Direct Energy’s $1,320 cancellation fee

August 22 2008 by Ellen Roseman

I wrote a column about Direct Energy’s latest marketing tactic. I’ve been hearing from other in the same jam. Some are posting comments here.

The game is to go after people who have contracts with other energy suppliers. Direct Energy’s sales agents say it’s OK to switch in midstream. Any problems will be taken care of.

Of course, this is nonsense. Customers soon get calls from their existing suppliers, warning them of the need to pay cancellation fees if they leave. Many say “OK, I’ll stay.”

A few months later, they hear that Direct Energy is zapping them them with a $1,320 penalty. This is much higher than the fees they’d have had to pay if they’d left their existing suppliers. Often, their account is already with a collection agency (called CGC).

The game is over, DE executives now tell me. The company has high ethical standards and won’t stand for misrepresentation. It will refuse to compensate agents who sign deals with those already under contract with another energy marketer.

Direct Energy has been undoing all these contracts signed under duress and releasing people from that onerous $1,320 penalty.

This is a window of opportunity for customers stuck between two energy sellers. Send me an email with your name, address and phone number and I’ll advocate for you, as I’ve done for so many others.

Meanwhile, remember that natural gas prices are coming down, unlike what you hear from salespeople. Check my recent column.

Category: Finance | 98 comments

98 comments

Michael James

Aug 22 2008

Wow! $1320 is a huge penalty for getting caught in this scam. Ellen, I’m willing to bet that DE’s decision to undo these contracts had a lot to do with your efforts. Congratulations.

As it happens, I had a gas supplier representative come to my door this week pretending to represent my existing supplier — “Could you just show me your bill so that I can make sure that you are getting all the discounts you’re entitled to?”. I shooed him away before I found out whether he represented DE or some other company.
Karen

Aug 25 2008

The scary part is that DE owns more than just a gas marketing company. The fact that they are responsible for all kinds of health and safety issues, yet have shown so little ethics on their marketing/contract side, is frightening.
GG

Aug 25 2008

I had a similar incident with Direct Energy. I live in Stathroy and have been since 2005. When I moved, I signed a contract with an energy company.

On Feb. 15th of this year, a rep from Direct Energy came to our house. I advised that I was with another company and he said that the Government was going to change the laws and those contracts would be cancelled.

So I signed a contract with Direct Energy for electricity. On Feb. 22, I received a confirmation call from D.E. and I confirmed.

A week or two later, I received a call from my existing company asking if I wished to cancel, as there would be a cancellation fee. I explained what Direct Energy had said. The company said that was NOT the case and I continued with them.

In June, I received a telephone message from D.E., stating I owed them money and I should call them. I did call and they explained that I owed over $800 for cancelling.

I told my story (that I misunderstood and/or was misinformed) and that I never received any product or service from them and they basically said, ‘too bad’ and if I didn’t pay, they were going to forward it to a collection agency.

I asked to speak to a supervisor and no one was available. The rep said he would pass on my concerns. He assured me that he would not forward my account to the collection agency until I spoke to a supervisor.

I called Hydro One and explained my story. They said the could not help and suggested I call the Ontario Energy Board (OEB). I called OEB and they said there was nothing they could do as I signed a contract and confirmed by phone. They told me to write to Justin Raymond at D.E. and lodge a complaint.

I continued to call D.E. on a weekly basis, attempting to speak to a supervisor and I continuously got voice mails from the numbers I previously called (1-866-330-3322, ext 203, 206 and 207). I also left messages in the general mailbox to return my calls.

On July 9th, I received a call from D.E. stating I also owed $1,320 for cancellation of a gas contract. I advised I did not recall and was not aware of signing any gas contract. I wanted confirmation. I advised her of the electricity situation. She said she would check records and call me back the following week.

On July 14, I received a letter from a collection agency and subsequently called them. I told my story to them and said I didn’t understand why it went to a collection agency while there was still ongoing discussions (so I thought).

I was advised by them to pay the bill and continue negotiations with D.E. or it would affect my credit rating. I, of course, gave in and sent a cheque to the collection agency as I did not want it on my credit rating.

I continued to call D.E. and to date, no one has got back to me on the gas or electric bills. My last call was made Aug 11.

I kept records of all my calls. I’m aware I should have checked on the contract before I signed anything. However, I dealt with D.E. in the past and had no problems. Since they are a large company, I had no reason to believe I would be treated in this manner.
Lisa Frizzell, Direct Energy spokeswoman

Aug 25 2008

Hi Ellen. Just wanted to follow up on Mr. G’s case.

Consistent with how we’ve handled similar issues, we have waived his liquidated damage fees and cancelled his contract.

Since he had already paid a portion of the fees we’re waiving, we are working with him to arrange for a reimbursement.
AA

Aug 25 2008

I too am in the same position. A door-to-door person told me to sign the paper, just to verify that I had requested information to be sent to me.

He mentioned nothing about cancellation fees - and I didn’t see anything specifically detailing the amount of that fee in the contract once I looked at it.

It was some kind of vague statement like “cancellation fees depend on services and differ from client to client.”

I didn’t realize until more than 10 days later - after I got a verification call to confirm that a rep had been at my house - that I was actually signed into a contract.

I immediately called them and the customer service person (I got her name and operator number) told me based on what I had told her that I was not locked into a contract.

I’m worried though, that in 4 or 6 months, like the other woman in the story, that I’ll get a collections bill.
Lisa Frizzell, Direct Energy spokeswoman

Aug 25 2008

Ms. A had positively reaffirmed her contract, and so it was enrolled. In speaking with her, however, it became clear that she didn’t have the information she needed to understand what she was purchasing at the time.

Given the circumstances, we have cancelled the contract and waived liquidated damages.
JT

Aug 25 2008

I received a letter from a collection agency dated Aug. 2, in the amount of $1,320 for what I found out was a cancelled policy.

I then tried to get to the bottom of this claim as I was very unfamiliar with what had happened. Here is what I found out.

We have been in a gas contract with Ontario Energy Savings since June 1, 2005. My wife had signed up for this from a door to door sales person.

On Feb. 23, 2008, a high pressure salesperson from Direct
Energy showed up at our door. Since I was not aware of our current contract, I allegedly signed a contract for natural gas with Direct Energy.

Is there anything that you can do to help us? I cannot afford to pay this ridiculous amount of money for something
that I was pressured into doing.
Lisa Frizzell, Direct Energy spokeswoman

Aug 25 2008

We have spoken with Mr. T and confirmed for him that we will cancel the contract and waive liquidated damages. He let us know he is happy with this outcome.

As you know, since their experience earlier this year, we have taken a number of actions to prevent exactly this kind of issue from occurring in the future.

As a reminder, these include, among other things, adjustments to the way we compensate sales agents and the information brochure that we provide to each and every customer who signs a contract at the door.

We also continue to test improvements to our reaffirmation scripts to ensure that customers understand the potential for liquidated damage fees if they are switching.
CD

Aug 25 2008

The company causing me trouble is Direct Energy. I agreed to their “contract” on June 14, 2008. I am currently with Enbridge and did not realize I had left them until I got a letter in the mail from them July 21, 2008.

My husband called Enbridge shortly after we received that notice and the guy he spoke to then did not seem too concerned about it and nothing was done at that point.

When my husband spoke to Direct Energy, we found out that it would be $1,000 to break the “contract” with them and it would go to a collection agency. My husband said we are not paying and the rep said, “well, I will inform the collection agency.”
Lisa Frizzell, Direct Energy spokeswoman

Aug 25 2008

As you know, Direct Energy does not tolerate misleading sales behavior. After speaking with Ms. D earlier this week, we have confirmed for her that we will cancel her contract and waive associated fees.
BW

Aug 25 2008

Please add me to the list of people very disgusted with how Direct Energy, the gas and electrical supplier, operates. They have hit me with an excessive and totally unnessary bill of over $2,000 and I’ve never been a customer of theirs.

In February 2008 (after being a customer of Ontario Energy Savings since 2001), I had signed on with Direct Energy. But I cancelled a few days later once I discovered they had outright lied to me on several points when one of their agents came to my front door to sign me up.

I’m still a customer of Ontario Energy Savings, never changing over. Then, out of the blue, a week ago, I got a letter in the mail from CGC, a Toronto collection agency, demanding that I pay this $2,000 bill or it will hamper my credit in the future.

I have already filed a complaint in writing to the Ontario Energy Board (the governing body for Ontario’s gas and electrical services) regarding the matter and they are looking into it.
Lisa Frizzell, Direct Energy spokeswoman

Aug 25 2008

We have followed up with Mr. W, released him from the contract and waived any associated fees. His account has also been removed from collections.

