiveness and persuasiveness, well these are the element of a scam, If what they are offering was good enough they wouldn’t be coming door to door to sell it. I said no. and sent him away.
anybody know what will happen once you have been notified by the collections agency? I fought with UE about 7 months ago about having not confirmed with them, they threatened that they had me confirming on tape, which I asked to hear, and of course they couldn’t provide it, then I got them on the account number, they had a totaly different account number for me then my gas provider which I had been paying all along had, I did not give them my real account number, so they told me that ok my account would be cancelled, and they would send a release to me, which they never did. I forgot about it over time, them 7 months later I get a letter from a claims court to pay them $336 penalty?? I will be calling again to fight with them, or do I call the claims place, please anyone know what I should do???by the way I never did have them as my provider, no where on any of my bills did it show any other gas provider other then union gas
My foreign wife got sucked in by these crooks. To her the confirmation call was a nice follow up by the freindly people who came by 10 days before.
My Gas service is in my name and the Univeral agreement is in her name – anyone think we have a shot at getting out of this?
Wow.
I can’t believe I’m reading all of this. I used to work for UE last year out of their BC office. I know everything that went on from the door-to-door stuff to the things that went on in our sales meetings. I know I saw some some shady things in my time there, but the reason I left is because the real shadiness started from the head office and trickled down into regional management and from there to the sales teams. The reason the agents are the way they are is because they are trained to be that way. Not all are scammers, but when you put the opportunity to make big $$$ in front of young 20 somethings, ethics and morals get thrown out the window.
First of all, let me try to give you some help. If your spouse signed the forms there isn’t much you can do since either the account holder or spouse can be on the agreement. Here in BC things are confirmed in the phone call after you sign but after that you still have the 10 day rescind period to change your mind. You will receive a letter confirming the enrollment and on there will be a date that you must call by or else you’re locked in.
I absolutely understand how people feel ’scammed.’ The ‘pitch’ is designed to be a quick transaction at the door and it doesn’t surprise me that many consumers are left confused and dissillusioned.
Sadly, this industry is all about making a fast buck so those that do it get trapped by the dollar signs and lifestyle. The attitude of some of the agents I worked with was disgusting. They acted as though because they made a lot of money they ruled the world. Their egos were fed by management and big paycheques. For me, I just got tired of the BS and the long hours and now that I’m out I couldn’t imagine going back. Reading everyone’s horror stories is shocking for me.
I hope that the trick of changing the name on your utility bill is as fool proof as it sounds. UE connects each contract with an account number, so if that changes then you’re off the hook (from what I understand.) If you are moving try mentioning that you are moving out of service area to someplace rural that doesn’t have gas. Or say you’re moving out of province or out of the country. I think here in BC if you close your account for any reason at all the contract automatically cancels itself unless you transfer it to a new location.
Anyway, that’s just my 3 cents to this. Sorry to those of you that got screwed over.
Can anyone tell me clearly whether or not I can be held liable for the cancellation fees if I change my Hydro account to another name? I live in Toronto, and I get my bills from Toronto Hydro. My boyfriend and I just moved in together, and I was going to switch the hydro bill in the new place to my name when UE contacted me saying they heard I had moved, yada yada, because obviously when I signed up with them (a whole 2 years ago already – do I feel like an idiot, or what? I think I was drunk at the time), I must have given them a copy of my Hydro bill.
Well now every time I call to finally surrender before the deadline of switching (Sept 18), all they seem to want is my “new account number” with Toronto Hydro – they TOTALLY zero in on that, and when I ask them why can’t they get it from Toronto Hydro they say it needs to come from me. I sit silent for a couple of seconds, thinking whether or not I should just cave and not bother fighting this, and then at the last second I lose it with a tirade of what a scam I think the company is, blah blah…and THE GUY DOESN’T EVEN REACT – then after several more seconds of silence I finally ask again, “so what do I do now?” and he says again, “SO DO YOU HAVE THE NEW HYDRO ACCOUNT NUMBER”?
So what happens if I don’t give them my new account number? Can I CANCEL my Toronto Hydro account completely since I have now moved, have my boyfriend take over the hydro in the new house, and pretend I’ve left the country? I mean, they don’t have his name AT ALL, and yes, they have my new address, but what can they do? Will I have to get my phone number changed?
If they send collection agencies after me or want their payment, can that stick? How much can it hurt my credit? I saw a posting a while back saying that if UE is the only blemish on my record, it shouldn’t affect my credit that much. Is that true?
Any advice is very welcome!!!!!
Just got a letter today from Union Gas saying my equal billing plan monthy rate was going up. Called to complain and they directed me to the energy consumers hotline. I called to complain about the ridiculous gas prices that are on the rise and stated that the government should step in and do something about it. The rep. told me that they record every call and that my message would be passed on. Everybody do your part and call and complain about gas prices. The number to call is 1-877-632-2727. Pass this number on to everyone you know, friends, family, whomever. Everyone needs to voice their opinion in the matter. Thanks.
