Fake Repairman Preys On Powerless Worcesterians
After ice storms slammed Boston and left thousands without power, one opportunist saw a chance to make a buck in the dark.
He's going around Worcester saying he works for National Grid and will restore power for a fee. He doesn't work for them and will just walk away with your money. Residents are urged to ask for ID if approached by someone purporting to be from the energy company.
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Who the hell would fall for this? I mean really!? He deserves every penny he gets.
You do realize that people in Worcester don't usually refer to themselves as from Boston? Nobody inside Rt. 128 lost power and, instead of ice, we just got a buttload of rain.
@Ben Popken: Somehow that just doesn't have the same ring to it.
P.S. I love the new Facebook commenting feature.
And the dick move of the day goes to...
THAT guy!
Cannibal repairmen preys on powerless worcestorians.
"Their sauce is excellent," says police.
IF he had done that same scam down in the Land of Katrina we would not have to worry about him now. I am sure the citizens of Louisiana and Mississippi would have put a buttet where it belongs and solved the problem for us.
We had a "power company representative" come to the house and say they had to see our bill and help us to choose our new electric provider since ConED was no longer going to provide service, just maintain the lines. I called ConED while this person was at my door and ConED said they were from another power company trying to force me into selecting them over ConED and that they had no ConED affiliation. While Still on the phone with ConED I told the person at the door that ConED claimed no affiliation with them when the person started to yell toward the phone that they were a ConED employee and I was going to lose my electric service if I didn't let them see my bill. I closed/locked my door and told the ConED rep on the phone what they were arguing and she called police. The ConED rep on the phone then explained these people look at the bill for the account number, and then process a change without my knowledge or consent, usually without so much as a signature. Nothing more came of it to my knowledge though.
Common sense is the word of the day, people. Say it with me now, C-O-M-M-O-N S-E-N-S-E. No, not GULLIBLE! I SAID COMMON SENSE!!
Probably people that haven't had power and are eagerly awaiting someone, anyone, to tell them what the fuck is going on? You'd be desperate too after a couple days. I bet most of the victims see him as a life saver; just get the fucking power back on, I don't care if I have to pay $100!
@schiff: In New York, like in many states, most utilities now are merely delivery companies. energy supplies are purchased at market prices by the utility by default, but customers are free to choose their suppliers. some are good deals, and some offer green electricity, but many canvas neighborhoods, confusing the hell out of people by posing as reps from a utility. it is true, once an account number is received an energy supplier can sign one up for their service, and unless a customer does not catch the notices of the change from the utility, they are enrolled. many of them have hefty cancellation fees. beware.
@parad0x360: I'm going to have to agree with you, whether people are desperate or not. ALWAYS ASK FOR ID before paying anyone to fix anything. If you don't well... too bad I guess.
People aren't in the habit of doing this. I have been working in fast food restaurants installing new POS systems. Lately, we've been doing rounds of the stores to iron out small bugs, replace equipment that was faulty from the factory, etc. Every time so far I have been to a store where no one there knows me because it's my first time there no one asks for any type of ID, asks why we didn't call ahead, etc. They just let me in the back, where the safe that is supposed to be closed is open, and let me start fiddling with their stuff and things.
They're lucky I am an honest person.
Up in Nashua NH, other scumbags are driving around to unoccupied homes and stealing the portable generators people are using to heat their homes and run sump pumps.
Come home to find the portagen gone, the house frozen, the pipes burst and the basement flooded. Merry Christmas
I hope somebody eventually pays this douchebag with the business end of a .45.
@Ayanami: Where I went to college there was a similar issue with the computer labs. Some guy would show up with a dolly and say he was from the computer services department and he had to take some machines in for service. The lab assistants never asked for any ID or anything. The guy loaded a bunch of machines in his van and took off. Happened every semester.
@Canino: Maybe he really was from computer services. They can't fix computers for shit, generally, which is probably why those machines never came back :)
@RandomHookup: We here in Woostah prefer "Worcesterites". That's pronounced: Wus-ster-ites. Leave out the middle "ces" for savings !
Just wanted to say thanks to the folks who do actually work for National Grid. When I saw the damage to the power lines in my neighborhood, I thought my power would be out for days. Went off to CT to find a generator and when I got home with one, the power was back on. How 'bout that for karma.
@☠Grяrяrяrяrяrяrя. Now with red and green coloured rяrяrяr...: The business end just means the barrel end of the gun, not necessarily a bullet... so you're saying he deserves to be sodomized with a .45?
Why is it when anything happens in Massachusetts, it's automatically assumed to be Boston? The impact from the storm in Boston (and all of Suffolk County, for that matter) that day was zero. No power outages, no downed trees. Worcester is on average about 2 hours from Boston.
Residents of Worcester are about as Bostonian as residents of Connecticut.
5 days with out power and people are going insane,
Stopped one guy from walking off with my chain saw "thought it was community property"
neighbors generator got stolen,
Alot of people have left for hotels leaving dark empty houses. I wonder how many will come back to find their TVs missing.
it really is still disgusting up here. thousands and thousands of people without power.
I know my grandmother and other elderly folks would be glad to pay a fee to have their electricity turned back on, so i can see this guy making a killing.
It's all due to the crap power company.
They wait until it breaks before they fix it.
They have never heard of preventative maintenance.
So now instead of getting power back ASAP, which they could do, they are performing the upgrades that should have been down ages ago.
@seraphicstar: Right, or people whose English isn't so good. Desperation and isolation are a terrific recipe for vulnerability.
Welcome to Worcester
$1.25 please.
I hate to be a grammar nazi, but the title of this article is FAIL on subject-verb agreement. RepairMAN please...
What a d-bag.