WIBU to be rude to lying utility salesman

[BettyBitchface]

NC for this because I'm a bit embarrassed. I don't make a habit of swearing at strangers.

We live in a flat. This morning DH and I were in the hall. He was getting ready to leave for work (afternoon shift) and I was pottering about more or less naked getting dressed and such. It was very quiet.

There are four doors on our landing and we heard the doors go one at a time, rat-a-tat-tat pause "delivery" said in a cheery manner. The caller got no answers, neighbours had already gone to work by then.

Our door is last and I have been expecting a small delivery, so I hide round the corner of our L shaped hall and DH opened the door.

DH: Hello
Bloke: Hello, I'm from Utilita.
DH: What can I help you with?
Bloke: You are (gives our address)? We actually own your electric meter and I need to check the tariff. Our records show your tariff is running a bit high. I need to come in and have a look.

At this point, I'd already twigged this was a salesman seeing as I know Utilita are nothing to do with our supply and I can hear DH beginning to fall for this crap so I'm ashamed to say I just snapped and shouted "piss off, get out of here you liar".

I hate lying, it's my personal red rag to a bull.

Calling out "delivery" to get people to open the door then proceeding to lie to them about representing the company who own the meter and going on to imply it's got something wrong with it to gain access is just plain wrong.

These people have been knocking on my door in the evenings in bursts for the last twelve months. By bursts, I mean knocking many times in the same week culminating in a leaflet drop. I've politely declined by saying "I'm happy with my current supplier, thank you" on several occasions.

I have never been a customer of Utilita.
I know for a fact they don't own the prepayment meter because I chose the supplier and chose to keep that type of meter when we moved in.

WIBU unreasonable to tell him to piss off?

Did you see the Irish Times yesterday?

YANBU, what does ‘your tariff is running high” even mean? It’s just bollocks to get them in the door. I would contact their customer services to complain.

i always tell salesmen/charity workers at my door to bugger off. if i wanted to buy something/donate i’d do it! same with jehovah’s witnesses. although with them my eleven year old finds it much more amusing to answer the door and tell them in a sinister voice that ‘we worship the devil in this house.’ 😂

I have ace a ‘no cold calling’ sign on my door. We still get people ignoring it because ‘we’re not cold calling - it’s a product we know you’ll be interested in’ or ‘we’re not selling, we’re a charity’. I always report to their HO to tell them they’re ignoring no cold calling signs. Not one place gives a single fuck.

It’s not so much of a problem now but when my grandad in his late 90’s lived with us a few years ago he would genuinely use a days worth of energy trying to get to the door. Pissed me off so much.

I've got a no cold callers, religious folk, free leaflets, salesmen, chuggers etc sign on the door. It does reduce the amount of callers. You can get loads on ebay with a wide choice of different folk you don't want to knock. Or when they do knock, I point at the sign and shut the door saying not today, Satan

Utilita are the worst. I had to tell the last guy off for telling me he had to come in and get some codes for a smart meter. I told him he wasn’t my supplier and I wasn’t interested in having one. He told me I was rude and they’re compulsory. So I told him to f**k off, the lies they tell are ridiculous.

On another occasion I had a different one argue with me about their customer service being better than my provider.
They didn’t know who my provider was and I’ve certainly never had to argue with them!

Utilita are the worst company ever. I have never been a customer of theirs but at one time they were leaving me 15-20 voicemails a day asking to talk to me about their energy needs. I called their helpline 5 times to stop the calls and every time they promised my number had been removed from their list but they kept calling. I emailed / tweeted / facebooked them begging them to stop. I finally reported them to offcom. That eventually stopped them. I would never use them, they are horrific.

Sunshine and showers - I like your child! I tell them I'm going goat sacrificing with the vicar

Your DH sounds like the kind of person scammers and salesman dream of. He announces he wants to help them as soon as he opens the door. Get him to read this;

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confidence_trick

One time, I was yelled at by a man who hammered on my door and whose services I declined. Another time, I declined to listen to a sales spiel on the grounds that my prior experience with their company was dreadful. He very kindly littered my garden with dozens of promotional leaflets. Now I just tell them all to get to fuck, so I don't think YABU.

Thanks for all the replies.

Yes, DH is probably a doorstep utility salemans wet dream. He doesn't deal with that type of stuff usually so has little idea of the companies we use. He's not a simpleton by any means but does have a rather innocent trusting nature. I love that about him but I do have to try to get to the door or phone first and nag him into examining goods before he pays for them. He trusts shops to only have the best out for sale so more than one defective item has made it's way home in his hands before now.

The intercom has rung several times since I posted earlier. There was silence on the other end so I do wonder if the lying bastard is still in the area and not pleased about being told to piss off. We hardly ever have visitors who use it, even real delivery people don't often bother, so it's a bit of a coincidence.

Above all, it was the calling out "delivery" that pissed me off the most. That's a damned dirty trick.

I would contact utilita (maybe email customer services) and tell them about the tactics. No need to tell them how you responded. Alternatively ofgem suggest calling citizens advice. This is the consumer helpline (lwhich is different to the local offices. Check the call costs - there are other ways to contact them. Some local cab have energy advisers. (I volunteer for CAB)

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/get-more-help/if-you-need-more-help-about-a-consumer-issue/

www.ofgem.gov.uk/consumers/household-gas-and-electricity-guide/how-switch-energy-supplier-and-shop-better-deal/how-deal-energy-sales-people

You were well within your rights, I'd have done the same.

I usually tell cold callers that I'm not buying because I'm about to become bankrupt. I'm not.

I'm quite good at getting rid of these people in a firm and what I consider to be polite way. DD (16) tells me off every time for being rude to them. She got caught though on a Saturday morning by a gentleman doing a 'marketing survey.' She was too polite to get rid of him, I was upstairs decorating. I found her with him in the house, because it was raining. She was in her dressing gown with hair like a burst mattress, being asked all kinds of questions about household income, did she drive he got to 'who lives in the property' before I threw him out. I think she's realised why I don't entertain these people. I'm getting a sign.