Door Steppers - Part one

A few weeks back British Gas took notice of public opinion and vowed to stop cold-calling people on their doorstep. Whilst a personal call might be deemed beneficial in these cases, the nature of the sales pitch has proved to be little more than a con where near-lies are used to persuade the hapless victim to change energy suppliers - and in many cases finding themselves financially worse off despite a persuasive argument from the doorstep salesperson that they would undoubtedly save money...
It is sickening that big companies such as energy companies would stoop to such tactics, but at least British Gas have called a halt - the others however have not! I have been door-stepped twice this week and am frankly appalled by the 'con' approach that has been tried. In both cases the salesperson had the barefaced cheek to ask if I had received either my 'rebate' or my 'grant' when in both cases they were fully aware that I had not (and would not) be receiving anything of the sort.. They assume that starting the conversation in this way will engage me in a discussion to find out exactly how this grant/rebate might be obtained - in my case they were wrong!
The next time I will try to ascertain if this 'script' is approved by the company who sent them - or if it is a little 'con' that the salesperson has concocted - I shall start by getting thier name and company details, this will be followed up by communication to the said company to find out exactly where the story of a grant or rebate comes from - If there is actually money due to me, then I will pursue it through the proper channels where I am in charge of the enquiry, not via a grubby con artist who turns up on my doorstep.
I would urge everyone I can to do the same - never sign for anything on the doorstep - try asking for actual prices per KWh (kilowatt hour) from the electric company rep on your doorstep - 99% sure they won't be able to tell you - how is it then that they are so sure that they can save you money? It all in the statistics about average savings, but there is no guarantee that you are the average customer, and it could well be that your household will be worse off.
There is one simple trick to getting rid of the salesperson on your doorstep - when you get the knock at the door (assuming you are not expecting someone) you must already have the words 'no thank you I am not interested' on the tip of your tongue. Let them introduce themselves, then trot out your line and look them in the eye - they will hesitate for a second (not expecting an interruption to their script quite so early), start to close the door - and they are gone... For a more advanced rebuff, see my later post..