# Door to door electricity scammers. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 30, 2015, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087 "2015-09-30T22:32:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087/61 "2015-11-30T22:03:04Z")
LOL. There are two things that make this more than a minor issue for me. Where I live doesn’t have pleasant ding-dong doorbells. It a LOUD buzzer that can’t be ignored, and I work from home and am often in Skype or Google hangout with coworkers. The other thing is that I kind of make my own hours, so I am sometimes up late working and then sleep in in the morning. Being woken up by these idiots, then having to go to the door in a robe when they won’t stop buzzing, is not a pleasant experience. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087/62 "2015-11-30T22:17:31Z")
I wonder if I can sue this outfit. They’re driving me over the edge with this nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087/63 "2015-11-30T22:22:08Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > LOL. > > Being woken up by these idiots, then having to go to the door in a robe when they won’t stop buzzing, is not a pleasant experience. So skip the robe. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087/64 "2015-11-30T22:46:48Z")
I don’t think the downstairs neighbors would enjoy that. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087/65 "2015-11-30T23:36:27Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > So skip the robe. > [@davidm](#): > > I don’t think the downstairs neighbors would enjoy that. Rule 34. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087/66 "2015-12-01T08:14:30Z")
Paging **Master Wang-Ka**! ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087/67 "2015-12-01T08:53:59Z")
> [@The\_Vorlon](#): > > Paging **Master Wang-Ka**! I don’t think chasing one of these people down the street with a broadsword would be a good idea. In any case I don’t own a sword. I also don’t think it would stop the problem. Threatening an especially persistent one with the police scared him off but it didn’t stop another one from showing up a couple of days later. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087/68 "2015-12-01T14:17:30Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I don’t think chasing one of these people down the street with a broadsword would be a good idea. In any case I don’t own a sword. > > I also don’t think it would stop the problem. Threatening an especially persistent one with the police scared him off but it didn’t stop another one from showing up a couple of days later. That’s what the head on a stake is for. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087/69 "2015-12-01T15:35:47Z")
We had this happening in central Ohio where I used to live. When they came around I found it worked to laugh at them and inform them I worked for the power company. They didn’t keep asking questions. (I didn’t get a discount or anything, but I had inside information and phone numbers for outages. I also knew what the creeps were up to.) Can your current utility company do anything, or will them getting involved make it worse? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087/70 "2015-12-01T21:02:47Z")
Everybody tells me that I can file a complaint against the company that’s doing it. That requires these people telling me the name of the company. All they’ll say is that they’re “from the light company”. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087/71 "2015-12-01T21:33:42Z")
“The Light Company” could very well be who these bozos work for. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087/72 "2015-12-01T21:37:05Z")
Reading this thread has probably marked the first time I’ve ever been happy that I live in a state that provides legal monopolies to public utilities. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087/73 "2015-12-01T22:35:56Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > “The Light Company” could very well be who these bozos work for. Somehow I don’t think so. For one thing, these people are always evasive and “the light company” sounds like an evasive answer. Also, when I google “the light company” all I get are electrical contractors and photography studios. [https://www.google.com/search?q=“The+Light+Company”&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22The+Light+Company%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8) And when I search here under my zip, none of the choices are “The Light Company”. [https://www.chooseenergy.com/shop/residential/electricity/PA/19401/peco-pa/](https://www.chooseenergy.com/shop/residential/electricity/PA/19401/peco-pa/) ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087/74 "2015-12-01T22:40:04Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > That’s what the head on a stake is for. Maybe I could carve little heads on the “No Soliciting” sign, and hang the same number of clipboards on a vine next to the door. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087/75 "2015-12-22T18:42:34Z")