I too have just had a representative come door to door and “strong arm ” me into the application, even as I told him I didn’t think I was interested etc and that it all confused me he persisted(which is when I should have shut the door) he said I could look over the pamphlet etc and could change my mind while “thy” decided whether i would be “approved” to submit my application and nothing would be submitted until I confirmed by phone, They did call to say it was approved to be submitted and i told the girl that I was not sure I wanted to confirm until I discussed it more at lenght with my husband, of course she tried to push me but I said no and to call back the next night, she never called but I called them today and said I wanted my application cancelled and not submitted, he tried to push and ask why but I said loudly NO we don’t want it, I got his name and ext and had him confirm no action would be taken and my bill returned as I had checked on the application….
my question is does anyone think I should still be worried? they do have a copy of my bill, which I felt instantly I shouldn’t have given the guy! Ugh listen to instincts!
hoping I’m ok
We signed up with these dicks too. The guy totally lied to us and said we could cancel anytime if we found a better price or didn’t want their service. He gave us this big song and dance about how he was an advocate for the consumer bla bla bla. I signed up (very dumb I know). But I was assured I could cancel any time. That night some one called to re-affirm. I was a bit confused and wanted more time but was scared to lose out on such a great opportunity. They called again asking if I signed a contract and I said yes (I thought this was odd). So there we were stuck with this contract for way more than what we were paying. I am a first time home buyer and maybe a little naive. I know that the buyer should beware but this was a bit excessive in his lies. I didn’t think too much about it. I tried to cancel but they said I had to pay a huge fee. So I kept it. We planned to move over seas to teach English and had a friend move in. We changed all the bills over to the friend’s name. Within a month we got a letter in the mail asking us for the cancelation fee (looks very similar to what someone else posted). Then they had a machine call us for at least 6 months. That stopped for a couple of weeks then people started calling. They call sounding like they are a friend and then say that they are looking for their money. Change your phone number. These people make a commission if they get you to pay so they will do anything. They will even look you up on facebook. Have a limited profile. By law they cannot contact your family or friends but some might do that. Turns out we are no longer leaving the country but I do not want to sign back up with them. It has been 7 months since we canceled and the going seems good. You can request a credit report check to see if it makes a difference to your credit transunion.ca Its free. Even if it does go to your credit report its only on there 7 years. At least they will not get any more money from me.
Moved to Oakville from Brampton recently and call Universal Power with new info (address etc.) but did not have account from Halton Hydro yet. They immediately escalate breach of contract procedure and put us on collection agency (Total Credit Recovery) for $ 600 + even we told them we would provide them new account # to take over supply of energy / gas here for us. Than we found here 5 cents / kwh versus 8.5 cents from UP….and found this web…..My God!!! How to get rid of them????
Here’s the best bet for anyone from BC. Anyone in Ontario- I assume you complain to the Ontario Utilities Comission.
Did a Gas Marketer come to your home and:
Create confusion in your mind about gas sales?
Mislead or misrepresent any aspect of their offer?
Abuse your trust?
Unduly pressure or harass you to enter into a transaction?
Exploit your lack of experience or knowledge in purchasing natural gas commodities or legal contracts?
Did they harass you?
Did they deal with your spouse or other that has language or comprehension issues?
Did you end up signing anyways, after you told them to leave?
If any of the above happend then the marketer is in breach of the Code of Conduct for Gas Marketers http://www.bcuc.com/Documents/GasMarketers/Customer_Choice_Revised_Code_of_Conduct.pdf
Write down what happened, what article of the Code of Conduct you felt was broken and send
it to the BCUC. http://www.bcuc.com/ContactUs.aspx
They work for the taxpayers and will rule on the validity of your contract. This will continue unless people complain to the BCUC.
That being done – I hope your out of your contract.
Next please take a few minutes to copy your complaint to your local MLA suggesting they forward to the Minister of Energy for your Province.
Then copy the local councillors from your district and your community develpment office suggesting a change to your bylaws to ban predatory door to door marketing.
Then copy your local Chamber of Commerce. Respectfully ask if UEC has a business license to operate in your area and if so – is the COC aware of the track record of this company? They might want to reveiw that license.
so glad i could smell a skunk.. sheesh … I think i brought out a bill once but i was hesitant and didn’t let them really get their hands on it… I sent a number of them away with a simple no thank you … I think I considered it for a moment but then didn’t want to sign anything or get “locked” into anything so I just said no. Wow.. I guess I got lucky by the sound of things. Thank you for posting this I will spread it around. I hope .. scam or legit…. that people just think about it. I had a similar offer… but not really a scam… . I had a credit card (with gas benifits) .. the same company at the time of gas rises offered a different card with money off … up to 10cents per dollar…. well… after a couple questions i found out the 10 cents only applied after a certain amount of gas i think or only when the gas price was above a certain amount .. and or maybe a combination of the above.. really .. it wasn’t a deal .. just a good pitch. my card gave me discounts .. cash back sorta … i’m sure you know the company by now….. and the new card was just an attractive way to use the rising price of gas as inCENTive to BUY into something that i knew little about …
with smooth words and an uninformed customer you could potentially sell something you don’t really own but rather just made up out of thin air.
take your time…. be happy with what you have …. plan the next move carefully. risks are neither good nor bad until you make your decision. .. make an informed one.
Please people
This is scam I just started a new thread and am updating information on my site.
I am looking to get this topic on Market Place on CBC
Bill
I am also stuck with this bullsh– of a contract ans was just told that I have been sent to collections. I moved to Lebanon-yes Lebanon where trust me there is no unieversal Energy here. They are still saying I have to pay a early cancellation fee and legal fees even though I have moved out of the country. How can this be? We still have a house there but someone else is living in it and we are goin to be here for several years. Can they do this. I need advise because this is absolutely crazy.
Greetings. As frustrated as everyone is about this “Corporation”, does anyone have concrete results about the name change tactic with your local utility? Either the people who were sucessful were to happy to give us some reassurance they were too pissed that they dug themselves a bigger shit hole? Please if you have completed the “name change”, respond.
