Howdy,

I got it the bum!  I was mislead and signed up.  But realy, was it me being mislead or just stupid!  Hey, someone shows up at your house trying to save you money......sounds great!  But stupid me, I did not look into it, I had no time.  Next thing you know my bill is $200.00 more (billed every 2 months) and I am screaming!  I called and they informed me in a nice way that I am stuck in a 5 year contract. ($100 for 60 months give or take: a total loss of around $6000) I looked into it with my lawyer and she said that I signed a leagle binding contract.  I was SCREWED.  But, I did pick it up during the first billing period and cancelled.  I had to pay $780 in cancelation fees.  It was a $780 learning experience that I will never do again! 

But realy, whos fault was it?  It was totally mine!  I did not educate myself, I was thinking I would save some money.  BUYER BEWARE! 

Now that you have read this, please send me money for educating you! haha

And when they show up at your door.  Tell them "hold on while I look for my bill", shut the door, dial 911 and say that there are crooks, robbers at your doors and you need help.  SEND POLICE!  

Eduacation is the best way to avoiding getting bent over the barrel!

Pissed off and educated Hydro consumer!

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Did you know that there is already many alternatives to providing efficient low cost energy available on the market today. Let's say that the deregulation of energy in all it's forms of delivery is open to the free market which is is now anyways. what's saying that not every 20th or 30th business will not be it's own provider and or distributor of energy to an open market as a venture interest. Like the technology industry that can give you a cell phone as little as 10 dolars because the market is so SATURATED already.

I can't believe this lot are in Canada now. I worked for them in the UK and I know how much they are out to con you. Don't trust them. They even had me dressed in a fashion that made me look like a workman as opposed to salesman, torch and all, but we were salesmen all right. I got out of that job and have tried to raise the awareness of their antics. I even had contact with the BBC when their 'Watchdog' consumer rights programme done a piece on them. Keep your door closed to such people unless you have specially invited them to your home.

um, the company is Canadian not British. Trashing them for what they do is fine, but blaming them for the actions of some other company at a time before the company likely even existed, exemplifies and typifies whats wrong with this thread.

Read their quarterly reports, they aren't and never been in Europe.

Hey retard,

I know I can't spell but don't try to convince us that this company runs thing in a proper manner! 

Educating people will put them out of business!

But for know there are people like me................

I'm in the process of trying to get two bogus "agreements" trashed. Universal Energy is one and Summitt Energy is the other. Both blatantly mislead my spouse with promises of non-committment. Then they made re-affirmation calls that were cleverly worded again to sound non-committal. I'm a businessman myself and we would never use these tactics on our customers.

If you have signed up with these crooks, you can cancel within ten days without penalty. This is mandated by the BCUC. The reason they say they will call you back in ten days is so you have to pay the huge cancellation fee. DO NOT LET THEM CALL YOU BACK, MAKE SURE YOU CANCEL THEN AND THERE.

Terasen has a bunch of information relating to door-to-door gas salesmen (see here and here).

The main rule that you should always follow:

Wow, now don't I feel idiotic?

I worked for UEC for awhile, not even realizing there was such a scam involved. They really keep you in the dark--shady with both the 'customer' at the door and their employees.

Honestly, a lot of the 'salespeople' screw people over intentionally, they lie (albeit pretty much all the uppermanagement scam people intentionally), and will do anything for the 'sale' because they're so damn money hungry. It's disgusting.

But, like me, there's a small pocket of employees who don't know what they're getting into. They don't even REALIZE they're scamming people (some of them). Call it weak-minded, maybe, but it happens.

For instance; the one post I read about the guy having multiple people in one day and wanting to call the cops on harassment? Blame the company, not the employee. 85% of the time, they drop us off in the middle of no where, no map, no civilization beyond suburbia near-by. Where people have been there not a day before, and not told us. It happened to me a lot of times--my 'manager' pestered a house multiple times, the very same homeowner. When the guy moved in. Randomly in-between. THE OWNER KNEW HIM ON A FIRST NAME BASIS. And my manager told me this straight up, laughing about it.

And the manager? He admitted to being a full-blown dealer, and would oft tell us of his mushroom-induced adventures (I'm being serious here).

All the upper management care is about money. And to get said money, they screw half their 'employees' over just as much as they do homeowners.

