RESIDENTS who believe they are being scammed by electricity companies are being encouraged to take their concerns to tomorrow’s Bring Your Bills day in Sunshine.
Refugees and migrants with little or poor English are being targeted by door-to-door utilities salespeople, often leading to large debts and disconnection of service.
Footscray Community Legal Centre is holding the event to counter the surge in the number of residents falling victim to the aggressive tactics.
A centre spokeswoman said people often signed an electricity or gas contract due to pressure from salespeople without even realising they had agreed to change. “One tactic salespeople use is to say that people need to verify their details, and they get them to answer questions on the phone. They then find their accounts have been changed.”
The centre has seen a spike in complaints from the Sunshine area. The victims, many with refugee backgrounds, are often told the salespeople are from the government and end up intimidated into agreeing to switch to their company.
“Another tactic used by the retailers is to tell people to show them their bills so that they can show them how to save money. The retailers then take the details from the accounts and transfer them. People are receiving bills that they don’t understand,” the spokeswoman said.
Despite an ongoing campaign to distribute Do Not Knock stickers across the area, many salespeople are ignoring the stickers.
Bring Your Bills day is at Uniting Care Sunshine Mission, 32 Withers Street, Sunshine, from 10.30am-3pm, Wednesday.