Thanks
x8nasoo60j23wmeo
My husband and I were tricked into signing up with them last summer. We’ve since moved to a place where there is no gas hookup and hydro is included in the rent, but I guess the old gas company informed them we’ve moved, and gave them our new number. They’ve been calling and leaving messages, but we haven’t been returning their calls. Now they say our account is going to a third party collections agency. I’m not sure why, since our bills are all paid and we don’t have any accounts open anymore. Does anyone know if they’re just using scare tactics, or do we actually owe them something legally?
Hi Everyone, i just have the exact same story as you guys. Can we do someting together to against this scam? I live in Markham,Ontario. I changed the name on my account with the local utility company. Today i got the letter from Universal Energy that they want to get money from me.
Ya, I think these shitheads probably caught on about the scam of moving and snubbing them. They probably lost too much money and have to spend more resources on ‘tracking’ you guys down.
I’ll figure something else out new
Bill
Thank you, Bill. Universal Energy keeps calling me for about 2 weeks. I don’t know if i am doing something right. My only concern is the credit. I can not sure if this will hurt my credit. Can someone help?
You should probably tell them to call me [Bill Sithers] from my site to discuss the problem. They hate me and can’t do anything about it either.
But really, DON’T answer the phone or say to them when they call, “you have no clue who that is”.
Thank you very much Bill and the rest for all the information on this page. My mother got scammed this morning. A guy came to the door while she was the only one at home. He asked her for a bill which she did not have. She did not give him a copy of a bill but she signed a paper. The bill comes in my father’s name but the name and signature on the form she signed is hers. The guy said that she would receive a call within 2 – 3 days where she would be asked to confirm.
Is it too late for us to get out of this? Without a copy of our bill and also the account number, will UE send us a bill and charge us? Will our current provider transfer our account to UE? We want nothing to do with UE!!!! We would like to stick to our current provider!!
They have our address. How can we get out of this situation?
Any advice from anyone would be very much appreciated.
Thank you very much.
I just got nailed by these guys today, how many people have had problems cancelling after ten days or whatever? Does cancelling over the phone ever work? I cannot afford this right now, and I need to get out no matter what. Anyone who has sucessfully cancelled please share!
Thank you
Bill,
I got sucked into thes 5 year contract with Universal Power, just like everybody else on this site. I managed to change the name on my utility bill and I got a new account number. Shortly after that people from Universal started calling and sending letters. My question is this – Can their collection agency really affect my credit history based on my name and address only without knowing my SIN number??? What happens if I simply ignore their letters? Anyone is welcome to try and answer this!
Actually people, I have some good news. There might be a legal loophole that Universal might have problems getting around.
DeYo, Can you proove that the bill is more than 10% of what you were paying before Universal showed up? Since these money grubbers are ‘estimating’ that you will save money on a 5-year term with the fluctuations in prices. the agreement may be NUL and VOID if you are paying more than 10%. They [UEG] may have to cancel that agreement by law.
“If your agreement contains an estimate, under law, the final price cannot be more than 10 per cent above it, unless you agree.”
This is the law, if you know a legal specialist you might want to confirm this fact. It’s from my sight http://www.freewebs.com/uegscam/getout.htm
Billy
Ouch, last night, these guys were at the door. A roommate who had just recently moved in answered the door, and came upstairs asking me where our 3rd roommate (who’s name is on the utility bills) kept all the past bills. Instantly triggering my suspicious, as these guys had been here numerous times before, I got him the bills, but followed to see what was up.
Sure enough, standard ‘official-looking’ guy, with keycard ID around his neck, and a walkie talkie this time! Throughout the whole confrontation the walkie-talkie randomly came alive at some points with neither English or French noise.
The man just wanted the form filled out. I let the original roommate who answered the door carry on, until it came time for a signature. Just as he started to sign, without really reading anything, we noticed the bold words “UNIVERSAL ENERGY” just above the signing line.
The man, however many times we asked, would not directly admit to working for UE, he just repeatedly stated he worked for “our utilities company”. After having seen that, my roommate went back over his signature and crossed him out. He took back the paper from the ‘associate’ and did not let him leave with it.
There had BETTER not be some kind of blind-carbon-copy, these guys are slimy! This situation might be a little bit unique. Because we DID show him a bill for a moment, I fear that he was able to capture the correct billing name and account number – however I am confident that he did not leave the house with any of our information – Again, though, my roommate BEGAN signing and went back over it crossing it out later.
Should I STILL begin the normal steps outlined on a number of blogs here, towards preparing for a cancellation fight?
How do these guys sleep at night..oh right..on a pile of all our money!
!!COOL!! I found the actual sheet he left behind – You guys can check it out here, I made a scan:
http://img158.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=88646_Universal_Energy_Application_122_641lo.jpg
Just wait about 4 seconds to get through to the image – I blacked out all the details that had been filled in, by the time we got it away from him. I blacked out his name at the bottom too..I guess everyone has rights – It was probably fake anyway.
Someone wanna explain how the “What happens” portion makes ANY sense whatsoever? Current rates: (excluding delivery or anything else) 30c gas, 5.6 electricity.
Listen up everybody! Instead of calling their customer support, you can call their president, CEO, CFO, etc. directly. Trust me, they don’t like to be bothered and they will do everything to get rid of you! I found their phone numbers and emails
Stephen Plummer
Chief Financial Officer
(416) 673-1160
Email: splummer@uegl.ca
Shawn Dym
Senior Vice President, Business Development
(416) 673-4761
Email: sdym@universalenergy.ca
Mark L. Silver
President, Electricity and Gas Marketing
(416) 221-9066
Email: masilver@universalenergy.ca
Terra Grain Fuels
Tim J. LaFrance
President
(403) 262-8182
Email: timl@terragrains.ca
Universal Energy Group Ltd.
