Just when it seemed that the fixed rate natural gas marketers had stopped coming to my door, hot water tank marketers started ringing my doorbell. So far I’ve had two of these guys show up, both pretending to work for my natural gas supplier, but they don’t.
So, why would I turn down a free hot water tank? After all, my tank is more than 5 years old and may not have peak efficiency (according to one salesperson). I’ll save money because of the lower gas consumption.
What these guys failed to mention is that they don’t work for a company that I already have a relationship with, the rental charges on the new tank will be higher than I’m paying now, and I would have to lock in this rental charge rate for many years (15 years according to some reports).
Based on the rental charge I extracted from one salesperson and a quote from Sears for a new hot water heater, I could buy a new tank for less than three years worth of rental charges. So, when I decide the time is right to dump my old tank, I’ll be buying a new tank and dumping the rental charges.
I have had those same vultures at my door and I kept wondering what the angle was. Thanks for filling in the blanks (I just say "Thanks, but no thanks", and close the door on them).
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