This is the third time in one day that someone called me asking to speak to the one who is in charge of the Con Edison bill. The first thought that probably enters your mind is that Con Edison is calling because you didn’t pay your bill. If you are naive or gullible enough, you may also believe that Con Edison is so nice and kind that they have decided to offer you a discount.
However, chances are that the call is not from them at all, but rather from a company that is trying to get you to select them as your energy provider. They will tell you that you can save lots of money if you purchase the energy directly through them and you will still be billed by Con Edison. This is all legal and sounds great. No, it’s not an MLM or Ponzi scheme. Since we all want to save money, why not take them up on their great offer?
However, there is something you may want to consider before making the change. After everything is said, and done, will you actually be saving any money? Is their service as good? Is there a sign up fee, and what’s their cancellation fee if you are not satisfied?
Some people tell me that after they signed with their new company, their bill was much higher than before. When they called them to terminate their contract they were told that it would cost $80 and it would take from 30-45 days to do so or they were told that they would have to wait till their 1 year contract expired if they didn’t want to pay the cancellation fee.
Some people complained that customer service was horrible and they were given the royal run around.
Another thing they fail to tell you is that Con Edison will still charge you for what they call a delivery price, since they are still the ones who deliver the power, read your meter, and bill you on behalf of the new company. If you add up all these extra charges, you may find that not only will you not save money, but you may be paying more than before.
The callers are usually people trying to earn an extra buck and they are paid a commission based on how many people they are able to sign up. They may not give you all this important information. They also make money when they get others to sign up. Many people are working to make some extra money, and this is why you may be getting so many calls.
These companies often try to recruit people to become a “company representative” and make calls for the company. To become a company representative, you usually will have to pay a sign-up fee of a hundred or more dollars. Often, these representatives find out that because there are so many people calling and many of the fish out there don’t bite the bait they put out for them, the pitcher of milk they carry on their heads may fall and spill and they will wind up losing their sign-up fee. To see how easy or difficult it is to make a sale, just try calling some people and ask them if they are willing to change energy providers. If they all say yes, then perhaps it’s something you may want to consider.
Now that you know the story, you can make a wise decision. Just remember that knowledge consists of knowing a fact, while wisdom means knowing what to do with that fact, and that I’ll leave to you.