Stephen Plummer
Chief Financial Officer
(416) 673-1160
Email: splummer@universalenergy.ca
This is bloody creepy. These idiots advertise in newspapers and online under this slogan:
“ENERGY CO.
has immediate openings
Gas Registration Agents
AVG. $25/hr.
(No prior exp nec.)
Call Mr.
(phone number)”
I found the ad. in the newspaper and thought it was too good to be true but called them anyway, the guy tells me it’s a customer representative position and they would train. Set me up for appointment today but I live in Michigan and no job especially pertaining to customer representatives pays you that much.
I knew there was something fishy about them and started looking them up until I found the company name and read all the posts. I am definetely not wasting my gas for that interview.
PS: I asked the guy what he would suggest to dress, and he said casual. That was the first thing that made me feel suspicious.
My husband signed up for universal gas in Sept 2007. My bill seams higher than ever I tried to cancell it and they said we have a five year contract and there would be a big penalty if we cancelled.Is there no way I could avoid this?
Dear DeYo,
Don’t even bother with calling these idiots. These people don’t want you, just your $$$$$. These are not real names they are made up. A freelance writer David Menzies based in Toronto once tried to track one of them down and could not even get a ‘real name, phon number or address’. They will just hide behind their desks. Remember these are crooks, ya crooks and they know it
I have slandered them for over a year now and they will not even defend their company or themselves from slander, that says it ALL!
Bill
Bill,
These names are real and those email addresses are working! Trust me, I did get in touch with them directly and got out of my contract.
Hi. I am a 29-year-old man with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. Because of the poor job market in my field in 2006 I took a job doing door-to-door sales for Universal Energy. I only did the job for about four months before moving on. Ironically the reason I moved on is because the company scammed me. They did not pay me for deal that I wrote that their own computer system showed as having gone through. Since I was paid solely on commission it didn’t make much sense to me to bust my balls and self-esteem and to put myself at risk of homicide on a daily basis going door-to-door in a strange neighbourhood for up to 12-hours a day. I think I made a measly $1600 during the four month period.
I am sorry of course for your bad experience but I can certainly understand how agents working for such a company can feel under enormous pressure to make deals. For many people they will literally starve if they do not write deals. That is the nature of the job market.
Yes we were aware that if the customer changed their name of their bill the contract would be non-collectable but surprisingly this did not effect our commission for that contract which was paid upon reaffirmation. (That is unless the company randomly decided not to pay that commission which happened to me a number of times.) According to Ontario law you are given a period of time after the contract (between 10-days and two months if you sign up at the door) during which you must positively reaffirm the contract over the phone before it is activated.
Please note that the contract is for 5-years. Usually the consumer will pay more in the first couple of years but the vast majority will save or at least break even by the end of the contract because of price inflation. (The price plan is supposed to protect the customer against price inflation over the long term.)
Dear Derek,
I really hope you find something better soon, don’t waste time, education, and brains on this BS. I also was there but only for a day and made $0.00, but my social-reject goon-leader who praised Univer$al Energy for his ‘career’ move made $40.00 for 8 hours of work that = $5 H/R, that’s not even MINIMUM WAGE. He went on to mention that the average sales person here makes $6000 a month. Hmmmm, I guess he failed MATH!
It’s actually funny because I do home services on the side [it's not even my real day job] and have already made 1000’s of dollars extra this year and the people come to me for help. I don’t knock on their door and beg them to buy locked-in junk
Bill
Hi Bill. Thanks for the encouragement. Yes, I found a good client for my computer business which has been my bread and butter for more than two years. I am really grateful that I have not had to do any kind of sales job since 2006. Yes, I agree that a career at Universal is a below minimum wage nightmare that attracts people in a state of despair. I was out of work for 3-years before I finally agreed to take a marketing job like that. I think anyone that works for Universal Energy would gladly take just about any job rather than doing that. Often when I would knock on people’s door they would say “Get a job” to which my response would “Are you offering one?” Believe me, I would had taken it. Unfortunately I never got a single positive response out of it which shows how the job market was at the time and left me feeling that my work situation was ever the more hopeless and reinforced the idea that I was worthless and did not deserve anything better. The negative reaction from consumers at the door and their lack of interest in our plights in general really tends to play into the companies lap. On one hand it keeps us there for reasons mentioned above. Second it makes us less concerned about whether or not the product we are selling is in the customers best interest. After-all most of our customers were affluent home owners with means well above ours, many of them were also less educated than us. (3 of the people in my van were university graduates). These people had no idea what it was like to struggle in this world. I wonder whether or not the person that started this thread would be complaining about having to pay a few extra cents for electricity if she had ever experienced the kind of hardships that the person that signed her up doubtlessly faced. The worst part about it is that its us sales folk that get the blame when the customer get “ripped” not the greedy executives of the company that are really profiting. Nevertheless I sincerely hope that everyone that I signed up will save on their contract before its expiry in 2011.
Next time someone knocks on your door to try to sell you gas or electricity contracts please be considerate of that person’s plight and consider offering them a job or saying something encouraging at least. It makes all the difference in the world to us.
Ya Derek,
I was laid off from a really good job about 3 years ago in my field and took some time off and went to see my family in South Africa. I needed a quick entry point into a fast-growing company and also got duped into this BS. I was told over the phone that there are many management positions available starting at $25 H/R I don’t know why I did not see the warning bells, I guess I tried to believe it would all work out if I gave it a try.