Universal Energy is the best thing thats happened to me since this computer that im using right now. To all you people out there knocking Universal ( especially those who have worked for them before ) GET A LIFE. No one wants to here u ranting on about how u don't know how to speak to people properly. People don't know whats going on. Start paying attention to the news letters u receive in the mail. I don't have anything else to say about this other then universal isn't trying to scam anyone. I think u should all start paying more attention to other companys such as O.E.S and Direct Energy. THEY are the TRUE SCAMMERS. PEACE!

There is NO SCAM here,, The price of natural gas fluctuates,, and if you want a fixed rate you pay more of a premium like the stock market. Its like a mortgage,, you pay more for a fixed rate than a floating rate.
PEOPLE HERE ARE SO IMMATURE , SPOILED AND EXPECT EVERYTHING FOR NOTHING.

A couple of days ago, a UNIVERSAL Energy SALES Agent came by and I asked him,
' don't you know that you're a scam ? ' And he replied, I love Universal, I've been working
as a sales agent for 11 years ?  To which I replied, '  then why aren't you rich ?  I heard
that every time an agent signs your life away, he/she pockets some where in the neighbourhood of  $ 50- 65.00 a contract.  12 Contracts a day.........12 scams a day is
all they need to do very well.......THEY don't care about you. It's the bottom line - money
in their pockets. They also have bonuses.....$ 100 - $ 500.00 extra if they meet their targets of scamming 5 - or more people per day.. What makes you think that these sales agents really care ???  They don't know anything about what the company is about..... they are completely brainwashed ! DON"T OPEN YOUR DOOR TO THESE BOZOS! THIS IS REALLY THE BOTTOM LINE !

I have signed up with Ontario Energy Savings. I did my research and also checked around with neighbors. I'm currently paying 28.5 cents per cubic meter on my gas while the market rate has gone up to 35 cents a cubic meter as of July 1st 2007. When winter months come and rates go up to 40-50 cents I'm still paying 28.5 cents. I have kept track in excel for the past 3 years and I have saved so much money.

My sales agent was very friendly and straight forward. He explained to me how the company makes profit, how he makes money and any other question I had he explained. He was very honest with my questions...

"What happens when market rates come down?"
Answer: "You are still fixed at 28.5 cents. We usually expect rates to come down during summer." This is true, but since we barely use any gas during summer we only lose about $2-$5 during the summer but save so much more during winter.

The time I signed up was during summer.

So the big question is, should you sign up with a retailer?

Consider the factors, shop around for the lowest rates. I will say this for sure... Stay far away form Direct Energy... They take control of the delivery rates and do not give provincial benefits on the electricity. Sign up during summer times when rates come down from Winter. Rates get adjusted every 3 months for gas and 6 months for electricity.

Ontario Energy now offers Green Energy... When I renewed my Electricity contract I also purchased Green Energy... The agent bluntly told me that $20 will be added ontop of my bill to ensure the electricity they purchase comes from green energy sources. You can choose how much of your electricity mixture comes from green energy sources.

Ontario Energy is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and placed number 3 on the top 100 most generated revenues on profit magazine... Number 1 being RIM (Reseach In Motion) they make the blackberries. I don't think there are any scam companies generating 1.5 billion dollars able to trade on the TSX....

Universal Energy... they even hire homeless people seriously... I had someone come to my door with train tracks right up there arm from needle usage... I don't understand why they need to lie and trick people into signing their contracts. I mean if you properly explain to the customer and answer all the questions truthfully, customers will make the right choice.

most customers are afraid to sign when the fixed rate is above the market rate. they think of the moment but not the long run... of course these agents are not angels sent from the sky. these companies are in it for the business and to make profit. they purchase gas for up to 5 years depending on the consumption at todays market rate and mark it up to make their profit. that's why the rates are always above market prices.

of course every company receives complaints. because these companies are stricly commisioned based. Even the CEO's get paid depending on the commission. It is a MLM (Multi Level Marketing) company. AKA Pyramid Scheme. Nothing wrong with that... It's just how the pay structure works. Even FORD company works that way... When they hire homeless people, immigrants, and young students, these people are desperate for money. It gets really tempting to forge a signature. After filling out all the paper work and a customer saying that they will not sign really pisses off a salesman.. Without maturity and understanding these people will say.. not a problem and move on to the next door with all the information filled out on the contract, sign it for you, and put their cell phone number for confirmation.

these "team leads" you speak of are making money off the people below them. So because this person slipped on the ice and made no deals for the day this guy did not get paid.

why do I know so much? because one, i'm a salesman and two my neighbor works for ontario energy. my neighbor clears over $100 000 a year. He makes this money legitmately. When you sign commercial properties you could make anywhere from $100-$10 000 or more depending on the company.. We all know how salespeople are. They make you feel good about a product/service and even if you're getting ripped off you feel good about that. With the proper education and explaination customers understand more...

