Caught on camera: Electric supplier sales rep makes questionable statements. Are they true? - WGAL Susquehanna Valley Pa.

How to avoid getting your electric supplier switched without your consent

Caught on camera: Electric supplier sales rep makes questionable statements. Are they true?

A knock on your door and an offer to switch your electric supplier: Falling rates mean more suppliers are likely coming to your door.

A switch could save you money, but it could also make you a target for misleading sales pitches.

In a News 8 On Your Side investigation, we have a doorbell camera video showing one example of this pressure to switch. Watching it could help protect you.

"I'm Carly from Inspire here checking up on the statewide PPL notice. No one responded from the home, so we've been sent out," said a woman who claimed she was with Inspire Energy, one of more than 130 licensed electric suppliers in Pennsylvania.

Her statement is questionable because PPL doesn't serve the entire state, and PPL doesn't send representatives to customers' homes.

"OK, you guys, since you haven't responded, this home has been forced into the dirty energy category, and your home is not a state regulation," the sales rep said.

Inspire Energy does market its energy supply as 100% renewable clean energy.

But according to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, there is no such thing as a "dirty energy" category for residential electric customers.

"I'm so ashamed. We're in the dirty energy category. I mean, what's that and how do you get there? But she said it was because we had not responded to this statewide notification," homeowner Lyn Galiote said.

Galiote may have been amused by the dirty energy comment, but she was not amused by this request made at the front door of her Cumberland County home.

"OK. Real quick, go ahead and grab one of those old paper copies. It doesn't have to be the most recent. I'm trying to look on the back and make sure that you are still being affected by the generation and transmission charges," the sales rep said.

Every electric customer is affected by generation and transmission charges. Those are charges you can't shop for or change. So, it's a mystery as to why the representative would have wanted to see those charges.

That's when Galiote had enough.

"I don't think we need you to look at our electric bill," she told the woman.

"My fear was that she was going take the account number off of it and switch our energy provider," Galiote said.

After being denied the bill several times, the sales representative walked away.

"Well, have fun with the extra charges," the rep said.

Switching a customer's electric supplier without their consent is known as slamming. The PUC said it's been receiving complaints about it dating back many years. All a person showing up at your door needs to do is get your account number from your electric bill and then they can switch your supplier.

News 8 contacted Inspire Energy with some of the statements the sales rep made on camera.

In a written statement, Inspire told News 8 On Your Side the woman was a third-party representative, and "no part of what the third party sales representative communicated is aligned with our sales training. This messaging is in total violation of our policies and procedures."

Inspire said sales reps are paid through a commission structure. But Inspire said they are not incentivized to mislead customers.

News 8 contacted the third-party marketing agency that employed the sales rep and she no longer works for the company.

News 8 on Your Side has heard a growing number of complaints about other supplier reps going door to door this spring, so remember: It's your choice to switch. Never show your electric bill to anyone until you make the final decision to switch suppliers.

If you do switch, know the regulations companies have to follow.

- The representative should always display an identification badge.
- Get copies of anything you sign.
- And most importantly – if you do sign an agreement in your home, you have three days to cancel that agreement.

Related video below: How to shop for electric rates