At their office I gave them my resume, they did not even look at it. I guess even giving them one was totally unexpected. I then asked the receptionist what line of work is this? She said “I can’t talk about that” then for a whole day we talked about the energy industry and home heating. Of course unknowing to them that I have worked in the building industry for over 15 years and have various licences in gas and heating and could not believe the BS they were talking about as their facts were all inconclusive. The next day we were sent out with some social reject who praised Universal Energy for his career move we had to watch him make a fool of himself for 6 hours. The person who was with us did not even leave the car, he was so pissed off that he wanted to go home right away. On the way home I was dropped of at a subway and decided for lieing to me I will further warn poor would-be Univer$al applicants for the future.
Bill
Actually the irony is that they should have lots of openings for management given how poorly the company was running. I decided to use the good old trick of working for a company long enough to see where they’re IT needs were and then making a pitch to the high-ranking person I knew as why they should hire me for that sort of position. I did it to the VP named Mike Pilon, otherwise known as the fatso. I wonder if he still works there or if he moved on. The funniest thing about it was that he didn’t like being marketed to in this way, even though he was the VP of MARKETING! I even pointed out the irony to him and he was not thrilled. The fact is that the company was terribly managed and I learned that day that good old Mike Pilon had no idea of how his company ran at the lower levels. He also seemed pretty content with the idea that his online system was the best in the industry. I explained to him that it could well be best in the industry — that didn’t make it adequate. I did get something out of it though. I got paid for some of the deals which I was entitled to commission for which was never paid, but I’d much rather than I had been treated with respect by the management since God knows I wasn’t treated with respect by the customers.
Consider the whole deal a learing experience.
I have been a victum of the exact same thing as the orginal person describes I had just moved to Ontario and someone on my doorstep got me to sign the little box. I had no idea it was for 5 years or I would not have signed as we don’t typically live anywhere longer than 2-3 years. and we moved away from Ontario, to Alberta 2 years ago. I am still being hounded by the collections agency that say they want $761 for cancelling my contract, and threatening to report me as refusing to pay to the credit bureau. Any ideas?
Well I hope your all happy because I read in the paper today that Universal was recently fined $200000 for violations of Energy Board policy. Its a shame but I’m not exactly crying tears of blood.
I am having the same problems that the rest of you are having. The only difference with me is that they made the mistake of sending me the contract. When i looked at the contract it is signed by someone other then myself. After looking at the contract closer, the signatures seems to have been signed by three different people. When they called me again, I explained that I didnt sign the contract and they told me that I still had to pay the 500 cancelation fee.
After ignoring them for about a month, i got a call from their collection agency TCR. I explained to them that this was their first and last chance to clear my so-called account and remove it from my credit otherwise they would be sued as well as Universal Energy. After telling them this, i went onto this site and found a couple phone numbers. I just finished calling them and will post if I hear anything back from these so-called higher up at universal energy.
Good luck to everyone who has to deal with these low lifes
Ryan, talk to a lawyer. If they blatantly forged your signature you might be able to get a huge settlement out of them. Also consider calling the police as forged signature might lead to criminal prosecution.
I did not stoop to the low of forging signatures when I worked for them and was told at the time (2006) that the company had a zero-tolerance policy for any agents that did so, meaning they were terminated. I actually know that some agents were terminated for this during the four months I worked as a Universal Energy consultant.
Hi Everyone,
I have a different story on this. Please help me out. I signed up for my hydro in early 2006 and was told that if you move out and the new place includes your hydro, then you are not bound in this contract.
I moved out in early 2007 and got a call from UE asking about my hydro account. I said I moved and don’t pay hydro at my new place. They asked me for a confirmation from my landlord and I did fax them a copy of the letter I got from my landlord stating that I don’t pay hydro.
Now after almost 2 years I got a call from a collections agency asking for early termination charges. I told them that I will talk to UE first and will get back to them.
I DID NOT RECIEVE ANY LETTER OR CALL FROM UE FOR 2 YEARS AND GOT A CALL FROM COLLECTIONS.
Can anyone please help me out with this situation.
Thanks!
Hi, im having the same problem as well, and im just wondering if you could change the name to some one who is under 18? like my son for example ( different last name).
Thank you!
Universal Energy was privately held in 2006 but they are now a publicly traded share. Based on what I am reading most of you that have had problems had them after the company’s IPO. This is making me think the company went downhill after I left because I don’t think that things were run quite so badly before. It just shows you what greedy investors can do to a company.
Ramusad, Alex, when I worked for Universal it was my understanding that the contract was against a specific name address and account number. If any of the information changed the deal became un-collectable and there was nothing anyone could do about this. So to get out of your contract you do not have to change your name or address, all you would have to do is get the utility to change your account number. Alex, you did not say why you wanted to cancel your contract. Was something done in error such as you not reaffirming or forged signature. If so simply inform your utility and they will block Universal from your account without you having to make any changes, but be warned they will only do this if something was done in error. If you signed on legitimately I think you have an obligation to stay on and who knows you might still save. Just my opinion.
Derek, when i check the contract which was signed, i found out that i signed on the five year electricity, and it there was a check mark on the box. but for the other 2 contract, (the gas one, and for some reason there was another electricity one) anyways i found out that those 2 box were not checked, only i had sign it. so it there anyway out of that?
Alex, there is no way you can have two electricity contracts unless you have two hydro accounts. One meter one deal.
On the phone confirmation do they not have to get a “YES” from you? I used to work for Dell fixing cpu’s over the phone and internet, and they said that unless you got a “YES” you couldnt go forward. Meaning if you said “Go ahead” or “Yeah confirm everything” it wasnt legal. Anyone have any thoughts on this?
