Yes. They will bait-and-switch you with a low promo rate, then jack up your charges. Some of them will ask to see your account statement. Don't give it to them, because if you do, they'll switch you over without your permission.

should i report this? or is it a legal scam

Nothing illegal, just don't open the door to strangers and get a doorbell cam if your landlord allows it.

SCAM SCAM SCAM. They come around after hours when the main offices are closed because soliciting is illegal. Report them to your office in the morning so the older folks in your community don’t get scammed.

We have a No Soliciting sign at the entrance to our condo complex. The few times an idiot rings my video doorbell I angrily ask "did you not see the No Soliciting sign at the entrance"?

Yes, its probably a legal scam; many alternate energy suppliers basically promise you the moon (and actively lie to you) and you don't pay much less and probably more.

I signed up for Arcadia to take advantage of their community solar program. I was with them for about 2 years and our rate was the same compared to BGE. Plus they accepted credit card payments which I would use for credit card rewards.

This summer I went all in on solar and got panels to cover my electricity usage. I cancelled Arcadia right after that.

Also you can often call up threatening to cancel and they'll give you bill credits to stay on. I got $75 off one winter month.

Thanks for the heads up. Time to turn off the lights and black out the windows.

It’s not a scam, you pay the BGE rate minus solar farm credits that are divided up between their customer base. Note, it does take 2-3 months after signing up before you become eligible for the credits though. You also have to be comfortable making your payment to Arcadia and Arcadia paying the BG&E bill. Also, I read about it online and signed up online. I did not sign up through a salesperson so I’m not sure if that’s factor.

They used to be better, they would switch your provider almost monthly to whoever was lower but they stopped doing that about a year ago. I think I save about $8 /month with the solar farm option.

While most are a scam, Arcadia does not have a separate rate. They use the BGE or whatever other rate you already have and just give you solar credits from their community solar farm. No extra charges and they even cover credit card fees when you pay your bill. You can purchase additional solar energy credits but I opt out of it.

Edit: To whoever is downvoting me, please feel free to point me to where you see on Arcadia's website that they are offering a low intro rate to reel you in. You won't be able to. The majority of companies do this but Arcadia does not switch your electric supplier to them. Your rate stays the same. If someone can point to proof that I'm wrong I will gladly retract my comment.

[deleted]

Just assume anyone coming door to door is a scam. It's not a viable or responsible way to conduct business.

Never show anyone at the door your electrical bill, that's all they need to switch you over. It's technically illegal, but that won't stop them, and they get a commission on each switch. Many people don't notice for months , and then usually end up having to pay a fee to switch.

BBB has 104 complains filed with Arcadia currently - so yeah, the company might not be a scam, but I'd be wary of doing business with them. The person going door to door however, may be running a scam.

It's legal-ish. Some sales people will ask to see your bill. There is a number on there they can use to switch your account. At that point it's fraud if you don't agree to it - but from what I've heard it's hard to get anyone to really care about it. If you didn't show them your bill, there isn't much you can do now.

In the future, if someone is going door to door and they don't have a vendor badge you can contact OCP by phone at 410-313-6420 or by e-mail at consumer@howardcountymd.gov , or call the non-emergency police number.

Do not show them anything, ignore them and or disengage right away. They want to see your bill/info to fuck with you. Be more concerned about that than about being nice to them.

Not really. But the difference really isn't much from BGE. I'm saving like $10-$15 per month and that's because like 20% of my electricity comes from the solar farm. There was a nice $100 sign up bonus when I got it last year so overall it's just meh. Not huge savings. Although, I haven't been able to use the energy saving days this past summer if there were any with BGE. But it is a legitimate BGE affiliated company.