Since I disentangled myself from a bogus Direct Energy fixed price contract at $0.39 cents/cu.m that I never assumed (see Buck Rogers At It Again posting, July 2007), I was recently refreshed to see my gas supply rate is now down to $0.26 cents/cu.m. But I fret for all those consumers who swallowed the fear-mongering tactics of the door-to-door gas marketers who persistently threatened continued escalation in the cost of energy. Too bad consumers were not fully informed of the trillions of cubic metres of unused capacity available. It was reported a few times in the business news, but how many consumers read the business section?

I just called Enbridge to resolve a bill concerning their estimate of my consumption based on prior year values (which was 28 cu.m above my usage) and, in casual conversation over this issue, she mentioned that some customers are paying $0.49 cents/cu.m. based on the marketing strategy employed by nefarious gas marketers.

Where is the consumer protection? Where is the class-action suit against consumer manipulation? Caveat emptor - let the buyer beware. In a customer-centric world that Latin is a red rag to this bull.