Derek,
The signature on the account is not even in my name. It is supposed to be my GF’s but her last name isnt even spelled right. To me they shouldnt even have honored the “contract” if my signature is not on the account. I could understand if my GF was my wife and had the same last name as me but she isnt so the “contract” should have been void. Not sure if im right or not? What are your thoughts on that?
but the problem is, there are 2 electricity contract, both the same, the only different is the check mark.
Ryan: Dell may have an internal policy to only accept the word “yes” but I know nothing of Universal on this end of the business. Totally different job I never did. As for legality, I know they record the reaffirmation and if its contested in court its up to the judge to decide whether or not the reaffirmation was positive.
Yes, it legal for your “common law spouse” to sign on your behalf under Ontario law. Their surname is irrelevant. The only relevant question is did she actually sign it. Whether or not she spelled her name correctly is meaningless.
Alex: I really do not understand your problem re 2 contracts.
ok, the problem, there is 3 contract in toal, 2 electricity contract, and 1 gas contract, (they are all signed) but the part where you check mark for the 5 year plan. only the electricity contract is checked (only one out of the 2, if you ask me why i have 2, i dont know either)
Alex, I don’t know what to suggest, but the first question is, why is this a problem? You signed the contracts?
UNIVER$AL
I’m in the same situation. I signed up with these crooks back in August 2007. The “sales man” showed up to my apartment shortly after I got home. I live in a small apartment so there was not a huge increase in my bill. I was putting in a lot of overtime and did not pay close attention.
Fast forward a year and a half later, I lost my job and have to move back in with my parents. I called my utility company to cancel my account effective in March. I still have my “customer guide”. It states if I move out of the state of Michigan or move to an area where there is no natural gas lines in the area, the $250 termination fee will be waived.
I called Universal about this. The person told me I still have to pay the termination fee. I told him there was no natural gas lines and I would not be the account holder. He told me that my parents would have send them a letter stating this and sign it. I think the guy told me they would have to send a copy of their bill proving there is no natural gas hookup. Then the termination fee would be waived. This is probably a lie. I DID NOT give him the address where I would be moving to. He told me they only accept cashier’s checks, money orders or credit card. I wasn’t going to give them my credit card number. I did agree to pay the fee, but I haven’t done so yet. Of course, the guy I was talking to could barely speak english and I had a hard time understanding him.
After reading what you posted, it sounds like a good idea. But the problem is the phone number on the account is my cell phone number. That’s the only phone I have. I’m sure they will start calling me once they realize I’m no longer paying for their crappy service. Could I call them back and give them a bogus number saying that’s my new phone number? Maybe give them a phone number to a chinese restaurant? Will this damage my credit if they turn me over to collections? If I just ignore the calls and possible letters, they will give up?
I don’t know if they are still going door to door. But they do have job postings on career builder.
Hi A. Thanks for your input. The laws in the United States would be different than in Canada (Ontario) so I cannot speak give you any meaningful feedback. Its interesting to hear that Universal is now operating in the United States because when I worked there they were still just talking about entering the US market.
I’m not sure how long they have been in Michigan. Their office is located in Southfield which is near Detroit. The Michigan Public Service Commision did launch an investigation last year. I don’t know if the investigation is still ongoing or not. They don’t provide electric service, only gas. They probably could not get a license to be a electrical supplier.
A bunch of news stations did run investigative reports about them. By the time I saw that, my 30 day grace period expired. I guess 30 days is required by law in Michigan. I’ve read on other message boards complaining about Universal, they don’t even honor this. If you call on the 30th day, they’ll say you’re too late and you should have called the previous day.
If I do send them the termination fee or go through everything to get out of it without paying, they’ll probably still call and say they never got anything from me. I’m not afraid to lock horns with these crooks. If this does lead to a court apperance, Universal will probably show the judge the contract I signed and rule in their favor. I wonder if their legal team(if they even have one) is a bunch of ambulance chasers.
The next day after I signed up, I spoke to the apartment complex manager about it. And she told me the sales person did talk to her and she gave him permission to go to each apartment. The manager was fired a few weeks later. I don’t know if this was the reason or a unrelated matter.
I heard they don’t even have company vehicles. And the door to door sales people have to drive their own cars and are responsible for the gas and the hotel. I’m guessing they won’t reimburse them. That alone should scare anyone off.
These people don’t care if you lose your job or lose your house due to foreclosure. They just want your money. Plain and simple. I don’t even know how these people can sleep at night. I wonder if Universal is their gas supplier at their home. It makes me wonder since they won’t accept personal checks for the termination fee, if they even have an account with a bank and they just put the money in their pocket.
If they do show up at your door, tell them to leave. If they don’t, call the police and press charges for trespassing.
A: I think your over-reacting. Just send them a copy of the documentation they requested about your parent’s account I’m sure they will mark the account as un-collectable.
They won’t try to have them continue the contract? I don’t see how they can since they live out in the country with no natural gas hookups. Once they get everything is the termination effective as soon as they get the information?
A: I don’t know how it works now/in the United States. When I worked there in 2006 Universal was privately held. Now its a public corporation. Then the company policy was, as far as I know to drop any contract on an account that is changed (ie: new name, number or move) I don’t see how it could work any other way since the contract specifically states its for a certain account. All depends on how its viewed by your local laws I guess. It would certainly be worth while trying to send them the requested documentation.
I’ll call them again next week and ask. Or I may just bite the bullet and pay the termination fee and learn from this to never let a door to door saleman in my home ever again.
