By: Woodland Daily Democrat |
Woodland residents are being warned about utility service providers who are switching customer’s gas or electric service without consent or authorization.
District Attorney Jeff Reisig reported that some people have filed complaints with his office, saying they didn’t know that their service provider was switched until they received a letter from their primary utility service provider confirming their request to switch to another provider for gas or electric services.
None of the residents who filed reports authorized the change.
All of the residents live in the city of Woodland. The utility provider switch took place during this past June.
While taking these reports from concerned residents, it’s noteworthy to mention that none of the residents that were filing a report ever spoke to a door-to-door representative from the new utility provider, nor did they go to the new utility provider’s website to make a change.
Two of the residents called this new utility provider after they received the letter from the first energy provider, according to the DA’s Office. These people were told that an adult son or daughter authorized the transfer of service. Neither of the residents have an adult son nor could daughter living in their home, so this information not be accurate.
The practice of switching a customer from one utility provider to another without the customer’s permission is called “slamming.” Utility customers usually don’t find out they’ve been “slammed” until they receive a bill from the new utility company.
“The complexity of this unscrupulous activity makes it difficult to detect and hard to switch back,” Reisig stated. “The best defense against becoming a victim of scams such as this is knowledge and vigilance.”
Peope who suspect that they have been “slammed” are urged to call the DA’s Fraud Hotline at 855-4-YOLO-DA or 530-666-8180 or email the office at fraud@yoloda.org.
