Graham Waites is hot under the collar over the price he is paying for heat. The Kelowna man signed what he thought was a good deal for his household gas nearly two years ago, only to find he is now paying upwards of three times the going rate. To make matters worse, Waites says it will cost him $900 to get out of the five year contract with Ontario based Superior Energy. "A couple of years ago some people came to our door and said they were with Superior Energy and that they could offer us comparable rates to our gas service over a five year term," says Waites. "They said they could lock us in over a five year term with comparable rates to what we were paying. If the gas price goes up or down it doesn't matter, the rates stay the same." Waites says his gas rate is $9.69 a gig while the going rate right now is $3.145 a gig.
"This is insane. We are paying three times the cost of gas and to me that is not comparable. I phoned Superior Energy and they basically said we can buy out the contract on the anniversary date, April 1, 2011 and it will cost me another $900 to get out of it." He says he threatened to put the gas in his wife's name but was told she is on the contract as well. "She never signed it (the contract) but they said it doesn't matter because she is my spouse so she is legally on there. I'm stuck with this until 2014. I can't get out of it, I can't move away from it and I can't put the gas in my wife's name." Waites says he knows of others, including one of his neighbours, who are in the same situation. "The way the girl who came to the door explained it, yes, it made sense. Gas is going up so let's get a deal on it. They're quick to get you in, quick to sign you on the dotted line and then they walk away and move on to the next sucker." He says he's waiting for a copy of the contract from the company before deciding on his next move. Waites says he has spoken with Terasen Gas who suggested he call the BC Utilities Commission. He hasn't heard back from the commission but says he knows one thing for sure, his days of buying anything sold door-to-door are over.
"This is insane. We are paying three times the cost of gas and to me that is not comparable. I phoned Superior Energy and they basically said we can buy out the contract on the anniversary date, April 1, 2011 and it will cost me another $900 to get out of it." He says he threatened to put the gas in his wife's name but was told she is on the contract as well. "She never signed it (the contract) but they said it doesn't matter because she is my spouse so she is legally on there. I'm stuck with this until 2014. I can't get out of it, I can't move away from it and I can't put the gas in my wife's name." Waites says he knows of others, including one of his neighbours, who are in the same situation. "The way the girl who came to the door explained it, yes, it made sense. Gas is going up so let's get a deal on it. They're quick to get you in, quick to sign you on the dotted line and then they walk away and move on to the next sucker." He says he's waiting for a copy of the contract from the company before deciding on his next move. Waites says he has spoken with Terasen Gas who suggested he call the BC Utilities Commission. He hasn't heard back from the commission but says he knows one thing for sure, his days of buying anything sold door-to-door are over.
1 comment:
Good luck hoping to hear from the BC Utilities Commission.
When I attempted to get information on the fixed capital cost and delivery charges when BC Gas was being taken over, I was all but informed to mind my own business by employee at the BC Utilities Commission.
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