Ontario Energy Board Consumer Relations Centre
To file a complaint against a gas marketer, electricity retailer or other market participant, contact the OEB Consumer Relations Centre between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at: 1-877-632-2727 (toll-free) or 416-314-2455
My mother in law which speaks no English had an Italian speaking representative from Universal convince her to sign a contract and promised it’s a low rate and locked for 5 years. Being illiterate and naive, she signed it. When she told me about this I thought to myself, this sounded too good to be true. I called the company myself and found out its about 4 cents more a cubic meter. And that supposedly she signed another contract with “Direct Energy” and so she now has 2 termination fees. When I asked my mother in law, she told me it was another Italian man that came to the home after a few months of signing the first contract pretending to be the same company. The neighbor indicated no contract was signed and the gentlemen left. I called both companies to send me copies of the contracts.
Will it work if I change the name on the bill?
Will it be sent to collections and impact their credit? They have a mortgage and credit is significant.
I am waiting for the contracts to arrive and will try threatening them with media and see if they void the contracts.
I have also been advised we can all file a complaint on betterbusinessbureau.com (ALREADY 203 COMPLAINTS ON THEM) and ripoffreport.com.
Any further information to help me out would be greatly appreciated.
Heres the Ontario Energy Board Website
http://www.oeb.gov.on.ca/OEB/For+Consumers/Have+a+Question+or+Complaint
Each should file a complaint and end this fraud business.
Maria, I think what the Italian salesman explained to your mother was more or less correct. The idea behind Universal is in principle to protect against inflation. Universal buys gas and hydro low and sells it back to the consumer when the prices go up for more than they bought it for but less than the current market price. The idea is that the rate will be fixed for 5-years while people without a fixed rate will experience price inflation. Of course the price on the plan will be higher at the first but by the end of the contract the idea is that the price will be much lower. Some people have saved on contracts like this and most at least break even. The other complaints on this website are about specific circumstances such as the company failing to reaffirm the contract or situations where people move half-way through to a location where gas and hydro are included in rent etc. What exactly is your complaint here?
I think the reason why everyone is so upset with them is that they’re misleading. From my experience, the sales person told me that my utility company would no longer supply or charge me for gas usage once you sign up. This is a lie. They may do things different in Canada.
They obviously mislead my mother in law making this a fraudalent sale. I use to work at a bank and if we mislead any sales we were terminated. I cant understand why they are able to do this and get away with it. In addition, she didnt do a verbal confirmation as she doesnt speak english.
****I did some more research and we can file a complaint also at http://www.consumeralert.ca***
Can someone please answer this for me:
1. Will it work if I change the name on the bill?
2. Will it be sent to collections and impact credit? (i dont want it to impact mortgage and a credit rating)
I too was a victim of Unversal Energys Fraud. They forged my signature and it is being investigated. I have reported it to various officials and the company has voided the contracts.
That Trick with Power Stream did not work! They cannot cancell any contracts or change account # or name on accounts unless they get confirmation from the company that it was indeed cancelled.
I too will do a complaint at the Ontario Energy Board
http://www.oeb.gov.on.ca/OEB/For+Consumers/Have+a+Question+or+Complaint
1-877-632-2727
I was also mislead by those jerks to sign a 5 year contract as they promised to save me money each month. It turns out I am paying an additional $50.00 a month now because they are charging more money per cubic meter compared to the original supplier.
I didnt care to be locked for 5 years. I was concerned about saving money now. and this is not the case.
This needs to be reported to all authorities to have the company CLOSED.
1. ripoffreport.com
2. better business beaureau.com
3. TV stations – this will be a hot topic!! (Recession and high Fraud)
4. Ontario Energy Board
5. Police for a Fraud Report
Does anyone else know where else to complain? I want to make sure my voice is heard loud.
I do believe I left an interesting message here last night that disappeared. I don’t suppose this is becoming a one-sided message board condemning the poor desperate salesperson by considerably richer and better off home-owners who would do nothing to help them in their plight while not allowing them to express their side of the story would it?
Derek: Please stop referring to yourself as a poor desperate salesperson. You said yourself you quit for a reason. If it was such a bad job, I cannot understand why you keep defending other salespeople. You can only speak for yourself, not for the other salespeople. And frankly, there are too many people on message boards like this (and numerous others on the web) for it all to be just a “misunderstanding” on the consumer’s part.
I would also like to invite you to really look at the class of people complaining: the people that signed on with UE are NOT all rich homeowners. Maybe you were sent to work in a rich neigbourhood, but stop assuming this is the norm. Many are apartment dwellers, seniors, etc. These people are not rich and cannot afford to be spending money where it is not necessary.
Sarah, I really don’t like the hostility directed towards me and I really don’t appreciate having my postings censored. I dislike Universal as well but I do not appreciate the kind of generalizations that I am seeing on this message board. If you want to see injustice take a trip to downtown Toronto where there is estimated to live as many as 60000 homeless people. Now that is injustice. Having to pay 4 extra cents for electricity in your first year of a contract when at the end of the contract your price will not have gone up with inflation and you could find yourself paying 6 or 7 cents less than your neighbour, is that injustice? Yes, Universal is a sleazy company but the principle is not a scam. When I worked for them I saw a woman that was paying 15 cents/cubic meter of for her gas because of a plan she had with a competing company. The current price was 34 cents. Do you think she was sorry she signed that deal? The idea of the business model of commodity brokering is not by any means new. Its been around for hundreds of years. Companies that offer fixed prices for gas an electricity have existed for a long time now in many parts of the world. The way they work should not be news to anyone. They even teach it in school. I do not know what people expect really! Of course the price is going to be a little higher in the first year. The idea of the plan is long term savings. Also don’t expect much help from the government. The government is aware of how price plans like these work and it was Mike Harris’ government that opened the electricity market to companies like Universal knowing full well how they work. If you call the energy board they will be glad to tell you that people do save on such plans!