We do not tolerate it when sales agents provide misleading information to customers at the door. We’ve implemented a number of steps since Mr. W’s unfortunate experience occurred – aimed at minimizing similar confusion going forward.

When a customer owes liquidated damages, Direct Energy does attempt to contact the customer first before turning the account over to our collections agency.

Direct Energy attempts to contact the customer by phone a minimum of seven times, and leaves detailed messages with a toll-free number in any instance where there is an answering machine or voice mail.

We have recently upgraded this process, and now also send a letter in addition to the telephone outreach.

Customers only receive communications from the collection agency in instances where we have not been able to reach them through the steps outlined above, and if they have not responded to our messages. In these cases, the collection agency will contact them — first in the form of a letter, followed by a phone call.
JG

Aug 25 2008

I too have a sad story to tell about Direct Energy’s tactics.

My Dad is almost 92 years old. He is a pensioner and a widower and is always keen to save a few dollars if he can.

He was solicited by Direct Energy over the phone to sign up for a 5 year Natural Gas supply agreement. They said that they would save him money and not to worry because they would handle everything for him. He apparently said yes to their offer to save him money.

After a few weeks, he received a letter from RiteRate Energy, saying that they were his natural gas supplier and they threatened him with a large cancellation fee if he were to switch to a competitor. My Dad then informed RiteRate that he didn’t want to cancel if there was a fee.

My Dad authorized me to talk to Direct Energy on his behalf, because of his age and because he has a hearing problem.

I spoke to Direct Energy on Aug. 18th and was told the account has not yet sent to “collections”. (However in the meantime, my Dad has informed me that Direct Energy has already sent him a bill of $1,386 for a cancellation fee to be paid by Aug. 25th.)

I mentioned to Direct Energy that my Dad is almost 92 and he is very concerned, confused and worried about this whole mess. To add to the confusion, my Dad is also a Direct Energy customer, because he has recently rented a water heater from them. He was confused when Direct Energy called him, because he thought they wanted to cancel his gas water heater, which he certainly wants to keep.

First RiteRate and now Direct Energy have sent my Dad threatening letters asking for large cancellation payments and it makes my Dad very upset and worried about what to do. That is why he has authorized me, his son, to help clear up “this big mess” for him.

My Dad wants to keep his contract for natural gas supply with RiteRate. He does not want to switch to Direct Energy. And he does not want to be threatened anymore or to pay any Cancellation Fees, which he can ill afford in his situation.
EH

Aug 25 2008

I have had an existing 5 year contract with Ontario Energy Savings for gas since Oct, 1, 2006.

On Mar. 25, 2008, a rep from Direct Energy came to the door offering a gas contract.(My hydro provider is Direct Energy and I had no problems).

After I said I thought I was already with a gas provider, the rep asked to see my bill. After looking at the bill, he stated I was not on any program. (I believed him - first mistake.)

He asked if he could keep the top of my gas bill and I agreed. I signed a contract and he went on to the neighbour’s home.

After a minute or two, I called out to him from my porch to where he was standing at my neighbour’s property - he motioned he would come back, but that was the last I saw of him. (I wanted to ask him for my bill back, because I needed it for a rebate offer on my heating bills since I had purchase some new windows earlier in the year.)

Within a month, Direct Energy called and asked if I still agreed to their contract - I agreed (second mistake). While still on the phone, I requested my bill back and was told that she was from a different department. But no one offered assistance as to how to get it back.

On Apr. 9th, my current provider (Ontario Energy) was contacted by Direct Energy about the conflict. They called me on Apr. 12th and I said I wished to remain with them.

Since that time I have spoken with a Direct Energy rep twice. He said that if I wished to back out, I owed them $1,320 to buy out the contract. I explained what happened, but he made no comment other than I signed the contract.

Ontario Energy Savings submitted my request for help to the Ontario Energy Board, which managed to resolve it.

On Aug. 21, I received my one and only bill from Direct Energy (dated Aug. 5th) for $1,320. Only my house address, not box number, was on the address, and that’s why there was a mail delay.

The due date was Monday, Aug. 25th. If the full payment was not received by then, it would be submitted to a collection agency.
Siobhan

Aug 26 2008

I would like my mother and me to be compensated for the months and the incalculable hours I spent on the phone dealing with representatives and ‘higher up’ authoritative people. (Do not try to contact Justin Raymond, since you will never receive an answer, just a voice mail.)

Presistently, I continued to fight this, since my mother would have nowhere near the money they demanded for a early termination fee of $1,320 - my family does not even make that amount in a month.

Ontario Energy Board is investigating this matter further, but will I and my family receive any compensation? Countless phone calls and faxes add up to more than what we can frivolously throw away. Not only that, but the emotional distress that caused my mother.

Some advice: Go to your local MPP, they will help, or at least mine did.

Another word of advice: Do not sign up with Universal Power either. Exactly the same situation, something I also now have to deal with.

Good luck, people. And don’t sign any contracts.
PB

Aug 26 2008

It’s interesting that I can email you, but I can’t easily email the chair of the Ontario Energy Board, Howard Wetston. Here’s a letter I recently wrote to the OEB about my problem with Universal Energy Group.

——————————————————————————————

Thank you for reviewing our complaint. As you know, nothing has angered Ontarians more this summer than increasing energy pricing and the failure of provincial regulators to protect the public.

I have two major issues with the way our complaint against Universal Energy has been handled by the OEB.

1) You have not convinced us that that UE has a valid agreement:

a: UE did not reaffirm the agreement:

Although the OEB appears to allow UE to evade consumer protection legislation on reaffirming by claiming that we entered into a contract based on a direct mail solicitation, this is not the case.

The UE contact was via one of their door-to-door salesmen. They later followed up on their door-to door approach with the cheque in the mail scheme.

The linkage of the two events is documented since the UE reference number (10238524) is the same on the documents that resulted from the door-to-door sales contact and the follow up mailed cheque.

What they are doing is targeting people with direct mail whom they have previously solicited door to door. They’re taking all the information on gas usage and current pricing extracted from their demand to see the user’s utility bill. UE then uses the information to follow up with this deceptive “cheque in the mail”.

By allowing this hybrid sales scheme, the OEB allows UE to deceptively use the pressure of door-to-door selling to gain copies of the utility bills and extract information without enforcing the relevant consumer protection rules.

This appears both illegal and unethical. Why has the OEB not been more active in regulating this practice?

We are not the only family that has been targeted by this unethical and unconscionable hybrid-sales representation.

I am aware of others who are threatened by collection agencies and the risk of their credit rating being impacted if they do not pay exorbitant cancellation fees or submit to excessively priced 5 year gas contracts.

Most have buckled. The threats to hurt their credit ratings are enough.

The OEB needs to undergo a culture change to protect the public rather than to protect the energy marketers.

b: The Consumer Protection Act requires UE to provide a copy of any contract.

Despite a number of requests UE has failed to provide us with this. UE has no valid agreement – please review the facts based on the information we have provided.

2) The undue length of your resolution process:

We first contacted the OEB in early December 2007. Your most recent letter is dated Aug 19, 2008.

During the lengthy period of your review, UE has engaged a collection agency that is threatening us with legal action, the costs of legal action, interest on early termination fees and a report to the Equifax credit rating agency.

This behavior by UE is intolerable during the period of your dispute resolution process. Please instruct UE to cease their harassment of us until the issue is resolved.

I have requested an urgent meeting with my MPP to discuss the failure of the OEB to discharge its mandate to protect Ontarians in a timely and effective manner. I will ask for his advice on how to proceed.
DS

Aug 26 2008

On Feb 1, Direct Energy called us with their low offer of 25.2 cents a cubic metre for gas. Ten days later, Ontario Energy Savings contacted us, reminding us that we had a contract with them.

Soon after DE called and we informed them that we had an existing contract.

DE asked, “Are we going to be your new supplier?” And the answer was “No, we are with someone else.”

DE called on three other occasions, we believe in May or June and July (we did not keep a record of the calls). Each time they asked if they were our supplier and we replied no, as indicated before.

The first week of August, we received a letter from a collection agency saying they represented DE and we owed them $1,320 and to protect our credit rating, pay today.

On Aug. 11, I called the Ontario Energy Board and was told to send a letter to DE requesting a copy of the signed contract. I did not sign a contract with DE.

