Submitted by ConsciousMinded t3_108mz4l in pittsburgh

2 people just showed up at my door that said that they were from a company associated with Shell (I forget the name) that provides to Duquesne Light and said that my next door neighbor complained that there was a variable that showed up on their bill. They asked me if I had this variable on a certain page of my energy bill, just a yes or no. They didn't ask for the bill itself. My SO handles that bill so I had no idea. Didn't even know where the bill is in my place and told them I had no idea. They said they were going to have to come back out again in a month and ask again. And just asked for my first name and I gave them that and nothing else. Was this the setup for a scam? I have no idea.

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Update: I spoke with another neighbor that I saw speaking with them and got a little more information. The 2 people said that they were from Aspire, and are under Shell. They asked my neighbor how many lines there were on her bill. She told them the number of lines, and the people said they they had 2 suppliers on their bill. My neighbor looked at her bill and noticed that was correct, they did have 2 suppliers. They asked my neighbor for more information and my neighbor told them no and that they were going to contact Duquesne Light tomorrow. The people said that my neighbors were going to be ending up paying more for their gas and they could end up with 4 providers on their next bill. The people said that they were going to be back to them as well and then left. Some other information is that they were not wearing any badges and when my neighbor asked for one, one showed them it on their phone. They were both wearing shirts with an energy company on them.

I agree with a lot of you that this just feels scammy. Why would they not just directly ask Duquesne Light for the data? None of us thankfully gave any sensitive information.

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Update Update: They showed up back at my door again. It's Inspire energy. Never heard of them before until today when I started looking them up on this subreddit. From what I'm gathering here, It's one of those companies that tries to switch you over to their rates which start off low at first and then they jack them up later on so you end up paying more. I don't know what this guy was going on about with a variable on my bill but I just shut him down this time. He said someone will be back out again in a month. I'm just not answering the door anymore unless I know I'm expecting someone.

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Comments

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Asleep_Heron2179 t1_j3tblvv wrote

SCAM. BE CAREFUL OPENING THE DOOR

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TiesThrei t1_j3xqqx4 wrote

Seriously, shit like this is why no one answers their door now.

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UnaffiliatedOpinion t1_j3t9ds6 wrote

Almost certainly a scam. Duquesne Light keeps their own records of what they're billing you. Even on the (extremely unlikely) chance that it was not a scam, there's no good reason for them to be going door to door harassing customers instead of checking their own billing records.

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The001Keymaster t1_j3tcoym wrote

Scam. Even if it's a legit energy company what they do is bait and switch. They sign you up for say a year. They say if you don't like it you can cancel. The rate is low compared to your other supplier. Then surprise a couple months later the rate is double the original supplier. You can cancel but there's like a 400 cancel fee. So you either pay the fee or pay double electric bills for the rest of the contract.

So even if it's not an illegal scam, it's still a con to screw you out of money legally.

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tesla3by3 t1_j3tr18h wrote

Switching electric suppliers is a legit thing, and can save you a bit of money, or get you renewable/green power if that's important.
But the way to do it is to go to this website. https://www.papowerswitch.com. Just tell the solicitor that's how you choose your energy supplier. They may claim they have a lower rate than the web site is showing, but I guarantee you it's like $.001 /kWh.
Even at the website, watch out for:
--variable rates (they could rize quickly)
--cancellation fees
--fixed rate for X months (after which the rates skyrocket)
--monthly fees above the rate per kWh
Best approach is to find a good rate that allows you to switch with no cancellation fees, or a very short term, and keep track of the rates. If you're not willing to keep track of it, your best bet is stick with the default supplier from DLC. Those rates are regulated by the PUC.

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n4kmu4y t1_j3vpxoj wrote

Yes, suppliers canvas neighborhoods annually with reps to enlist subscribers. Feels like a scam to many because of the door to door tactic.

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DavidO_Pgh t1_j3tpkju wrote

I worked for DLC in the area of electric suppliers. Normally I would say anyone coming to your door is a scam. But after some research this could be legit.

The company name is Inspire, not Aspire.

Their rates at PaPowerSwitch.com are competitive with DLC's default rate while offering their power from 100% renewable sources.

They offer fixed rates for various terms with no fees, which mean if you find a cheaper rate later you can always cancel.

Bottom line: Inspire Energy is not a scam and their rates are competitive But I can't say for sure the person coming to your door is offering the same deal you can get online.

https://www.papowerswitch.com/shop-for-electricity/shop-for-your-home/

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[deleted] t1_j3x1eb1 wrote

[deleted]

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CARLEtheCamry t1_j3y78t9 wrote

What they're banking in is that you switch and never notice when the promo period expires, just like most 0% financing offers, or gym memberships.

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DavidO_Pgh t1_j3yhciv wrote

Our group didn't have all the data but did a rough analysis and concluded most people were spending the same or more than the default rate.

DLC bids out the default rate throughout the year so it might not be the absolute cheapest, it's pretty competitive.

I would save about $10/month when I would switch after the introductory rate.

