FOOTSCRAY resident Colleen Watson says she signed only one contract for her power.
But in the past year she has been sent bills from numerous energy retailers - and it all began with a misleading sales pitch at her front door.
Ms Watson, who is dyslexic, said she was coerced into signing up for electricity with the promise of massive savings.
"[The saleswoman] said, 'All you have to do is sign it and you'll get half-price electricity'.
"When you're on a pension, those savings help."
Soon she was getting bills from numerous retailers.
"I didn't know where my electricity was coming from.
"If they turned it off I didn't know who to ring."
When the Mail called, Ms Watson was trying to connect power at her new address.
However, her supplier of the previous 12 months had told her she did not have an account with them.
A 'Do Not Knock' campaign by the Footscray Legal Service aims to protect people like Ms Watson from "predatory" sales tactics.
A report by the service shows that problems with energy providers among African clients increased by 61per cent in the past eight years.
The report stated pensioners and the elderly had also been targeted.
"It's not fair. They shouldn't push us," Ms Watson said.
Maribyrnong Council is supporting the push to ban door-to-door sales tactics, and it plans to send a "Do Not Knock" sticker to every household in the City of Maribyrnong.
A Consumer Affairs Victoria spokeswoman said the organisation recorded more than 180 inquiries and more than 20 written complaints involving door-to-door sales methods during the 2007-08 financial year.
That increased to more than 280 inquiries and about 30 written complaints during 2008-09.
THE FINDINGS
THE key findings of the Footscray Legal Service report:
In 1999, about 30per cent of clients were of non-English-speaking background (NESB) and around 18per cent had problems related to energy bills.
By 2008, 75per cent were NESB clients but energy-related problems had increased to a staggering 61per cent.
Some companies made misleading statements such as "We are from the Government" or said the Government was converting the area to another energy retailer. Companies also door-knocked to win back lost accounts.
Clients frequently said they were not given a copy of the contract.
Consumers who spoke very little English found it difficult to communicate with utility companies; they could not read follow-up letters and their debt escalated.
Many African residents had no education in the area of energy efficiency and received higher-than-average bills because they did not know how to operate a gas heater or hot-water service.
Residents were billed simultaneously by several service providers and had problems transferring accounts between retailers.
Energy companies did not co-operate with financial counsellors.
Email a friend