After this, we read your article and contacted you.
Lisa Frizzell, Direct Energy spokeswoman

Aug 26 2008

Mr. S signed up for a contract with us by phone. He was not aware that there could be exit fees triggered by switching from his current provider or cancelling the contract before it expired.

Given the circumstances, and consistent with how we’ve handled other similar issues, we have apologized to Mr. S, canceled his contract and waived liquidated damage fees.

We’ve taken actiion since then to prevent exactly this type of confusion. We have telesales agents work with customers to doublecheck their utility bills to ensure they are not already signed up with another retailer.

If they are already on with another provider, we don’t sign them up and we offer to contact them again when their contract comes up for renewal.
Sharron

Aug 26 2008

I am in a similar situation with Wholesale Energy Group, whicjh has been taken over by Universal Energy. This has been a nightmare to say the least, so unethical and unfair.

Approximately 7 months ago, an agent for Wholesale Energy Group showed up at my door and convinced me to sign up with them for gas and electricity, offering a much reduced rate and a bunch of rebates. I explained that I was already under a contact with Ontario Energy Savings and I would have to check to see what the penalty would be for canceling my contract with them.

The agent lied and said I wouldn’t be subject to a penalty. Someone would contact me from their office to reconfirm my intention to go with them, at which time I could accept or decline.

Unfortunately, I signed the contract and handed over the upper parts of my gas and hydro bills, which would be mailed back to me with some other information.

I was never contacted by anyone at Wholesale Energy about this, so I didn’t pursue it any further - that is until I received a letter from Ontario Energy Savings saying I would have to pay them exit fees for both my hydro and electricity, as they had received notification from Union Gas and Hydro that I was switching suppliers.

I phoned Ontario Energy Savings and explained that this was not my intent. I would never accept going with another provider if I had to pay an exorbitant amount of money to exit the contract.

Since then, I have been receiving nasty letters from Bond Street Collections Inc. The last paragraph of their most recent letter reads:

“Your immediate attention to this matter will save you considerable time, expense & embarassment, so please take this final opportunity to resolve this matter amicably before further action is required. Govern yourself accordingly”.

I faxed them a letter back, basically telling them to back off until this dispute was resolved.

After making countless phone calls including to the Ontario Energy Board, and with the help of Ellen, I finally spoke with a customer relations rep at Universal Energy a week ago. She said they were reviewing Wholesale Energy customers. She would investigate my dispute and call me within a week.

Well, a week has passed and I haven’t heard anything. I called again today and got voice mail and left a message.

The amount of time I have had to spend on the phone these past months, repeating my story over and over again in an attempt to resolve this situation, and on company time, is absolutely ridiculous.

I hope that with all the media attention, this can come to a resolution.

A valuable lesson learned here - NEVER SIGN A CONTRACT AT YOUR DOOR.
Xiaoxi Zhang

Aug 30 2008

It started just like everyone else’s story. Direct Energy’s agents showed up in front of my door September last year, said their rates are more competitive than my existing gas and electrical supplier (Universal Energy) and promised they will take care of everything.

But they said nothing about the cancellation fees from the existing suppliers. Universal Energy uses a big fine to force me to stay in the current contracts. Two months later, Direct Energy asked me to pay a penalty bill over $2,000 for both contracts.

Then I received 3 letters from CGC (collection agency), threatening to hamper my credit if I don’t pay the penalty.

Thanks a lot Ellen for the help.
Cynthia

Aug 30 2008

I so feel for these people. When I lived in my rented duplex, one of the salespeople for one of these companies tried to convince me that I could cancel should I move. I said yeah, that’s what you say now, but it’s not what happens. Needless to say I didn’t sign any contract for energy suppliers. Forunately, my utilities are included, so no more door to door junk like that.

I think the government needs to crack down swift and hard on these companies NOW.
Lior

Sep 1 2008

People have to understand that the salespeople who contact you by phone or show up at your door are working on commission and often engage in deceitful tactics to make money.

They could not care less about any problems you may have down the road when they do not disclose information, such as the early termination fees. It’s a sleazy way to run a business.

I’ve always said a good business can get all the business it needs with very minimal advertising and good word of mouth.
Novice

Sep 2 2008

Although I am the first to repudiate those scumbag salespeople who “want to see a bill” and feel sorry for those who got suckered that way, I think those who knowingly decided to go for another deal even though they knew they were under contract to another company deserve to be charged, regardless of what they were told (and chose to believe, though a simple phone call would have answered the question).

A contact is a contract, not to be broken when something cheaper or prettier comes along. Some personal accountability should be admitted to, which is absent in these ‘woe is me’ stories — most of which ultimately add up to an attempt to be greedy.

If you don’t understand something, don’t sign the contract. Simple.
Charles

Sep 2 2008

A few years ago, I had a door to door gas salesperson show up. It wasn’t Direct Energy.

I wouldn’t commit to signing a contract from a guy going door to door, so I asked him to provide me literature. He jotted my address information down on a form and asked me to sign it. Of course when I looked at it, it was a customer agreement, so I refused to sign it and told the man he had 10 seconds to get off my front porch.

I also get the same issue with Bell Canada. They have hired a number of people with thick Indian accents but very WASP names like Jonathan Smith to work in telemarketing. When asking them if Jonathan Smith is their real name, they still say yes.

I think it’s important in any call with a telemarketer not to use the word yes.
John

Sep 2 2008

A few years back, I got a guy at my door saying that he was with my gas company and he just needed the signatures of existing customers. I told him I wasn’t interested.

After he left, I noticed a bike lying on my front lawn. I thought it was odd. A while later, I see the gas guy walk back to my lawn, pick up the bike, get on it and bike away. I don’t know where they find these guys. It’s surprising to me that this stuff goes on and on and on.
Lisa Frizzell, Direct Energy spokeswoman

Sep 3 2008

Thank you for sending us JG’s note on behalf of his father, who’s almost 92 years old.

We have contacted him and resolved the issue to his satisfaction.

As we’ve discussed, Direct Energy discourages our sales agents from marketing to customers who are already in contracts with other retailers.

As Mr. G was not aware of the potential costs associated with switching providers, and consistent with our practice of working with seniors, we’ve released him from the contract and waived all fees.
RL

Sep 3 2008

This is about signing up with two gas providers.

I signed with Ontario Energy Savings (OES) last October when I was at my former address. Then I moved to a new address, when an agent of Direct Energy came to houses to sign with them as a gas provider of Enbridge.

The agent insisted that it was okay to sign. OES was no longer my provider since I had moved to a new address.

Believing his word, I signed. He did not tell me about exit fees after 30 days had lapsed. I get phone calls as usual from their office, affirming that Direct Energy will now be my provider.

Ontario Savings Energy gets word that I am cancelling. They call me to say I am still with them until 2012 (or 5 years) and will have to pay their exit fees.

I was surprised and told them I will stay with them as my gas provider and they will cancel with Direct Energy for me. They also sent me letters for this issue and I replied to them to affirm.

I believe OES were successful with this for I have the letter and dates that shows we were within the 30 days of cancellation. And I was told that an OES sales supervisor has records of cancellation with Direct Energy last July. They told me to call Direct Energy and ask what these charges were for.

I did call and all they say is they will investigate and I will receive a letter from them.

On Aug. 21, I get a letter from Direct Energy. I have to pay an exit fee (for cancelling) in the amount of $1,386, due on Aug. 25. I get only 4 days to pay.

I have been calling and sending emails to Direct Energy these past days and weeks of July about this situation. They always say they will bring it up to a superior. They just sent me a bill to pay them.

Many households have the same story and are being asked to pay ridiculous exit fees in hundreds to thousands.

They say we can save when we sign, but these surcharges are something they don’t think about.

Thank you for any help.

Rebecca
Lisa Frizzell, Direct Energy spokeswoman

Sep 3 2008

Hi, Ellen. Thank you for forwarding Ms. L’s note. We have contacted her and resolved the issue to her satisfaction.

Consistent with how we’ve dealt with similar scenarios, we are releasing her from the contract and waiving all fees. We’ve removed Ms. L’s account from collections and her credit will not be adversely affected.
MAC

Sep 3 2008

I just happened on your article, as I am having similar problems with Direct Energy.

They sent me a card in the mail this spring, stating
that they had made a processing error and had incorrectly extended my contract.

I contacted them before the deadline of May 15 stated in the card, and told them that I did NOT want to renew the contract (which had ended on April 1 of this year) for another five years!!

The card said if I didn’t do anything, then I would be
returned to Union Gas. The person to whom I spoke on May 13 said I didn’t have to do anything more and I would be returned to UG.

