Direct Energy Consumer Reviews - Page 4

DALLAS, TEXAS -- Direct Energy was my service provider for 2 years. Over the course of the 2 years I steadily saw my bills increase from $200 per month to a hefty $600 per month. At first, I thought the increases were due to increasing gas and oil prices. When I started receiving bills near $400 a month, I called and asked to have my meter checked. It was supposedly checked and they maintained it was functioning properly. Suddenly, after my meter was checked the bills jumped back down to around $250. Then slowly they began to rise again. The changes in my bills did not correlate with weather changes.

This past February we had very nice spring like weather here in Texas. I did not turn on my heat or AC for 6 weeks. I used my lights and other electrical devices very sparingly, making an effort to use a minimal amount of electricity. It was almost as if I was playing a game to see how little electricity I could use. I even used candles after the sun went down to see how low I could get my usage. Imagine the extreme horror I felt when I received the bill for February. It was $587!!! I have switched providers now. Direct Energy persisted in stating that I must have a problem in my home that is causing the high bills.

I am delighted to report that I have now received two bills from my new provider. The first bill was $180. The second was $197. Please note... the $197 was me returning to the comforts I should be able to enjoy in my own home, such as lighting, having my TV on in the background and, yes, temperature control. Now my bills are comparable with my neighbors and family living in similar sized homes. Direct Energy almost put me into financial ruin. It makes me sick to think of all of the money they scammed me out of in two short years! Bottom line... DO NOT USE DIRECT ENERGY unless you want to throw your money away!

I called Direct Energy this morning to discuss my hot water tank rental and spoke to **. Rude and condescending sums it up in 2 words, if you're short on time. First, I asked if my tank was an older unit, as I was having some issues. I was informed in a curt voice that my tank was "only" 7 years old. I asked how old a tank has to be before replacement. ** said 16 years. And "anyone who told you they start to go downhill after 10 years is lying and doesn't know what they're talking about." Um, OK.

Next, I said my hot water tank runs out of hot water after 2 showers, and I have to run the tap for about 3 minutes until the water is warm enough for showering. He suggested a service call. I asked about a service call after work, and ** stated that there were no weekday evening appointments available. He said that my situation was "low priority" to Direct Energy, and as such, he was unable to fill my request. Um, fine. (FYI - I never did get an appointment, as he's booked for the whole month. I said I'd talk to some family and see if I could get someone to come to my house in the daytime. Way to make me feel like a valued customer).

Next I asked ** about the buyout option for my tank. Actually, I asked twice, because the first time he danced around the question and wouldn't tell me the price. He generally discouraged this. No doubt. They'd be losing money big time, if my tank is really expected to hold out for 16 years. Direct Energy, I'm not impressed. **, I bet you're making your quota every month, and are on the honor roll. Way to go. You managed to save your company money and in turn justify your job. In the end, isn't that all you care about?

TEXAS -- Direct Energy is a complete rip-off. I was charged over $70 on my first bill which was for 9 days. They gave me a bill stating I used over 500kw of energy during that time; however, I had no appliances other than a refrigerator (no TV, microwave, etc.), neither did I leave lights on or made extensive use of a/c or heating. I don't even have kids or anyone that lived with me. When I inquired about the charges, they said they would send someone out to check the meter at "my" cost. They checked it, and of course said that there was no error on their part.

For the remaining 5 months on my lease, I averaged half of the initial usage, and my bills were about $30 a month. No more than $40. No way I could have had that amount of energy consumption in 9 days if I wasn't using it in 30 days. Also, upon disconnecting my service, I requested my deposit to be mailed to a separate address since I decided to move. I was told the information was updated, and that my payment would be received within 4-6 weeks. I called multiple times to verify this information was accurate. I was told everything was taken care of.

However, I checked online and the address was incorrect. I called and they corrected the problem, but after I didn't receive the payment for some time, I called again. This time I was told that my payment was mailed to the wrong address (my old address, even though I updated my information), and that I would have to wait an additional 4-6 weeks for them to mail my payment again. I told them that the period of time was unacceptable, and asked that they mail it overnight. I was then allowed to speak with a supervisor, who stated that the payment was made to the correct address (the first employee I spoke with gave me a different story), and that there must have been an error with the mail system.

I asked the supervisor if my payment could be mailed overnight even if at "my" expense, but she continued to tell me to wait 4-6 weeks. I asked to speak to someone else, but she came back to the phone only to tell me to leave a message on someone's machine. By this time, I was through asking for "my" money (I was calm and professional the whole time). I got real firm with them. (I let them know I was serious without speaking loud and outrageous). My payment was then mailed overnight. My advice... be firm, and seek legal action if you have to. IN YOUR FACE DIRECT ENERGY!!! LOL

GARFIELD, NEW JERSEY -- A guy came to our house and told us that if we switched to direct energy, we would have saved a lot of money because of the low rates. We believed him and switched. We started getting bills from Direct Energy which charged us twice more than what we always paid. Before we had to pay like $75 and after switching to Direct Energy, it has never been less than $115.