Reason I choose ontario energy is because one, I know that the contractors cannot get away with this fraud. If a contractor is caught doing any fraud, they will get deductions on their cheque, second time get fired, and of course go to court. This is a serious billion dollar business that they dont want to throw away.

And for all the curious people out there... the ceo of Ontario Energy happens to be a woman. pretty sweet huh?

Ya,

You can get really RICH working for Universal Energy. Last winter I needed a job so I was unfortunate enough to land with UEC. I was told about the "BIG" profits you can earn. Bull ----. The people that have been there for 6-10 years STILL WORK THERE doing door to door sales. Why because they love it? In the two days I worked there me trainer made $70-$80 wow, in a real job where you have comissions and benifits the average worker makes more in one day. What a scam

Train Tracks from needle usage, try Convicted fellons on perole for B&E. We worked with one such character that UEC hired. You really want these people around your home.

Universal employees taking a break between scams

Why can't you people gang up and pay a visit to their company? Or pull out a weapon when they knock on your door. Chase them around for a little while with a chainsaw, trust me, they won't be back.

my story

so they have come 2 times to my house and not knowing anything about them i said i would have to do more research, they kept saying that everyone on my block has signed up and i would have to soon.

so then today another one comes up and i had some more time on my hands so i started talking with him. he said they were independant company and asked to see my hydro bill, i showed him my bill and said i would save quite a bit of money but i said i need to do some more research on them, he then said i should fill out the application but wont process it till i agree,,, things started to sound fishy... he said i would still recieve me tearsan bill but the protection policy would cover me if the gas price went up, he didnt tell me it would be a fixed rate but flat out lied and said their rate policy protection plan only kicks if tearasen price is higher than theirs. now i wish i kicked this guy in the face for flat out lying to me. nothing i hate worse than scammers. i hope he didnt steal my account number when i showed him my bill or imma gonna hunt this guy down and mess him up.

"He then said I should fill out the application but wont process it". I repeat DO NOT GIVE THESE PEOPLE ANYTHING! They are only pathetic liars, they don't care about you, your family, your home. They only want to sell their garbage product amd make lots of money. They don't care if you can pay or not, this way they can satisfy their investors and themselves. What do you expect from a company who's own boss was thrown out of the energy business before.

Do more research.. Please

Check this out Universal Energy Survivor's Page

Help!!!! I wish i had found out earlier!! i signed the application today. the person posed as a person from the hydro supplier and i didnt take the time to read. I am so stupid i even handed in my last bill.  I am going to call tomorrow, but i just saw that the agent did not write the day only the month. I think i am in big trouble.

terrible. I'm paying 2x what they local utility company is charging...no way out without penalty. Mississauaga Ontario

Only can blame myself.

Bottom line was that I was banking on the rates going at least as high as 9 cents based on all the hoopla of the time and seeing what some of the rates are south of the boarder in other deregulated markets.

I now want to get out - not because I'm paying too much but because for 9 cents I could e bying bullfrog power - off grid - from renewable resources and at least give me 2 cents towards helping the envoronment.

So my mistake. I wonder with an election looming in Ontario if true deregulation will be brought up again.

Has anyone got an idea of what the early termination fee is? I have 44 months remaining.

I paid $831 and I was only in my first month of a 5 year plan!  I paid it cause it saved me a lot of money considering the first month was $200 more.  So whatever it is, pay it!! ASAP!

Best of luck!
GP

Frank Klees MPP  Ont is on their board. Call him.

I too have been scammed.  I had no problems with these thieves until April 2007 - just over 2 years into my contract.  Suddenly I was billed an additional $560.00 with the only explaination being "miscellaneous adjustment".  I have made NUMEROUS calls over the past 4 months to those fools at UE. Nobody will discuss this matter with me and nobody ever calls back as promised. 
I also have contacted the Energy Board and filed a complaint and was advised to fax my concerns to Nobe Tello at UE.  Now just over a month later with still no response from Nobe Tello or anyone at UE I have received another bill indicating an additional "miscellaneous charge" of another $500.00.  I am up to over $1000.00 in "miscellaneous adjustments"!!!!!!!  To make matters worse, my local Hydro provider has sent me a disconnection notice if the charges are not paid in 30 days!!!  This matter apparently is not reflective of them as my consumption vs regular payments are fine.  Bottom line, they do not care about what these "miscellaneous adjustments" represent - they have been told by UE to collect and I can either pay or the power is off!  The Energy Board's stand is that I signed the contract and it is my fault!  I also indicated that I would cancel my service and resume a Hydro account in someone else's name to which I was told I could not do.
Has anyone else received these excessive "miscellaneous adjustments"  
Can anyone give me any advise??????

