What to Do After an Unauthorized Energy Supplier Switch
Confirm an unfamiliar supplier, request enrollment evidence, dispute unauthorized charges, and track the account through correction and rebilling.
What to Do After an Unauthorized Energy Supplier Switch
If your electric or gas bill lists a supplier you did not authorize, preserve the bill, contact the utility and supplier through verified channels, dispute the enrollment, and ask for the authorization record. Do not pay a cancellation fee just to end the call. If the companies do not correct the account, file a complaint with the state public utility commission or consumer agency that regulates retail energy suppliers.
Confirm that the supplier really changed
In states with retail energy choice, the distribution utility may still deliver energy and issue the bill while a separate company supplies the commodity. Find the sections labeled supplier, generation, energy charge, or gas supply. Compare the company name, rate, contract term, and effective date with the prior bill.
A higher bill alone does not prove an unauthorized switch. Rates can change under an existing variable-rate contract, taxes can move, and usage can rise. The key question is whether a new supplier enrollment occurred without the account holder's informed authorization. Ask every adult with authorized account access whether they accepted an online, phone, door-to-door, or mailed offer. Do not blame a housemate based only on a salesperson's claim.
Save the complete current and prior bills, any welcome letter, emails, text messages, door hangers, caller information, and notes of conversations. Redact account identifiers before sharing documents in a household channel. The account holder should contact the utility using the number on the bill or official website and ask for the supplier enrollment date and the process to return to the prior or default supply service.
Dispute the enrollment in the right order
Contact the supplier through independently verified contact details. State that the account holder disputes authorization and request the contract, recording, electronic signature, or other enrollment evidence. Ask the company to identify the name, date, channel, rate, term, and any cancellation charge it claims applies. Request written confirmation of cancellation and corrections.
Then ask the utility how disputed supplier charges should be handled while the review is open. Do not assume that disputing the supply portion pauses the entire utility bill. Keep undisputed delivery charges and any required amount current according to written instructions so an enrollment dispute does not become a payment crisis.
Escalation is usually state-specific. The Maryland Public Service Commission's consumer FAQ says consumers must first contact the utility or supplier to try to resolve a dispute, then may complain to its Consumer Affairs Division. It advises including supporting records such as bills, proof of payment, and the supplier contract. Use your own state's commission because jurisdiction and remedies vary.
If the supplier demands an exit fee, distinguish an unauthorized enrollment dispute from an ordinary early cancellation. HomeCo's guide to electric supplier termination fees helps households allocate a legitimate fee, but allocation should wait until the supplier proves there was a valid agreement.
Lock down the account after correction
Ask the utility what protections it offers against another switch. Options differ and may include a supplier block, enrollment notification, account PIN, password, or a rule limiting who can authorize changes. Remove former roommates or managers who no longer need account authority, and change reused credentials.
Review the next two bills. Confirm the correct supplier, effective date, rate, credits, rebilling, and removal of disputed fees. A cancellation confirmation is not proof that every billing adjustment posted correctly.
How HomeCo Helps
Create a private HomeCo task for the account holder with the utility case number, supplier case number, response deadlines, and regulator complaint deadline. Add a follow-up for each of the next two bills rather than marking the matter complete when a representative promises a correction.
Share only the practical household status, such as “supplier dispute open; continue paying the approved bill amount.” Keep contracts, account numbers, recordings, and identity documents in restricted storage outside a broad household thread.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an unfamiliar supplier name always evidence of slamming?
No. The name may reflect a valid existing contract, utility affiliate, municipal aggregation, or renamed supplier. Verify the enrollment date and authorization before calling it unauthorized.
Should I stop paying the whole utility bill during the dispute?
Not unless the utility or regulator instructs you to do so. Ask in writing which charges are disputed and what must still be paid. Missing undisputed charges can create late fees or shutoff risk.
Can a roommate authorize a supplier change?
That depends on who is authorized on the utility account and the state's enrollment rules. Ask for the enrollment evidence. Household expense-sharing by itself does not necessarily grant authority to change the account's supplier.