They have extra service charges that are a lot higher than any benefit you can get from their rates. Don't be foolish people. If a guy comes to your house and tells you that you can save money, don't do it, you'll be sorry. No my husband and I have to switch back because we already lost a lot of money. I just wanted to write this, so other people don't make the same mistake. They're liars and be careful!

UNKNOWN, ILLINOIS -- ** called and said he was from Ameren. When I took the call, found out he was with Direct Energy, not Ameren. I informed ** that I get these sales calls every couple of weeks, and I've repeatedly asked them to stop calling, make notes in their system to stop calling, and to put me on the do not call list. I then asked to speak with his supervisor. After a lengthy wait, ** came on the line.

As I was explaining to her how ** had misled us in believing he was with Ameren, she said she would listen to the tape to see what was said. I then asked her if all of the calls were recorded and she said yes. I informed her that I was not informed this call was being recorded, that I did not give my permission to record this call, and they should contact their general counsel to look up Illinois law about recording phone calls without permission.

She then asked if I gave permission to record my call only for the portion of my asking to be removed from their records and to put me on the do not call list. I agreed only for that short amount. If this company had good service, they wouldn't be using false and misleading methods when they call.

ABILENE, TEXAS -- We have been with Direct Energy for 2 years - it was here when we moved in, and we just never thought to switch. We pay all of our bills on time, and they're still sometimes EXTREMELY high (anywhere from $120-$550)- but we have an old house with large windows, and so we just figure we have to do the best we can (bundling up in the winter) and bite the bullet for the rest. But recently, we received a bill for $1100 in November, saying it was for June through September.

When I called them, they stated that their technician had not come out to read our meter in those 3 months, and so we were being billed incorrectly. I fail to understand why 1) we have to pay for THEIR lack of work and 2) they could add THREE TIMES as much payment to our bill for those months, and the next bill a mild $120 (if they adjusted our meter, shouldn't we still be being charged an outrageous amount like we were back-billed for?).

It's a load of you-know-what to me. I am so mad. I filed a complaint and it is being investigated now. I'm just hoping we don't have to pay it. We can't afford to throw away that kind of money. Hoping we can find a new energy company that will treat us better. Any recommendations will be welcome.

I am late on my bill a lot so I never thought that I would be charged anything more than a late fee. I finally reviewed my bill and was being charged a 25.00 recovery fee. I had $50 - $75.00 of fees on my bill. I called the Direct Energy and was informed that when you are late they send out collection letter and they charge you a 25.00 fee per letter that they send you. Now note this is not a disconnection notice just a letter to let you know you are late. This letter can be sent to you the next day after your due date. There is no limit on how many letters can be sent out.

The year of 2010 my fees came up to be 250.00. I paid Jan 2010 bill online on their website and called, spoke to representative, stated no letter sent out, but then I received a letter in the mail dated one day after I paid. I have reported them to the electric commission. Some called and told me they would credit me 25.00. I informed her this was horrible business practice and I will continue to report them to the electric commission until these practices are overturned. Oh forgot you will also be charged a 5% late fee on top of the 25.00 letters.

DALLAS, TEXAS -- Avoid Direct Energy at all costs. The electricity market in Texas, since deregulation, is bad, but there is no need to compound it by choosing Direct Energy. They have many small fees and charges that you are unaware of till they are assessed, but they also charge interest on any overdue amounts. And receiving a disconnection notice for a $70 bill that was only 10 days late is a little overkill. There are a lot of electricity providers in Texas and you should always choose carefully. Eliminating Direct Energy from your list of electricity providers will help you narrow down your choices.

Direct Energy is a rip off. They try to get as much money out of you as they can. Me and my husband had been using them for 6 months and the first 2 months our bill was a little over 200. The 3rd month it went to 298. The 4th month it was 364. Then the 5th month it jumped to 502. We told them to come check the meter. They said it was working properly and they had an actual reading. So the last month we used them our bill jumped to 634.97 and we were not even home during the day.

I called customer service. They said there was nothing they could do and were not willing to work with me and then asked "so when are you going to be able to pay your bill?" I just laughed. So we changed our light company right after that and our first bill was 68 dollars and some change which it was only for 22 days but it would have still been less than 100 for one month.

I had been up working all night and on two consecutive calls came in from Direct Energy regarding an outstanding balance. The first call, the person was vague and refused to give the reason for his call, and the second caller became belligerent when I informed her that the account balance had been paid and threatened to send my account to collections. When I asked to speak with a manager, he subsequently became belligerent telling me that I was lying about a payment that was made because it wasn't in their system and that now it was time to make payment on an outstanding balance.

I went to my computer and pulled up the payment confirmation and after providing this information, I was not satisfied with the manager, ** non-committal response. While I may have been half asleep when the initial part of this conversation happened, I am thoroughly incensed at the treatment I received from your customer 'service' agents, and more so by the manager's extraordinary rudeness and attitude. I was contacted shortly after I switched from Direct Energy asking why I was leaving, and frankly, there you have it. If the price wasn't bad enough, the customer service has taken a serious hit since I first signed up.