I signed up about a year and a half ago and I think it's great.  My rate is good, it's stable, and if the prices go down, I can lower my rate.  But who really thinks the prices will go down?  Nothing goes down.  I was on another gas contract several years ago and I calculated my savings.  I saved almost $900.00.  That was with another company.

I joined with universal because their program is great and you're really protected up or down.  The chances of it going down though are pretty slim.

I have other neighbours that signed with some other companies that are upset and feeling like some of you...but they didn't see 5 years down the road.  You MUST think long term....that's how the programs work.

wow............ this program works if you are dead and you are not paying double the price until the price MIGHT go up..... 5 years of this crap. 

Actually, you must be part of the Universal Energy team.  Well, post what you want, I know that I will be here all the time educating potential clients.  When they read this, no one would sign up.  But again, I was taken for a ride ($831 early cancelation fees) and now I am EDUCATING THE PUBLIC AND THEY WONT SIGN WITHOUT FINDING OUT MORE INFORMATION!!

so have a great day!

THINK WHAT YOU WANT...but these programs work.  And no I don't work for them.  I have a great job in the medical industry.  If you feel you got scammed...sorry to hear about that.  And yes if you try and cancel...there is a termination charge.  I've read the fine print.  You say YES on the phone...and you're on the program.  No one forces you to say yes!  So if you educated yourself BEFORE making a decision...you wouldn't be thinking this way.  I guess we all learn from our mistakes.


If you honestly feel that prices aren't going higher in the future, I think you should educate yourself a little bit more.  There are things called hurricanes, war, etc...which affect our economy.  ENERGY incase you didn't know, is very price volatile.   STABILITY AND PEACE OF MIND is the point of these programs. 

I sleep well at night knowing that my rates aren't going to adjust.  I don't want to get a bill 3 years from now and be totally shocked that the rates have sky rocketed. 

I signed with them....and I'm HAPPY! 

AND I'M NOT WASTING MY TIME TRYING TO ARGUE ON HERE!  There are TWO sides to every story.   JUST LETTING PEOPLE KNOW THAT THERE ARE HAPPY PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THESE PROGRAMS!

Why are the two positive threads above us regarding Universal Energy identical in their format? The "Name" field is the same case and all. That means that most likley the same person wrote this thread. Jeff I'm sure it was you, or one of your little trolls. 

Again.. do the math........... you are now paying 5.3 c per kwh.  They are selling it at 9.9... what is smart about that.  I guess you also like to feel safe with a dick up your A$$ but you don't see everyone doing it.  It will go up........... but for now, I like paying 5.3.

Gerster

Posted - 8/26/2007 4:12:46 PM Again.. do the math........... you are now paying 5.3 c per kwh.

KWH is the price for electricity  Gas is $7.66 per GJ

Like someone else said, you can't go by the UEC cost per kWh or cubicmetre alone. They slap on various additional charges so the effectiverate you pay is ALWAYS going to be more than what they quote. Thecompany is a total and complete rip-off. You will NEVER pay less moneygoing the UEC route than you would sticking with your utility andpaying the market rate. In the highly unlikely event that the marketrate goes beyond what UEC has predicted you'll get nailed withadditional charges. The company is crooked from the bottom to the top.They are a bunch of money-grubbing losers and its a sad reality thatCanada's laws are pathetically weak when dealing with crooks of thiscaliber.   

Hey "Fooled" I hope you did hit the Universal's Survivor Page. It will outline all the actions you must follow to cancel. You have up to 10 [ten] days after signing their contract. Did you act on this?

Ya I can see this company keeping all it's clients "secure" at a rate 9.9 cents /kwh and them paying for averything OVER. Let's say the price spiked and stayed at 15.99 cents for some reason over the next 4-5 years. Who is soooo stupid to think that they will UEC will stick around to pay out of their pockets the difference for ALL their clients? Mr. Silver and the rest of them will fold the company and like the song goes from Steve Miller Band, "Take the Money and Run."