Free Market Energy == SCAM

[Joe Shlabotnik]

You want to know why I have a problem with Libertarianism and GOP market driven solutions?

I am up here in NY helping put my mother's finances in order. She gets her utilities via Rochester Gas and Electric. Except that her electricity is bought through a company called Family Energy and she just got a renewal notice from them for a year at 7.79 cents kw/H. Called up RG&E to ask whats this all about, I thought you were the electricity and gas company?

The guy says its an 'open' market in NY and you can choose from 80-some companies. WTF? How much is RG&E's? 4 cents a kw/H.

Son of a [expletive]. I ask the guy at RG&E when that happened? He says he doesn't know but she was probably offered a deal from someone going door to door. I ask my mom - she has no idea and doesn't remember signing up for electricity from anyone.

Its complete [expletive] to let the predators in to something like the local utility. It ends up coming via RG&E anyway.

JUst like what the market is doing to health care, student loans, and what it did to mortgages 10 years ago.

Everything is a [expletive] scam. Libertarianism is just another word for people getting screwed by those with no conscience and no morals.

[expletive] that.

[lukethedrifter]

Totally unrelated except with regards to taking advantage of older people:

One of those Iowa Steaks [expletive] sold my alzheimiers-afflicted stepfather so many steaks they were sitting on his counter. Fortunately before I could find the guy and whoop his ass, my mom got ahold of the company and they came back and picked them up.

[Swirls]

Those companies are terrible.

http://www.energypluscompany.com/aadvantage/choice/

What's even worse is those free market energy companies do [expletive] like the above link to lure you in as a frequent flyer mile hobbyist. You can just google the company name and add "scam" to the end and read all sorts of horror stories.

I know several people that have done this, and all have the same complaint. They do initially lower your supply bill significantly - like 1c or 2c/kW-hr - but only for the first few months you're a customer. Then all of a sudden you check your bill and the price has tripled or quadrupled per Kw-hr, and you call to ask what's going on with your bill. They reply with some such nonsense about it being a free market economy and that the variable rate you signed up for and are now being charged is simply indicative of the current prices. So you ask to cancel your contract and revert back to your original electric/gas company. They either tell you, "Sorry, you have a one year contract and will have to pay $XXX as an early termination penalty" or, "Sure, we'd be happy to terminate your service. However, it does take a while for this change in service to get transferred back to the original provider. Until then, in order to ensure you continue to receive electricity/natural gas, you'll continue to be billed through us."

So anywhere from 2-4 months later, you are finally back to your original provider.

It's annoying as hell. [expletive] money grabbing assbags.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

This is my one worry with the idea to do the same to internet access, where the government owns the pipe and providers sell access to it. Competing on features can quickly turn into aggressively selling to the point of confusion and dishonesty.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Thank God I came to visit when that renewal happened to come. Now that my sister and I are on all her bills we'd have seen it eventually but it looks pretty harmless on the utility bill too.
It so pisses me off.

[IMADreamer]

This is happening in Illinois too. I don't know how many people have hit me up to sign up for (insert company no one has heard of.) why would I buy my electricity from anyone other than the person producing it and servicing the lines? It's stupid.

[Leroy]

You're all morans. I don't have to worry about small change [expletive] like this because I have a huge check coming from some prince in Africa I guess is my second cousin.

[Tim]

You want to know why I have a problem with Libertarianism and GOP market driven solutions?

I am up here in NY helping put my mother's finances in order. She gets her utilities via Rochester Gas and Electric. Except that her electricity is bought through a company called Family Energy and she just got a renewal notice from them for a year at 7.79 cents kw/H. Called up RG&E to ask whats this all about, I thought you were the electricity and gas company?

The guy says its an 'open' market in NY and you can choose from 80-some companies. WTF? How much is RG&E's? 4 cents a kw/H.

Son of a [expletive]. I ask the guy at RG&E when that happened? He says he doesn't know but she was probably offered a deal from someone going door to door. I ask my mom - she has no idea and doesn't remember signing up for electricity from anyone.

Its complete [expletive] to let the predators in to something like the local utility. It ends up coming via RG&E anyway.

JUst like what the market is doing to health care, student loans, and what it did to mortgages 10 years ago.

Everything is a [expletive] scam. Libertarianism is just another word for people getting screwed by those with no conscience and no morals.

[expletive] that.

I am confused (not a surprise). So, does your mother get the chance to switch to the cheaper provider? I am honestly asking. We don't have this option in SC.

[Tim]

I have a different take (not a surprise) with increase in college tuition.
With guaranteed government student loans, which incentive is there for colleges to keep tuition low?

[Joe Shlabotnik]

You want to know why I have a problem with Libertarianism and GOP market driven solutions?

I am up here in NY helping put my mother's finances in order. She gets her utilities via Rochester Gas and Electric. Except that her electricity is bought through a company called Family Energy and she just got a renewal notice from them for a year at 7.79 cents kw/H. Called up RG&E to ask whats this all about, I thought you were the electricity and gas company?

The guy says its an 'open' market in NY and you can choose from 80-some companies. WTF? How much is RG&E's? 4 cents a kw/H.

Son of a [expletive]. I ask the guy at RG&E when that happened? He says he doesn't know but she was probably offered a deal from someone going door to door. I ask my mom - she has no idea and doesn't remember signing up for electricity from anyone.

Its complete [expletive] to let the predators in to something like the local utility. It ends up coming via RG&E anyway.

JUst like what the market is doing to health care, student loans, and what it did to mortgages 10 years ago.

Everything is a [expletive] scam. Libertarianism is just another word for people getting screwed by those with no conscience and no morals.

[expletive] that.

I am confused (not a surprise). So, does your mother get the chance to switch to the cheaper provider? I am honestly asking. We don't have this option in SC.

Yes, she has a choice every two years apparently. And we took advantage of it to go back to the utility itself.