Author: Prairie State Legal Services
Last updated: March 2009

(Chapter 7 of Senior Citizens Handbook)

This Chapter covers the following subject matter:

Your Rights as a Consumer

Many older Americans are susceptible to scam artists of various kinds who try to get their money. These include dishonest home improvement contractors, door-to-door salesmen and companies that try to sell products or services over the telephone. Phone companies may try to switch a senior's telephone carrier or services without their knowledge in a practice known as "slamming." Also, many seniors have fallen deep into debt because they have not been able to resist the overwhelming marketing of credit that has pervaded our society in recent years. This section offers constructive advice for dealing with these problems and discusses seniors' rights to protection from creditor abuse in these areas.

Public Utilities and LIHEAP

Deals with a senior's rights to public utility service and covers such issues as when service can be shut off and when it must be reconnected after a shut off. In addition, the section discusses the rules which cover deposits and dispute procedures, the circumstances where a landlord has an obligation to provide utility service and protections for tenants living in multiunit buildings with a single meter. There is a discussion of what to do if the landlord fails to pay the utility bill or if the utility bill includes service to other units or to common areas of an apartment building. Finally, this section discusses LIHEAP, a program that provides money to help low-income households pay for utility bills or to get reconnected after a shut-off.

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