JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – JEA says it is warning customers about a new scam, in which someone is calling residents claiming to be JEA, offering energy audits that will result in 25-percent savings.
While JEA does offer energy audits to its customers, JEA said it does not charge for the energy audit or make promises up front about the level of savings, since they said each situation is unique.
Channel 4 spoke Friday night with JEA spokeswoman Gerri Boyce about the scam. She said it's all a lie and JEA would never tell customers upfront how much exactly they could save on their energy bills from an audit.
"Also, we would never claim that they would save a certain amount. It depends on the house and on the behavior of the person in the house," said Boyce.
Boyce said the scammer is calling customers all over North Florida. So far, though, no one has fallen for the scam.
"The person gets upset or doesn't answer them, and so what they do is they end the call and they give us a call and let us know," said Boyce. "We want to make sure our customers know that while JEA does do audits free of charge for our customers, typically our customers call us and ask for an audit."
Crime and Safety analyst Ken Jefferson said customers are doing the right thing by asking questions.
"If someone is calling you for personal information, if they are asking for money, they are asking for specific forms of money, cash only or a service they want to offer you," said Jefferson. "Always be leery, always contact the Better Business Bureau or the company they say they are representing."
Appointments for a free JEA energy audit or to verify if the company called you for any type of service can be made by calling JEA at 904-665-6000.
During an audit, JEA says a representative will inspect your home and then offer ideas designed to help lower energy costs.
First, JEA said they will break down your energy consumption into components so they know where to look for improvements prior to arriving at your home.
Once they arrive, JEA said the representative will conduct a physical walkthrough inspection, with no diagnostic equipment used, of your home and appliances to determine where improvements can be made both in behavior and in new equipment.
JEA said commercial customers can call 904-665-6250 to schedule a free JEA business energy audit.