They still have not done this. Every month when I get my bill, it says that Direct Energy is my supplier!

They have sent me a letter stating that I owe them over $1,000 for early termination of my contract!! Every day,
I receive calls from a collection company, CGC.

I have never received a new contract or package in the mail and have not signed anything indicating that I wish to renew or continue with them as my gas supplier.

They have never read me a script on the phone and I have not
agreed verbally to anything either. They are stonewalling me when I call them, saying that they have requested the transcripts of previous phone calls, and then saying that they can’t find them and that the person to whom my complaint was given is no longer with the company!!

They are playing game after game with me.

I called the OEB yesterday and was told that I have to send a request by registered mail, asking Direct Energy to provide a copy of any contract which allows them to
renew the contract until 2013. Then, if they can’t do so within 30 days, the OEB will mediate for me.

I am not getting anywhere with my repeated calls. Yesterday, I gave them a deadline of 24 hours to find the transcripts which are “missing” and call me back. Needless to say, I have not heard from them today!

I would appreciate any assistance you can provide.
Lisa Frizzell, Direct Energy spokeswoman

Sep 3 2008

Thank you for forwarding Ms. M’s note. We have contacted her, apologized and resolved the issue to her satisfaction.

Unfortunately, when Ms. M called to cancel her contract in May, an error prevented the request from being processed.

We have since corrected the error, cancelled Ms. M’s account and waived associated fees.
optionsforstocks

Sep 8 2008

I have another situation that one of my friend’s company faced.

They closed the business, so there is no utility service. Direct Energy or CGC is chasing them for a penalty.

I do not know how this makes sense. If you do not have utility service, how can you continue with Direct Energy?
Mark Anderson

Sep 15 2008

My landlady had a similar experience with Direct Energy. She has been ill for the last two years because of reactions to chemotherapy. She has problems sleeping and getting around, which also affect other parts of her health like her memory.

Back in the spring of this year, a Direct Energy representative came to the door. He did his sales pitch and asked to see her bills. He then proceeded to tell her that her contracts were up soon and he would renew them while he was there.

He didn’t mention that we were with one company for electricity - Universal Power - and another for gas - Ontario Energy Savings.

About two weeks later, she got a call from Direct Energy to confirm she had signed up. A week after this, we got a letter from Universal, telling us that she owed $500 for terminating her contract early.

This is where I got involved. I spent numerous hours on the phone with Horizon Utilities, Universal Power and also Direct Energy. I got 2 cancellation numbers from Direct Energy (one for hydro and the other for gas) and was told this would be the last we heard from them.

A month later, we got a letter from Direct Energy again, telling us we owed $100 for early cancellation of the electricity. I called Direct Energy and was then told there was no way around this as we had signed a contract. I asked for a copy of the contract, because it appeared their rep had committed some sort of fraud or at least deceived my landlady.

The issue was dropped until about a month later, when my landlady got a call saying she now owed $800. I again expressed my desire to have a copy of the contract. I also asked this man for his full name, which he refused to give. So I asked to speak to a supervisor and he told me there were none in the office.

I asked for a supervisor or the person who signed the letter to call me back. If there were no follow-up calls from a supervisor or this other person, I would consider the matter resolved.

In August, my landlady received two letters from a collection agency and now she is getting phone calls from them.

As a side note in July, there was a billing error with Horizon Utilities and we were told that there was a block on the account because she was moving> when I asked how the block got there, I was told that Direct Energy had placed it there. She just got her latest bill in and we had been switched to Direct Energy against our wishes.
Jason Banks

Sep 17 2008

HELP!

I am a student who has been living in rented accommodations during my school career. I lived in a rented space that required I pay the gas bill.

I was misled into (apparently) signing a contract with Universal Energy. The salesperson came to my door and said I was not secure in my current gas bill or protected from my gas supplier. He told me that if I wanted to gain this protection, I could simply enlist his services and give him my last month’s gas bill.

Nervous of not receiving the necessary services, I agreed and was successfully pressured into this apparent contract.

Now that I have moved to a new apartment that includes gas and hydro, I canceled my gas supplier contract and figured everything was fine. To my surprise, I have recently received a notification of cancellation fees and legal fees amounting to more than $1000!!!

It seems that the contract was a 5 year term. In backing out early, I am supposed to pay this penalty! Had I known it was a 5 year contract, I would have never signed the documents as I have never made plans to stay in one living accommodation for more then one year at a time.

I do not own a house and I currently have no gas services that I can switch my account to. Also, I certainly do not have $1000 to pay this company. I have called the number provided on my notification and left 2 messages with no reply.

I had a message left on my phone from a representative before I ever received the paper notification and when I called him back I got no reply either.

I’m a student who has enough trouble buying books each year. Someone please help me! I don’t know what to do.
Adam

Sep 17 2008

My wife and I are also victims of Direct Energy. We moved into our new home a few weeks ago and my wife set up service with Enbridge.

A couple of weeks later, someone comes to the door saying she is with the gas company. She has some forms for my wife to fill out that were “for our gas services.”

My wife signs because she thinks she has to do this to confirm our services with Enbridge. When she notices the Direct Energy logo, she questions the rep. The rep tells her that Direct Energy is with Enbridge. What she failed to mention to my wife is that even though DE is with Enbridge, we are somehow signing up for a new service.

Unfortunately, my wife was also suckered into the Home Protection Plan, which was never explained to her at all. According to the rep it was “something for your furnace.”

Of course, I was suckered as well, because 10 days later a DE rep calls to confirm that someone was at the house and that the rate was as promised. I agreed because my wife said the gas company was here. Not once did the DE rep ask to confirm the contract we had allegedly signed.

When I called in to cancel, I was told of the cancellation fees — again never mentioned to my wife or me at anytime. I asked what the cancellation fees were, and the rep had no idea! But if I wanted to challenge the cancellation fees, I would have to cancel.

I wonder how in good conscience this company can continue to operate under these practices?
Milan Jojkic

Sep 18 2008

On a recent review of my electricity bill for my commercial premises, Toronto Hydro apologized for the estimated usage (which was unreasonably high) for June 17-Aug 20, 2008, and promised to send me a new bill with a corrected amount.

Two minutes later, the same clerk called back and said they cannot issue a corrected bill as I was signed up with Direct Energy. I should pay the full amount of $297.93 and the adjustment would show in the next billing.

As I was not using the premises in that billing period (holiday), $297.93 was an unreasonable estimated price. I called Direct Energy at 1-800-348-2999, spoke to a representative who admitted they were charging a higher rate than Toronto Hydro (10 cents/kwh compared to Toronto Hydro’s rate of 5.9 cents /kwh.

He tried to convince me that in the future (?) when prices went up, it would be advantageous for me being a Direct Energy customer. This did not satisfy me. I wanted out of the contract.

The representative took some time to calculate a cancellation fee of $459. I was not aware of this fee, which was not explained when signing the contract.

What is the best way out of this mess?
joseph

Sep 29 2008

I would like these opportunity to thank Ellen. With her help I won’t be paying a huge penalty.

More power to you Ellen!!!
Claire

Oct 2 2008

I signed on with Universal Energy from a door to door salesman right after I became disabled and was on a disability plan through work. I was on medication for my illness and didn’t realize this was a 5 year contract and thought it would protect from any utility increases.

I am now on Ontario Works assistance and have realized this is costing me a lot more and have tried to cancel the contract. They asked for proof of long term disability, which I sent them. They have advised that it had to be long term disability through the government.

I am in the process of applying for CPP, but this could take a long time. In the meantime, I cannot afford their exorbitant fees and don’t know what to do from here or where to turn.
Greg

Oct 6 2008

I seem to be in the same boat as many others.

Someone comes to our door once or twice a month asking to see any energy bill. I have no idea any more what contract I have or with who. So I just tell them I’m not interested.

I got a letter on Sept 29 from Bond Street Credit, stating we had to pay an early termination charge of $788.60 for canceling our account with Ontario Energy Savings Corp. I had no idea we were with this company.

I never wanted to be with this company in the first place. I thought we were with Direct Energy.

If you could have a look into this I would be very grateful.
AA

Oct 14 2008

On Jan. 11, 2008, somebody knocked at my door wearing a Direct Energy tag. He said the government had approved a lower rate and Direct Energy was offering a cheaper rate if I signed a new contract.

Looking at the agreement, which was the same as I had before, I signed a new one. He told me that somebody would call to confirm within 10 days. They did.

