There have been several reports of door-to-door solicitors posing as NOPEC employees in several Northeast Ohio communities this Spring. NOPEC NEVER goes door-to-door or calls residents or small businesses to enroll them into their natural gas or electric aggregation programs. If your community is a member of NOPEC and you are eligible to join the aggregation, you will be notified by mail only and enrollment is easy and automatic.
“Because the majority of households in NOPEC member communities are enrolled in the aggregation program, some for-profit energy suppliers have been known to use nefarious, deceptive sales tactics to try and lure our residents and small businesses into their programs, often with costly consequences,” said Chuck Keiper, NOPEC’s Executive Director. “From the reports we’re receiving about these incidents, these door-to-door solicitors can be aggressive and often target the elderly population and try to confuse them in order to capture their utility account information and slam them into bad deals. NOPEC NEVER goes door-to-door or calls customers to enroll them,” Keiper explained.
If someone knocks on your door posing as a NOPEC employee during normal business hours, ask for a business card or capture as much information as you can (company name, solicitor’s name, a phone number, copy of any paperwork/brochures they offer you, make, color and license plate number of car, etc.) and call city hall to report them. You also can call the PUCO call center at 800-686-7826 to report suspicious activity. After normal business hours, call NOPEC’s Customer Care Center at 855-667-3201, 24 hours, 7 days a week to report the encounter. NOPEC will notify your community officials and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) of this illegal activity. AND REMEMBER, NEVER SHARE YOUR UTILITY BILL OR ACCOUNT INFORMATION WITH ANYONE THAT COMES KNOCKING ON YOUR DOOR OR CONTACTS YOU UNPROMPTED.