I’ve had two visits from these people since posting the “No Soliciting” sign. The last one was a few moments ago. The buzzer rang, and thinking it was an expected Christmas gift delivery I put my shoes on and headed for the apartment door to head down the steps to the front door. I was barely out of the apartment when I heard a shout: “It’s the light company. We have permission from your landlord, she said that we could come in the building.” (My landlord is a he, not a she.) I shouted back, “do you see that no soliciting sign? It means what it says”. He responded “I have permission from the owner of the property”. I told him to go away and that I did not want to talk to him, at which point he said “I will take it up with the landlord” and left. Now I suppose that it’s conceivable that they contacted my landlord and asked if they could speak to me about my electricity bill. I doubt it but it’s conceivable. And I would imagine that someone presented with such a question would think “I can’t stop someone from speaking with my tenants” and say “sure, why not?” But I’d bet money that that is not what happened, especially since they called him “she”, and he’s a widower who lives alone. Of course he also called me ma’am (and I promise you, no one in their right senses would make that mistake), so who knows? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087/76 "2015-12-22T20:05:48Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Somehow I don’t think so. For one thing, these people are always evasive and “the light company” sounds like an evasive answer. Also, when I google “the light company” all I get are electrical contractors and photography studios. > ["The Light Company" - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22The+Light+Company%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8) > > And when I search here under my zip, none of the choices are “The Light Company”. > [https://www.chooseenergy.com/shop/residential/electricity/PA/19401/peco-pa/](https://www.chooseenergy.com/shop/residential/electricity/PA/19401/peco-pa/) My thinking is that the bozos don’t really work for any electricity provider but rather some outfit called “The Light Company” which has been contracted by a real electricity provider attempting to muscle in on the big boy(s) in your area. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087/77 "2015-12-23T10:46:24Z")
In the last two months, my mother has gotten three visits from people claiming to be from the gas company. There’s no gas in the building at all: all the kitchens are electric and they have a central furnace for water and heating… She says she feels tempted to make them walk in and waste time, but won’t in case they’re not only conmen but also casing homes. I had a visit claiming to be from the electric company when I was at Grandma’s. I explained I wasn’t the contract holder and that said person wouldn’t be reachable. One of them got pissy “we are working here!” “so was I until you interrupted.” _clack_ ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087/78 "2015-12-23T15:51:28Z")
I don’t understand why they keep coming back when I’ve made it more than clear that I’m not going to talk to them. What are they gaining from continuing to harass me? There’s no profit in it for them. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087/79 "2015-12-24T00:05:31Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > I’ve had two at my door over the last year or so. I’ve found the nicest way to make them just shut up and go is to tell them “I already have an alternative provider contract.” Since they know damn well those contracts are set in stone and nearly impossible to back out of until they expire, they have nothing to push at me any more, simply say thanks and leave. It depends. I had one of these guys come by my place when i lived in NYC. They pretended that tey were offering the same product for less money. They were lying. Your electricity bill is divided into two parts. Generation and wheeling. Generation is the cost of generating the power. Wheeling the the cost of getting the power from the generator to your outlet. The door to door folks will only sell you power generation. There is still a monopoly on wheeling. They will offer you a price that is higher than your current power cost but less than the combined cost of power plus wheeling and they will pretend that you are saving money. When you discover the scam, they will try to hold you to an agreement that they procured through fraud. Fortunately, NY had a look see rule that lets you back out of these contracts during the look see period. Competition reduces prices but frankly the guys that sell power door to door aren’t really generating any power to compete with. They are merely buying power from other mostly already existing generators at wholesale and trying to make a profit. The margins are minscule unless you scam the customer. So most of these guys are scammers that try to bully you into a bad contract and then bully you into keeping it. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087/80 "2015-12-24T02:23:11Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > … > Competition reduces prices but frankly the guys that sell power door to door aren’t really generating any power to compete with. They are merely buying power from other mostly already existing generators at wholesale and trying to make a profit. The margins are minscule unless you scam the customer. So most of these guys are scammers that try to bully you into a bad contract and then bully you into keeping it. Which is why I’ve given up trying to be polite. I almost think that they’re continuing to harass me figuring that I’ll eventually sign anything just to make them stop. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/door-to-door-electricity-scammers/733087.md?page=5)