After 2 weeks, another girl wearing a Direct Energy tag knocked again. She said she needed to see my gas bill to see whether Direct Energy had honoured my new rate. Seeing it was not, she asked me to sign a form. But I refused, asking her to leave.

I wondered why she had to check with me, instead of with her company directly. I then called Direct Energy. They told me that nobody from their company was going door to door in my area. I asked them to look into the matter to see if somebody was misusing their name and contracts. Should I call the police?

Checking his computer, he said I became the client of Wholesale Energy. He told me that he could help me if I signed a new contract with Direct Energy. Of course, I agreed and he said he would mail me the contract.

In April, I received the new contract I had signed with Direct Energy on the phone. I called him and thanked him and he said everything would be OK.

In July, I received a letter asking me to pay $619.31, saying that I broke the contract. I called Direct Energy but they could not do anything since I was a client of Wholesale Energy.

When I called Wholesale Energy, nobody answered. I called the Ontario Energy Board and placed a complaint. Later we found out Universal Energy had bought Wholesale Energy. Then I asked Universal Energy for proof that I had become a client of Wholesale Energy.

Yesterday, I received a scanned copy of a document from Universal Energy. It is an agreement with Wholesale Energy signed on Jan. 10, 2008. There is a signature there that is similar to my signature, but I know I did not sign this document. It was the first time I saw it.

I would not sign anything without keeping a copy. How can I have signed two contracts at the same time?

Looking at the agreement in hand I signed on Jan. 11, 2008 with Direct Energy, it looks somebody copied my signature into another agreement.

My case is with the Ontario Energy Board under an official investigation. Direct Energy has stopped chasing me for the $619.31, waiting for the investigation.

However, Universal wrote me a letter saying that I advised them to break the contract and the penalty is $835.67. That is ridiculous.

What does our open market in gas supply mean? It’s supposed to give people a lower price in gas, but now is giving companies a chance to earn money through inducing customers to break contracts. Should we continue allowing such things to go on?

I know my case is still under investigation but I really want to bring this out to stop people from getting trapped again. It needs our time and energy to fight back for our rights.
mike d

Oct 24 2008

I was unaware of the scam untill I decided to change the billing from my wife’s name to mine. Since then, I have been harassed by Direct Energy for $1,100 or so for the cancellation fee.

I have advised them that it was too bad. I had no intention of resigning or paying a penalty. They seem persistent and are threatening collection and/or small claims court. What should I do?
Lisa Frizzell, Direct Energy spokeswoman

Oct 28 2008

Direct Energy is alarmed at growing customer confusion driven by OEB rule changes for switching between energy providers before their contract expires.

We support mobility and customer choice, but we think some of the rules and processes need to change, as they have degraded the customer experience and retailers’ ability to provide excellent service.

Prior Ontario changed the rules last year, Direct Energy voiced concerns that consumers who switched providers could unwittingly be subjected to two sets of liquidated damage fees. This is exactly what’s happened and it does not benefit anyone.

Customers are frustrated, retailers are incurring significant costs and watching their reputations erode and the regulator is having to deal with complaints, which they investigate at ratepayers’ expense.

We believe this situation can be fixed. We continue to try to work with Government and other retailers to move forward on solutions we know can work, based on our experience in other markets.

In the meantime, our customer service team works hard every day to address consumers’ questions and any confusion they’re experiencing, regardless of whether the customer contacts us by phone, e-mail, through our website or through other parties like yourself.

Almost all of the thousands of interactions our call centre team has with customers every week go well – most customers have their questions answered or their concerns addressed in a timely and effective manner.

We’ve noticed that for a portion of the complaints you’ve forwarded, the customers contacted one of our competitors first, who directed them to you instead of to us. In those instances, we’re not always aware of the problem before you send them our way. We do appreciate your ongoing efforts to make us aware of these issues so we can answer their questions directly.

In Alberta, there’s a rule to prevent the second retailer who signs a customer from collecting liquidated damages. However, the process for customers who want to switch is cumbersome, so it is not ideal either.

In Ontario, switching is easier than in any other province. This can be a good thing, but we believe the right checks and balances need to be in place to protect consumers from the kind of confusion currently being experienced.

One of the most effective steps in place to protect consumers in both Alberta and British Columbia, where we also operate, is third-party verification (TPV) at the door.

This is a process where a third party speaks on the phone with each and every customer at the door right after they’ve purchased a contract. The third party is not part of the sales force and their compensation is not linked to the sale.

During the call, they ask a brief series of questions to ensure the customer understands what they’ve signed. They explain that their contract price is different from the regulated rate and there may be exit fees if they choose to end the agreement early. The customer still has the same 10-day cooling off period under this process.

In British Columbia, the regulator recently made the TPV process mandatory, although Direct Energy had implemented it voluntarily since market opening.

In Alberta, it is not mandatory, but again Direct Energy has used the process since we entered that market. We would support replacing the existing reaffirmation process in Ontario with a doorstep TPV, because we believe it provides significant advantages.

For example, TPV allows the retailer to assess a customer’s understanding before the contract is enrolled. It reduces the risk that a customer will be enrolled in an agreement they don’t understand — if the third party verification call is not completed successfully, the contract is not enrolled.

Third-party verification also highlights any concerns about agent conduct quickly, so they can be addressed right away. In our experience, this is far more effective than waiting for a customer to call with concerns or to raise concerns during reaffirmation, which may take place up to two months after the contract was signed.

If Ontario doesn’t move to a standard TPV-style approach, our next recommendation would be to have a standard script for reaffirmation. This would ensure that customers receive all the information they need to make an informed decision, with less room for interpretation by individual retailers.
PV

Nov 17 2008

On July 10, 2007, a person knocked on my door wearing a Direct Energy tag and stating that he is a representative of Direct Energy. He asserted that due to the increasing inflation, the cost of energy is also increasing. He therefore said that it is recommended that we give him our recent Direct Energy bill and sign a new contract in order to maintain the same energy rate for the next five years.

On August 25, 2008, I received a letter from the Collection Group of Canada Inc on behalf of Direct Energy telling me to pay $712.32 for supposedly breaking the contract with Direct Energy.

I then called Direct Energy and the representative that I spoke to over the phone explained that the following situation has occurred with numerous customers, and accordingly, our cancellation fees will be waived. The representative also had given me a reference number and her name.

I then called the Collection Group of Canada and informed them that I spoke with Direct Energy, I gave them our reference number and was told our cancellation fees would be waived. However, CGC said they cannot confirm the cancellation unless Direct Energy informs them directly.

On Nov. 14th, I called the Collection Group of Canada and again informed them that Direct Energy stated that they will waive the fees, but CGI told me to call Direct Energy.

When I spoke with Direct Energy once again, I explained that the previous representative had told me not to worry about the cancellation fees. I gave the name of the representative and the reference number received; however, the Direct Energy representative said she was unaware of any prior conversations and could not do anything about the cancellation fees.

The Direct Energy representative did not seem too concerned about my situation. Instead, she said that I have the following options — either I pay the cancellation fees or I return to Direct Energy.

On Nov. 11, I received another letter from the Collection Group of Canada, stating that they must receive the $712.32 immediately. They said that I must “govern myself accordingly” “to avoid further embarrassment”.

From July 2007 to August 2008, Direct Energy did not mention any cancellation fees of any sort on the energy bills. During this time, Direct Energy also did not call to advise me over the phone.

I have been a client of Direct Energy for over 20 years and this problem has never occurred; however, I know feel deceived by Direct Energy. I have been very frustrated with Direct Energy and feel that my concerns have not been addressed in a timely and effective manner.

Is there anything that you can do to help me? I cannot afford to pay this ridiculous amount of money for something that I was misled into doing.

Thank you for any help.

Ravinder
AL

Nov 20 2008

On June 21, I had a knock at the door. When I answered, the agent introduced herself to me, saying she was with Direct Energy. I wasn’t interested and closed the door.

The doorbell rang and I answered it. It was the agent again, telling me that she could help me. I told her I was with Universal Power under a contract. She asked if she could see a hydro bill.

When I showed her the hydro bill, she told me that they were charging too much and I should get out of the contract with Universal Power. She told us Direct Energy would help us get out of the contract. All I had to do was sign up with them.

I told her that I did not want another 5 year contract. She told us the only way she could help was for us to sign. When we left Universal Power, we would have a choice of staying with Direct Energy or going back to ELK hydro.

I signed and not long after I received a letter from Universal Power informing me of my contract remaining in effect with them. If I wanted to get out of the contract with Universal, it would cost me $442.74, in addition to any legal and administrative expenses, which would be another $600.

