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  #1  
Old 11-19-2012, 01:00 PM
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Somebody tried to scam us yesterday.

Door-to-door salesman rings our doorbell. This guy lays his charm pretty thick and tells us he's from the water heater rental company who wants to install a new/updated one in order to comply with new government regulations that strive to better the environment. As a bonus, we'll get a 2.50$/month credit on our bill from the government.

1) We have a tankless water system.
2) We own it.
3) The 1-888 number on the card doesn't match the one on the website of the company he claims to be from.
4) I doubt the email address of a huge company like this will end with "@yahoo.com."

My wife told him she'd talk this over with him before we commit to doing anything. Good thing, too.

Did a bit of online searching for giggles and it seems the scam is that they'll take the tank you either own or rent from whichever company and replace it. The contract you sign stipulates that you wanted the old one removed and agree to pay the rental fees. Also, if you cancel, there are penalties.

It's crazy because you end up paying 2 rental fees if you already are renting from that company. Anyway,... we dodged a bullet.
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Old 11-19-2012, 01:03 PM
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People rent a water heater?

I've never heard of that.
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It's 106 miles to Chicago. We've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses. Hit it.
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Old 11-19-2012, 01:07 PM
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Hope you called the authorities to let them know what they are doing.
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Old 11-19-2012, 01:19 PM
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Wait....you're married?

-Mike
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Old 11-19-2012, 01:19 PM
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Originally Posted by hdracer View Post
People rent a water heater?

I've never heard of that.
+1. Why would someone rent a water heater?
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Old 11-19-2012, 01:21 PM
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Originally Posted by hdracer
People rent a water heater?

I've never heard of that.
Yeah! Isnt this like renting a commode or alight fixture?
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Old 11-19-2012, 01:26 PM
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+1. Why would someone rent a water heater?
We rented ours for a few years from the natural gas company. Then we realized how cheap it was to buy one anyway so we stopped. We have a tankless now.

-Mike
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Old 11-19-2012, 02:37 PM
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A salesman tried to sell me a tankless once...he claimed I could save $400 - $500 a year in hot water costs. Yet, according to my gas bill it only costs about $17 a month to heat my hot water, or a total of about $200 per year.
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