“Incessant calls from 'energy' firm catch state's eye”

Incessant calls from 'energy' firm catch state's eye

Posted: 06 Aug 2010 06:20 PM PDT

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Pearl Lynch of Jupiter said she received prerecorded messages from solicitors calling themselves "Power Savers Association" for 37 straight days.

She told the callers to stop. They wanted to set up an appointment for a solar contractor to visit her home.

She told them she was not interested and was on the Do Not Call list. They refused to tell her their true corporate legal name and kept calling.

Sam Orlando, a Lake Worth resident, has received the calls, too, at the rate of five or six times a week. Even after the solicitors found out he lived in a condominium and told him their product was not appropriate for a condo, they persisted.

"It's been really annoying getting all these calls," Orlando said.

Like Lynch and Orlando, hundreds of South Florida residents have reported receiving phone calls at their homes and businesses from callers purporting to be with Power Savers, "Energy Conservation Group" and similar names. The calls start with a recorded message stating that people can receive a free energy audit, save money on their energy bills and receive $3,700 in federal stimulus money.

A person then comes on the line asking to make an appointment to come to the consumer's home. When questioned by consumers who want more information about whom the solicitors represent, the company's address, etc., the solicitors usually hang up. Solicitors refuse to leave a callback number, and some have said they are a "nonprofit." Some consumers report receiving the calls as early as 7 a.m.

Many consumers have posted comments on websites such as www.

numberinvestigator.com, www.whocallsme.com and www.800notes.com and www.everycall.us complaining about the calls and the solicitors' rude behavior. Numbers reported include: (407) 334-2871, (407) 371-1196 and (407) 731-2648. Some people also have reported the calls originated from 561 and 727 area codes.

The state is investigating who is behind the calls for possible violations of the Do Not Call list, said Gary Singleton, bureau chief for mediation enforcement, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in Tallahassee.

"We are identifying the true parties and the true callers," Singleton said, adding that more than one company could be involved.

Companies are not allowed to call people on the Do Not Call list if they have not done business with them. Do Not Call list violations carry fines of up to $10,000 per call. Singleton encourages people to place their phone number on the list.

Consumers believe the calls are connected to Power Savers of Florida Inc. in Lady Lake, which is northwest of Orlando. James R. Levitz is listed as its president and registered agent.

Levitz did not return calls to his home phone or cellphone.

In late July, Susi and Henk Koornstra of Coral Springs decided they had had enough after at least a dozen phone calls from Power Savers' solicitors. They decided to make an appointment to see who would show up at their home. A salesman who said he was with Solar Development Inc. in Lake Park arrived and began a sales pitch for an attic fan and a solar water heater, with a total price of $13,000.

The salesman told the Koornstras his name was Bill Seward, and said he had never heard of Power Savers. The Koornstras asked him how that was possible, since that was the group that set up the appointment, and he said he did not know. Seward began lowering the price, but the Koornstras told him they were not interested.

Solar Development President David Burrows said the salesman who showed up at the Koornstras house is an independent contractor and not employed by the firm. The company is looking into the incident to make sure there is no misrepresentation of its policies and procedures.

Terry McElroy, spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, said most companies, when asked to remove a consumer's number from a list, would do so if for no other reason than to not waste their time.

Bruce Kershner, executive director of the Florida Solar Industries Association, said he hated to hear reports of the annoying callers and the tactics being used to solicit business for the solar industry and them not being straightforward about the reason for their calls.

"It sounds like snake oil," Kershner said.

~ susan_salisbury@pbpost.com

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