Not being able to afford, that I stayed with Universal Power. This was Aug. 8/08.

I now thought that all was done and finished. I heard nothing from Direct Energy.

On Oct. 2, we sent Universal Power a cheque for $442.74 on request by our Lawyer. It was cashed Oct. 8. My last bill with Universal Power was paid on Oct. 14. We assumed that all was OK.

We did not receive a hydro bill for November, nor did we hear from Universal Power when our cheque was cashed. We wanted to take matters back to ELK when we sent our cheque for our contract to be finished.

On Nov. 11, we went to ELK in Essex only to discover we were now with Direct Energy and our hydro bill would come from them.

We were in shock. Nothing the agent from Direct Energy said came true.

That night I called Direct Energy. I was told that I was signed up with them since September 2008. I told her that I was still with Universal Power in September. I was done wrong and wanted the contract stopped.

After some arguing, she told me she would cancel the contract and I would hear back from them in a month. She also said that there would be a penalty. I said no, there wouldn’t be a penalty because I would not pay for another penalty. That was the last that I heard from them.

We called the Ontario Energy Board and they recommended we read your articles on Direct Energy and we have. We still have not received our hydro bill yet for November. Could you tell us what we should do now?

——————————————————————————————-

From Lisa Frizzell, Direct Energy spokeswoman:

Hi Ellen, thank you for sending Mr. & Mrs. L’s note. We have contacted them to resolve the issue.

Consistent with how we’ve handled similar cases where customers are not informed they might incur exit fees from their current retailer if they enrol in a contract with us, we have cancelled the contract and waived associated fees.

Mr. L has let us know he is very happy with the resolution.
JD

Nov 20 2008

I moved to London in 2005 after being transferred from Hamilton. I had a Direct Energy rep at my door sometime shortly after that.

I said no at first. As I explained to him, there was a good chance I would be transferred again.

He told me over and over, no problem. When you move, that ends the our agreement. I had asked him “it’s that easy?” and he said yes.

Like a fool, I signed. I was transferred again and my house deal closed Dec. 13th, 2007. I made all the necessary phone calls to everyone I did business with, including Direct Energy. They said thank you for calling and that was the last I heard from them.

I was in temporary housing for 3 months, but had all my mail forwarded to my friend’s house. I never ever received anything from Direct Energy, not even a phone call. I did not change employers and they could have easily contacted me.

I pay all my bills and I pay them on time. I am a single mom and have gotten by, but in no time have I had delinquent accounts. I would never have let this go on, had I known. Why didn’t they offer to transfer the contract?

I have had collection calls in the last 2 weeks from CGC and have called and waited on hold, just to be told one hour later to leave a message. I have left several messages with CGC, as I had no idea why they would be calling me. No one ever returned my calls.

Imagine my surprise when a collection letter came. I have a lost a weekend of sleep over this. I am just sick. I can neither afford it nor feel I should have to pay. I, like so many, live pay to pay.

Someone should have called and someone should train their reps to be honest.

Any help you can offer me would be most appreciated.

——————————————————————————————-

From Lisa Frizzell, Direct Energy spokeswoman:

Hi Ellen. Thank you for sending Ms. D’s note. Clinton Roeder contacted her personally to help resolve the issue. She has let us know she is happy with the outcome.

When Ms. Dyer enrolled with the door-to-door agent, she was told in error that she could cancel her contract if she moved without penalty. Unfortunately, when she called to request cancellation, we did not inform her of the early exit fees that would be triggered, nor that she could transfer her contract to her new address.

Ms. D’s experience did not live up to the high standards of customer service we strive to meet. We’ve apologized to her, waived fees and removed her account from collections.

We are also following up with the agents involved to provide further training to prevent these kinds of errors in future.
LS

Nov 21 2008

Hi. I am in a similar position. The agent who came to my door mentioned nothing about cancellation fees or length of the contract - and I didn’t see anything specifically detailing the amount of that fee in the contract once I looked at it.

Now, a collection agency is saying I owe $444 because I signed a 5 year contract. Why would I sign a 5 year contract when I knew I was only going to live in that apartment for a short period of time, which ended up being 9 months in total?

Is there any thing I can do at this point to rectify this?
J Holmes

Nov 26 2008

Hi, I have the same problem as LS. My Direct Energy contract is due on Nov. 30. I called Direct Energy to tell them I do not want to renew my contract and they have now sent me a cancellation bill for $458. This is ridiculous.
Rebecca Reeves

Dec 2 2008

I came across your website and was shocked to know that other people were having problems with Direct Energy as well as myelf.

Before I get to my question, I will give you a bit of backup info to see if you have any suggestions of what I should do.

I had a salesperson come to my door and ask to switch my services to Direct Energy. This would supply one bill rather than two. I said ok.

Not long after that, I found out that I would be moving to a different province and would be under a different company supplying me with gas and power. When the person called me to confirm the switch, I told them to cancel it. I would be moving and was no longer interested.

She told me that was fine. I can’t remember if she gave me a confirmation number or not, things were so busy with doing all the transfers for the move. But I remember writing on my copy of the orioginal contract the word “cancelled.”

The salesperson that came to the door was confusing and talked too fast and I found that I had signed before I really knew what I was signing. I felt overwhelmed and by the time they left I felt like crying (and that’s just not me). Anyway, I moved on Sept. 26th.

Today, Dec 2nd, I receive a bill from Direct Energy for $250 for natural gas and power for my old house, the one I moved out of in September. The lady was rude and told me that there was no record of cancellation on my account and I am responsible for this payment. She told me that the people that do the confirmation calls are third party people and are not able to cancel the contracts … grrrrr .. i know i cancelled it with this person when she called.

Regardless, today I told her that I would not pay for someone else’s power and gas and that I wanted the account cancelled, as it should have been months ago. I am now being charged a $400 cancellation fee plus this bill’s $250, plus she said the cancellation won’t take effect for 20 days .. so there will be another 20 days’ worth of billing that I am responsible for.

She told me that when this bill took effect, it cancelled out the bill of the people who currently live in that house and they would not have received a bill. So, I took the liberty of going to the old house and talking to the people there. They have bills for the same time period that I am being billed for by “Direct Energy regulated services,” which I am assuming must be different than “Direct Energy” They have paid their bills and I am being charged for the same time period for the same house (which I no longer live in anyway).

Have you heard of anything like this happening before and do you know of any loopholes I can use to get out of this because I know it was cancelled upon confirmation. What can I do??????
george janston

Dec 3 2008

I have recently divorced my spouse. I was asking about Enbridge’s gas rates when they told me I was supplied by Direct Energy.

I called Direct Energy and they said I had a 5-year contract with them. That was rubbish as I have never spoken or had any dealings with them,

They said if I cancelled this nonexistent contract, they would charge me $600. I asked them to send me and show me where I have signed a contract.

After 1 month and numerous calls to them, they sent me a cd recording with their rep speaking crystal clear and what sounds like a woman on the other end that I could not even understand.They said this was my contract.

How do they get away with this? I called back and told them I would call police if they did not cancel immediately and was told it would take 30 to 60 days.

They are charging me almost 25 per cent more than market gas price for a contract I did not have. I am furious.I am doing everthing I can to get my gas overcharges back.

I may broadcast their bogus cd contract over YouTube to warn people to stay clear of these people!
Frank Sorensen

Dec 11 2008

I live in Alberta and have a similar story to many that I have read here.

Someone came to our door on Oct 18′08 and talked my wife into consolidating our gas and electric. The sales pitch sounded like a plan where there would be a fixed monthly payment followed by a correction.

My wife was told several times how people who had signed up a year earlier had received overpayment rebates and essentially got paid back their winter gas bills.

I had heard of that general type of plan before so I was not concerned, but I happened to look at the forms a couple of days after the 10-day cancellation period and was shocked at what we had been signed up for relative to what was offered. It was a fixed energy price (at ridiculously high prices), not a fixed monthly budget.

I realized we had been lied to and called Direct Energy immediately to cancel.

The representative (I have his name) said many people had been lied to and that it was a problem. However, since I had missed the deadline, I would still have to pay the cancellation fee of $200.

I protested and he “spoke to his supervisor”, but no change. However, it would be reviewed and I should wait for my bill.

We just received a bill for $400+GST, not $200. Apparently, complaining costs an additional $200.

I have been interested in Lisa Frizzell’s comments above. We were not contacted to confirm our understanding of the contract, as she wrote on Oct 28′08. I am not pleased.
JH

Dec 30 2008

I had a collection agent call me today to tell me that I owe UE $373 for cancellation fees. I never even received a warning in the mail before it went to collections, although they said they sent me a letter. Funny, I never got it.