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JuliaX1984 t1_j3tgbcn wrote

A good rule of thumb: genuine official business is always conducted in writing. Phone calls and visits don't create a paper trail. They can't be saved in a file. So people who are owed and are trying to collect money for a legitimate reason or trying to sell a legitimate product or make contact about a legitimate legal matter send letters.

Obviously, parties like your doctor or plumber or personal lawyer or employer will call you because they're calling about matters that can be handled quickly and don't implicate legal rights or obligations. But if someone you've never spoken with before calls you or knocks on your door, unless they're in uniform with ID, tell them nothing except to send you a letter.

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ricksebak t1_j3tbczv wrote

I don’t know this specific company but those vendors aren’t usually a scam, per se. They represent a legitimate electric company who will legitimately provide electric to you if you sign up.

They also often use deceptive and high pressure sales tactics like you described. I personally doubt that they could ever be the most optimal choice for who you buy electricity from, because door to door sales people are very expensive and the cost of those sales people is baked into the cost of electricity, if you bought from them.

I always just cut them off and say “no thanks”, or better yet, don’t randomly answer the door.

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TiesThrei t1_j3xrdsq wrote

Yes they are providing a legitimate service, but if they were on the level as far as service quality and pricing then they wouldn't need to show up at your door unannounced.

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DizzyTip5141 t1_j3u33id wrote

The same company was going door to door in my apartment complex a couple of months ago. There was a small van with the company logo parked and a group of 20 somethings unloaded. The guy that came to my door seemed nice enough at first, but I told him I wasn’t interested and he became a bit pushy and saying things like “you don’t trust me” and he needed this for “credit”. I stayed firm with my no after that, felt off to me.

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JAK3CAL t1_j3w0mhf wrote

Don’t even need to finish reading, scam

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[deleted] t1_j3tbnjy wrote

I had a rep for an energy company show up at my door. Pro tip: say you don't have time right now and you're waiting on a food delivery, which is why you answered the door. It was true in this instance, and it worked to politely get them to leave!

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StarWars_and_SNL t1_j3tkyj0 wrote

Nowadays it’s safe to write off any door to door sales outside of Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts as scams. You aren’t missing out on anything even if it is legit. Their services will be available through other mediums.

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LoveMyFuckingLife t1_j3u1dsg wrote

Don’t give them any info. They’ll ask to see your electric bill, they’ll take the info off of your bill and switch your supplier. This happened to one of my neighbors. Tell them no thank you and close the doors.

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ventorun t1_j3tq7ia wrote

Why would you think that it isn’t a scam? Because people trying to save you money ALWAYS randomly show up at your door.

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nonames003 t1_j3u1ls7 wrote

This happen to me today as well. At around 3 pm they came. I never answer my door I just open a window and ask what people want. They said my neighbor Rebecca’s bill had to line items. I just said get off my porch. The only reason I answered is bc people keep randomly trying to open my front door. They are confusing my house with my neighbors. Then I was coming back to my house after picking my husband up from work at 7 pm and they were on the corner of my street. There is a total of 12 houses. They are weird and annoying.

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Ryan1006 t1_j3wlut5 wrote

Yep had them come to my door about four/five months ago, didn’t realize it was a scam until my wife overheard them asking me to see our bills, she had gotten them when she answered the door earlier in the year.
Don’t even let them finish the first sentence next time before telling them never to come back and closing the door in their faces.

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Upbeat_Estimate1501 t1_j3wpb6g wrote

It's Inspire. Not a scam, though I think the tactics their door to door sales people and those in stores use are scummy and aggressive as they're commissions based sales people.

I signed up on my own after doing research on a wholly unrelated front into renewable energy and trying to figure out the best sources. Wind is kinda it, especially for renters, so I signed up by myself. Have never dealt with their door to door people as a result. Never any problems, my electricity is budgeted and averaged annually, and I honestly have only had only one minor outage in the last year of storms I think, maybe during one of the summer ones. Not a scam, just avoid their sales people. If you want to do good for the environment and can't shell out for solar panels etc. it's worth looking into.

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TiesThrei t1_j3xqcb1 wrote

Good general practice is to not give anybody who shows up at your door unannounced an account number to anything anywhere, no matter how harmless it may seem. Edit: Don't let them look at your bill either.

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Rice_cake_fiasco t1_j3y876r wrote

Put a No Soliciting sticker on your door. We used to get a lot of door knockers several years ago but ever since I put the sticker on, no one’s come knocking.

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puppy_fan t1_j3tx69c wrote

I think Inspire bought out Peoples Gas, because that sounds like the people I got a letter from about 4-5 months ago. I should take a look at my bill to see if I can get any better prices. Usually I just suck it up and pay.

I'm 99% sure somebody posted about Inspire in the last year, I'd do a search through this subreddit.

EDIT: Looks like it was Interstate Gas, which still sounds incredibly generic and "possibly" a scam.

Interstate Gas Supply, Inc Current Charges $90.12

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GargantuanWitch t1_j3tmtrp wrote

It's not a scam, but a sales tactic that still works wonderfully well here, considering we have a large population of elderly people/redditors.

Can't be scammed if you never open the door!

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