Now if Universal or any of their competitors legitimately screwed someone over by trying to collect a cancellation fee after moving to a location with utilities included, did not reaffirm or if your signature was forged these are legitimate concerns — but I do not have any sympathy for people that are simply too ignorant to understand how the program works. And yes, I feel that every consumer has no excuse for not understanding how the program works and no excuse for signing up for something without reading the contract or associated literature. That would just be stupid. I do appreciate having my posts deleted because I am expressing a minority. I do not believe that shutting down a company that employs hundreds of people is a good thing during an economic downturn.
If you disagree with this than disagree but please let me give you my perspective on the matter. Do you think that the government should be abolished because the courts do not allow people to use ignorance of the law as a defence? That isn’t fair is it, but if we condemn Universal Energy because of our ignorance aren’t we doing just that?
But the sales people never mention that your bill will be higher in the first year. If they know this or not, I have no idea. All they say is you’ll be saving money and this is a good deal. They tell you what you want to hear. Aren’t the sales people in the dark most of the time?
sounds to me like Derek is a spy for Universal Energy. Everytime somebody puts up a way to get out of the contract it works for a couple days and then somehow universal finds out about it and doesnt allow you to cancel. Doesnt really matter to me if he works for them or not but if Derek does then he should just come out and say that he works for them still, oh wait he was trained by them so he’ll never tell the truth.
Its a good thing that my signature was forged by someone that I’ve never even heard of and thats how I got out of the money they said I owed.
Believe what you want about whether or not I still work for Universal. The bottom line is that I think its wrong if Universal rips people off by breaking the law or does not meet its contractual obligations but I do not agree with conflating this with the idea that signing up for a price plan is scam. If you are on a price plan that’s the only time you can have any certainty about what your price is going to be. If you are not on a plan the price changes regularly and there’s no way to know what the price is going to be. The price goes up and down but it generally goes up. Perhaps when you signed the deal the initial price was equal or less than the default price but the very next day the default price drops briefly and goes below the price you signed up for. The salesperson has no way to predict this. The only question is, what is the price likely to be five years down the road? All that matters is that you should know what price you sign up for and be comfortable that this is a reasonable price to pay on average over the next five years. I truly hope that everyone with a legitimate problem is able to resolve it and that everyone I signed up in 2006 eventually saves. Thanks.
Check this out
January 21, 2009
OEB Issues Order for Administrative Penalty to Universal Energy Corporation for Contraventions of the Ontario Energy Board Act
Toronto – Yesterday the Ontario Energy Board issued an order pursuant to section 112.5 of the Ontario Energy Board Act,1998 (the “Act”) that Universal Energy Corporation pay an administrative penalty in the amount of $127,500.00. Contracts with consumers who were subject to non-compliant practices have been cancelled and those consumers have been reimbursed.
Universal has provided the Board with an assurance of voluntary compliance, under Section 112.7 of the Act. The actions that Universal have agreed to in the voluntary assurance are now mandatory and a failure to comply with these requirements would be a breach of their licence obligations. Universal has agreed to the following:
* Any low-volume consumer who was supplied electricity or natural gas during the period from March 2007 to May 2008 may request a review of their contract. If they are now found to have been subject to similar contraventions, they may request cancellation of their contract without penalty and be provided reimbursement.
* Universal has agreed to conduct quality assurance audits of its reaffirmation calls and to provide a report
BBB Definition:
report – A summary of activity reflected in a company’s BBB file. Includes basic business background, BBB Accreditation information, and BBB complaint activity over the previous three years. Also reports may include any known government actions, advertising issues
BBB Definition:
advertising issues – Claims alleging print or electronic media advertised claims or practices misrepresent the service or product offer.
or other information that results from activity conducted by BBB.
to the Board’s Compliance Office with the results of those audits.
* Universal will provide a quarterly report
BBB Definition:
report – A summary of activity reflected in a company’s BBB file. Includes basic business background, BBB Accreditation information, and BBB complaint activity over the previous three years. Also reports may include any known government actions, advertising issues
BBB Definition:
advertising issues – Claims alleging print or electronic media advertised claims or practices misrepresent the service or product offer.
or other information that results from activity conducted by BBB.
to the Board’s Compliance Office regarding any disciplinary action taken with reaffirmation agents as a result of its quality assurance audits.
* Universal will provide the Board’s Compliance Office with a copy of their reaffirmation scripts and all other materials used by reaffirmation agents for a period of 18 months.
The funds received by the Board will be used to support activities that are in the public interest.
The Board’s order is available at http://www.oeb.gov.on.ca.
A Notice of Intention to make an Order for an Administrative Penalty was issued against Universal on January 5, 2009. Universal was notified that the Ontario Energy Board, on its own motion, intended to make an Order under subsection 112.5 of the Act requiring
Universal to pay an administrative penalty for contravening certain enforceable provisions of the Act.
The Ontario Energy Board regulates the province’s electricity and natural gas sectors in the public interest. It envisions a viable and efficient energy sector with informed consumers served by responsive regulation that is effective, fair and transparent.
For more information on the Board, please visit our Web site at http://www.oeb.gov.on.ca or contact the Consumer Relations Centre at 416-314-2455 or toll-free at 1-877-632-2727.
-30-
For more information please contact:
Eric Pelletier
Ontario Energy Board
(416) 440-7685
Ce document est aussi disponible en français.
[...] Get out of the UE Scam [...]