They said I signed with them in 2006. I called UE and requested that they send me documents that I signed. I don’t remember signing anything with them.

In 2006, I was going through a nasty devorce and didn’t have my head on straight, but now I’m going to have to pay big time. Thank goodness, my fees are not as much as some of the poor other people, but I still can’t afford it…merry Christmas to me.
Sean

Jan 4 2009

I’m having a problem with DE as well. We have the rental water heater service and had the heating protection plan service.

A salesperson contacted my spouse and asked her if she would like to have the total home protection plan (THPP) and they would send her a confirmation contract in the mail. I was unaware of all of this and my name is on the bill.

I was checking my bill one day and noticed the charge for the THPP. I also noticed the charge for the heating protection plan. After some research on the DE website, I found that the THPP includes the heating protection plan. So I was being double-charged.

I guess DE signed us up for the total plan, but never cancelled the heating protection plan. We still haven’t received a confirmation contract in the mail.

Anyway, we have been double-charged since May of 2008. I contacted DE and they said they would fix it and gave us a confirmation number. The next month we recieved a bill with the credits, but on the same bill they recharged us about 12 times for the same plans and we now owed them about $440.

Of course, we contacted them immediately and are now waiting for the next month’s bill to see the result. What a sloppy and unprofessional organization.

I plan on cancelling this THPP, as we have a pretty new home and don’t see the value for money in this type of insurance, seeing as they only cover you up to a certain amount anyway.
I hope I don’t get any grief when I try and cancel, seeing as it seems this is a 12-month contract.

How can I be entered into a legally binding contract for which I’m partly responsible when I never gave my consent?

I’m going to give DE the benefit of the doubt for now and say they need to seriously rein in their unscrupulous sales force. And tell them to slow down at the door and explain everything to consumers.

I was approached by Newten today about changing my rental water heater to them from DE. The timing is strange, considering I just had a problem with my water heater and had to call DE. A few days later, Newten shows up at the door. The timing seems more than coincidental, but how would they get info about a problem from DE if they are a competitor?

The sales agent said that DE contracts had run out with Enbridge and now the market to other providers has opened up. She was practically booking an install of a new water heater before I told her to HOLD ON.

I could be entering into another set of problems based on what I’ve read here. I hope to resolve my issues with DE.
Leo

Jan 5 2009

I’m another victim of this scam. I’ve had a plan with Ontario Energy Savings and I’ve been trying to cancel with DE since Oct 11.

Today, when I called them to check why am I being charged for over $950 when I was told it would be $198, they said nothing could be done and refused to transfer me to a supervisor.

I’ll never do business with this DE again.
Troy

Jan 14 2009

Hi, while randomly searching on the net about Direct Energy (PS, I work for Direct Energy), I came across this.

A lot of people are saying other companies are switching you over to their company and DE won’t do anything about the fees????

Well, if you are in Ontario (I work for DE ONTARIO in the department that SPECIFICALLY deals with this, since we call customers and find out if they are cancelling), we have a month to get hold of you. If we don’t, the contract is automatically switched to the other company (not our choice, it’s by law).

If you switch, there is a cancellation fee, which is calculated by your average consumption of gas (which was purchased in advance).

There’s a cancel fee for any contract. Read your terms and conditions, people.
Ken Reeves

Jan 23 2009

I am in the same position as most people here. I had a Direct Energy agent at my door and he stated that signing with Direct Energy would not affect my bill in any way.

I got the confirmation call and I did agree to signing. What I was not informed is that it would increase your bill by outrageous amounts.

My regular bills were around $200 per month, but since Direct Energy came on my bill now I’m paying $460 per month instead. Not much savings here.

I have asked for Direct Energy to remove me from the contract and they state that it would take 2 months for them to remove themselves, plus an additional fee.

I am on WSIB,a workers injury pension and can’t afford this at all. I am receiving disconection notices due to the increase that Direct Energy has put to me.

I need help to resolve this before my child and I are in the dark and or cold due to not being able to pay this increase.
Greg

Feb 17 2009

I also feel that we are being hoodwinked and just bluntly being ripped off by DE.

We signed a contract 5 years ago with them and when it was reaching the end of the term (June or July 2008), we started receiving phone calls from them to renew.

They were told NUMEROUS times to stop calling, since we did not want to renew, but they continued to harass us almost every evening.

They were asked to send literature to us to prove they were cheaper and that it was worth our while to renew. It was never sent and the calls continued.

The calls finally stopped weeks later and we thought we were in the clear. With various happenings in our life, we forgot about it until December and noticed that they were still on our bill and overcharging us dramatically.

Our household has been reduced by 2 people and we know we have a big reduction in hydro usage, but when they estimated our bill, it is higher than ever!!! Now they are going to send us a CD of the agreement I supposedly agreed to…HUH??

I do not remember ever agreeing to renew….what is wrong with this picture?

I have not yet received the CD and maybe I am jumping the gun…..but how can I have agreed to something I was very glad was ending??

They said it would take 15-30 days to receive this CD. That’s another month of DE billing that I feel I did not agree to in the first place.

It really sucks because my wife has been sick and does not work and we can barely pay hydro as it is, never mind for something we do not want!!

It also took me over a month to find an email contact that answered me (vice-president Clinton Roeder). I tried phoning and was always waiting for over an hour and the “contact us” link on their website kept giving me an error from their page.

All in all, this has been a dreadful relationship and I know there are others in my area that have the same problems with DE.
Rob L

Mar 16 2009

My story is like the others. A pushy sales person came to the door and misrepresented himself as being our local provider. We signed up, thinking we would save money on our gas bill.
The sales person also told us we could cancel at any time without a penalty.

My wife even asked him to leave, but he persisted and when I came down we ended up signing anyways. It was followed up by a phone call that asked us if we were ok with the agreement. We said we were, but again did not understand the extent of what was happening.

I’ve recently called to cancel but have been told I will have to pay a huge cancellation fee. I feel like I was tricked into signing up and am now trapped.

My family is struggling with our bills already. Is there anything I can do to get out of this contract without paying the huge fee?
Lisa D

Apr 16 2009

I don’t know what to do next. I signed a electricity contract with DE and did 5 years with them. When it came around for renewal in early summer I did everything I needed to do to get off their service. In the fall, we had a smart meter installed and were enjoying the substantial savings of working with that system. In December my bill suddenly increased by 250% and a call to the local Hydro provider uncovered that we were again on a 5 year contract with DE.

I called them immediately and was told they would forward a copy of my signed contract by mail within 30 days. It was a CD of a telephone call a rep had with my husband where he clearly states that he has no idea what she is talking about and then she forces him to say the word “Yes”, thereby sealing the contract.

We have called to complain that our rights have been violated, specifically in the area of True & Clear Disclosure and have been told that they will happily process our cancellation once we have sent them a cheque for some secret amount (the first call the amount was $642.07 and the second call was an amount of $714.00). I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told that there was no one else I could speak to.

I have tried to contact someone else at the corporate offices, but continue to be stuck in a loop with their phone system. I told the rep that called this morning that I was going to cancel my hydro account outright, but I really shouldn’t have to do that to have these people give me with the service and respect they constantly claim they provide.
Jan S

Apr 17 2009

We too had a woman at our door. telling me to sign in order to verify that I requested information. So don’t tell me that they aren’t being trained to do this.

I don’t understand how when all of these people, myself included, are being tricked into something at their front door, there can be no legal way to cancel these contracts. What a scam!

I guess this is why this shyster company goes door to door because it would never be able to get contracts the normal way like a legitimate company. Otherwise, they would not have to lie at the front door to make it sound like you can opt out when you want to at no charge. And what proof do any of us have of this?

We Canadians have always been way too trusting. Everyone should learn a valuable lesson, and TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS, DO NOT do business with this company.
livers

Apr 30 2009

So do I have to pay the collection agency? Universal Energy wants $600 for one account and $900 for another. That $1500 is still less than legal fees and the increase in my bills for the 7 months I was in a contract with UE. However, if there is a way not to pay, I would rather not. Ottawa resident.
E. P.

May 2 2009

I am so grateful for your website. I paid a a $315.43 penalty fee in March to get out of Direct Energy and return to Enbridge. To date, this has not happened.

This house has been empty since last July as I am recovering in a nursing home. The thermostat is set at 72 in the daytime and 68 at night.

The average bills for winter were $300 to $400. My present bill is $175.35. Where do I go next?
CJG

May 8 2009

OMG! I can’t believe I fell into this trap.

