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Energy service companies owned by NRG Energy Inc. have agreed to refund $800,000 to New York consumers scammed by deceptive marketing.
New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Aug. 30 announced the settlement with Energy Plus Holdings LLC and Energy Plus Natural Gas LLC, collectively known as Energy Plus, that will see new restrictions imposed on the NRG subsidiaries to prevent future fraud.
"Thousands of New Yorkers were lured by Energy Plus's false promises of savings, only to be stuck with more expensive energy bills," said Schneiderman. "Our settlement means we'll be able to refund consumers who were illegally scammed by this company."
Via direct mailings, email advertisements and telemarketing, the two ESCOs were found to have lured consumers with false promises of savings only to then fleece them with significantly higher bills and deceptively hidden material terms, such as conditions for receiving cash back.
Despite ceasing many of the deceptive practices in 2012 and refunding $1.1 million...