Skokie Woman's Energy Bill Triples With Third-Party Supplier

SKOKIE, IL — A local woman says her energy bill tripled after signing up for a third-party supplier. A door-to-door salesperson promised Tamekia Hampton she could get a lower rate on her gas bill if she signed up for fixed rate billing from an unspecified company, WLS reported. But that's not what happened.

Hampton, a mother of two from Skokie, was told the fixed price would be lower than what Nicor Gas would charge, but it turned out the alternative natural gas supplier was charging her between two and three times as much as her original bill, according to WLS. The company eventually released Hampton from a contract and she has since returned to getting her gas from Nicor.

"I felt like I should have been smarter than that," Hampton told the station. "I let my guard down and I will know never to do that again."

The Better Business Bureau told WLS it has received 626 complaints about deceptive practices and price gouging from third-party energy suppliers. The Citizen's Utility Board reported it gets an average of one complaint a day, with complaints about alternative electric and natural gas suppliers among the most common.

According to the Illinois Attorney General's Office, Illinois consumers who signed up for alternative retail electric suppliers paid over $600 million in additional costs than those who stuck with their public utilities. Third-party companies engage in misleading marketing and take advantage of consumers in low-income neighborhoods, the office said.

The Illinois Commerce Commission does not regulate prices of third-party suppliers, but third-party suppliers are bound by a code of conduct involving business practices, according to a statement provided to WLS from Nicor.

According to the ICC, the companies that received the highest number of complaints from consumers from November 2018 to April 2019, the most recent data available, were Spark Energy, LLC, National Gas & Electric, RPA Energy Inc. and Great American Power LLC.

Illinois consumers may file a complaint with the Citizen's Utility Board or the Illinois Commerce Commission.

See the number of complaints lodged against each supplier with the Illinois Commerce Commission »

Sales representatives working for third-party suppliers are often paid on commission. According to the Citizen's Utility Board, when customers stuck with horrible rates threaten to cancel, representatives try to entice the customer to stay with limited-time offers that leave them vulnerable to skyrocketing rates.

A new state law takes effect in January aimed at protecting consumers from getting ripped off by alternative retail electric and gas suppliers. It's called the Home Energy Affordability and Transparency, or HEAT, Act.

"Alternative retail suppliers have gotten rich at the expense of consumers who are struggling save money on their energy bills," Jehan Gordon-Booth, who sponsored the measure in the Illinois House, said in a release after the bill's passage earlier this year. The Peoria Democrat said the law protects vulnerable communities and people of color from being used to pad the pockets of suppliers. "This is the toughest and strongest consumer protection law against this industry and can serve as a model for other states," she said.

The Citizen's Utility Board provided a statement to WLS saying stories of working families and seniors on fixed incomes being "ripped off by alternative suppliers" were common.

"We stress to everyone that in this market the regulated utility is your best bet," it said. "We repeat: Be warned, it's likely that you will lose money with an alternative supplier."

See the latest prices for regulated energy companies and receive a gas and electric guide from the Citizen's Utility Board »