My husband and I are first time home buyers. I feel like because of that we were targeted and misled by the rep that came to my door claiming to be my supplier. Not knowing any better. He even had an Enbridge Gas (FAKE) ID.

When I noticed the rates dropping, I called DE in April. The basis of their claim is to save me money. Well, that’s not happening. Therefore, I should be able to cancel without fees.

The rep said I had one chance to change the rate and to call back in May, as the rate would be lower. So I did today.

Today’s rep tells me that I can change it, but I would also be taking a new term for 5 years. I don’t want to be with DE in the first place. Why would I want to stay longer?

We are hard working people and cannot pay the penalty fee like that, so DE wins either way.

I feel sick just thinking about it. How can such a big company like DE have to resort to tricking people to being their customers? We are a family starting out with young children and just don’t have an extra $1,000 lying around to pay out fees.

As indicated in a note, I will look into contacting my MP for assistance. And I have told family and friend not to accept any offers from DE.
Rex

May 11 2009

I just want to thank Ellen Roseman for forwarding my story to DE. Just 1 week after I emailed Ellen, a customer relations rep called and cancelled my plan, no questions asked.

Apparently, they have zero tolerance for sales staff being overly aggressive or presenting false information.

Thank You Ellen. I was losing sleep over this one!

Here is a recap of what happened with me……

When the sales guy came to the house the first time, I was replacing the floors in my house… so the door was wide open. This Direct Energy sales guy walked right in and started the sales pitch… more like stating facts.

He began telling me that if I didn’t sign up, I wouldn’t receive gas. Since this was my first house and I still hadn’t moved in fully, I figured he was telling the truth.

So I signed up and I also noticed that the contract stated I had something like 30 days to call and confirm. So I figured OK, let me sign this and then I’ll look it over with a fine tooth comb.

Then he went as far as calling the Direct Energy office, with his cell phone, to make sure my contract would be in effect on that same day. I thought it was a little weird but I thought everyone had to sign up or else they wouldn’t have gas.

One year later, as my bill is growing and growing to $400+ a month, I said to myself… Something is wrong!

Now as I’m researching more, I found out that I was scammed into signing up with them. I could have stayed with my local gas provider and had the most recent rates!!!

I called to cancel 2 weeks after the sad realization and they told me I had to wait 30 days before they would send me anything with details on what my penalties are.

So if they send it in 30 days… add a few more days to arrive to the house… by that time, I would have already paid for another 2 months at that ridiculous rate!

There’s no way I would have survived in that house another year. I would had have to sell the place for sure.

At $400+ a month, I would have paid around $4,800 in a year. Great way to start a marriage!

Thanks to Ellen, this was cleared up in a few weeks.

I can’t thank you enough!!
Carmen P

Jun 8 2009

Oh, I could just cry! I can’t believe I have done this!

Last year, while my husband was posted to Afghanistan, I was approached at the door by a DE salesman who told me “everyone in my neighbourhood was on this program.” As we were new to the city and didn’t even know anyone whom we could ask, I assumed that this was correct and signed the contract.

Later, once I knew a few people, I had the courage to ask them what they were paying for their natural gas. I was dismayed at the answer; it was considerably less than what I had been paying (as much as $0.10 per cubic metre).

When my husband returned from overseas, I was telling him about changes around the house. I was ashamed to have to tell him what I “had done” by signing the contract, costing us well over $1,000 over the life of the contract. Sadly, this is slightly less than the expected costs associated with the inflated rate we’re locked into.

A sad and rather embarrassing tale to tell. I am only hoping for a miracle to save us our money - and our dignity.
Shawn Rymer

Jun 11 2009

Recently my mom got TWO bills from Direct Energy for cancellation fees totaling $1,355.

She sold her house recently, so she has no use for any utilities. She is 75 years old and by the way it sounds, she was duped into signing.

Now here we have an elderly woman who fears she will get into trouble if she doesn’t pay the fees. I couldn’t believe the lack of ethics and audacity of Direct Energy.

To pick on an elderly woman for a ridiculous amount of fees for “administration and cancellation”. I would like this to be stricken off as soon as possible.
David McLean

Jun 23 2009

I had signed up with DE for a contract for price protection on electricity. The rate was 0.0775 cents per KWH. I know this is now higher than what my local utility would charge and I am not contesting that.

The problem is that I am also being charged a Provincial Benefit Global Adjustment charge, which they never informed me I would ALSO pay in addition to the $0.0775c/KWH.

I called my local utility and they told me that this amount is paid to the government, but ALSO that I would NOT be charged this amount if I hadn’t switched to DE. I feel this is missrepresentative on DE’s part - I signed up for price protection and am now being charged this fee that varies from month to month.

This last month was $0.0398c/KWH and the charge was $216.03 just for this!!! I about flipped when I got the bill. What can be done?
David McLean

Jun 24 2009

After my post above, I pulled out a copy of the contract and my notes from when I signed up. The rep (rep code L99999 - ONT3) had told me that I would be getting a “credit” on my bill from the goverment and this amount could vary each month. This was to be the “provincial Benefit Global Adj”.

I was never told I could be charged or put myself at risk of possibly being charged by agreeing to this. The DE contract is very vague stating, “The Provincial Benefit and one time Replacement MPMA Rebate to which all consumers are entitled will appear on a separate line on your electricity bill”. This suggests that I was ENTITLED to a possible further credit.
JM

Jul 13 2009

I have to share my story. I am 33 years old. My husband and I bought our house in November 2005. This is our first house.

We had paid for hydro at other residences but had never been approached by any company to go with them. After a few months of being in the house, we got a knock on the door. The young lady requested to look at our hydro and gas bills…insisting that energy costs were on the rise and they could be soaring in a couple months.

We, being young and naive, agreed to a 5 year locked in term with both hydro and natural gas. The natural gas was 44c in the first year and would go down a cent every year. The hydro I assume was 9c.

Well today, I called DE for another reason about my bill and decided to ask what I was paying for hydro. He told me 9c. I then called my local utility company and was told the price was 5.7 for first 600 and 6.6 for the rest… I WAS SHOCKED! I am almost paying DOUBLE for my hydro.

When at the door, the lady said if my local company’s price was lower than theirs, that I would pay the lower of the two. I assumed this was automatic and did not pay attention to the costs for the last 3.5 yrs.

I then called Union Gas to see what they were charging for gas and she said…15c…. WHAT?… I WAS FLOORED SOME MORE…I am freaking paying 41c right now….that is almost triple the price!

I am outraged. I am about to cancel my contracts. I do not wish to pay the fees, of course, and will fight till the end to not pay them. I was misled. I was under the impression that if my local company’s price was lower I would pay the lower of the two. I am reporting DE to the BBB. This is not right. As far as I am concerned…the money they already STOLE from me is enough. How can they do this?

Lisa, Direct Energy spokeswoman, I expect a reply to this! I am outraged. I will tell everyone about this scam starting with FACEBOOK!
Nick Bacon

Aug 3 2009

Thanks Ellen,

The issues have been resolved, though I still wonder at the lack of problem solving abilities at both Enbridge and DE.

It seems should there be even the slightest hiccup in billing or payments, even if caused by themselves, they go completely for the jugular, with threatening voicemails etc.

I guess if you have a monopoly, this is what you can do. Too bad. I never had a problem with either one before.

Nick
Matthew A

Aug 5 2009

I have been in an ongoing battle with Universal Energy since 2007. Two years later, I am still being held to ransom by them!!

Supposedly we signed a contract with them in March of 2006. This, according to them, was reaffirmed in April of 2006.

After requesting copies of this contract on 4 occasions, I have yet to see a document backing up their statements.

In addition, I have been provided with multiple dates of when we signed the contract, multiple dates of when the contract is to expire and even 6 different dates of when they began supplying gas. And when I provided my phone number, they had it in someone else’s name.

After calling and suggesting that we did not sign up, we were also sent to collections for refusing to provide them with our new address when we moved.

Today I called to rectify this situation and speak with the “compliance department” and was told that they don’t take calls. I became livid and spoke harshly and eventually was transferred to Nobe at ext 369. She assured me that I will receive an email with all of the questioned documents attached.

For the past two years, I have been paying almost double the supply rate for electricity and received nothing in return but ignorance and harassment. UE is a ripoff company. Stay clear.

I have contacted the OEB and the BBB regarding this matter. However, without a copy of the ‘contract,’ I am forced to comply for now or have my credit rating destroyed by these parasites.

If anybody is familiar with any class action suits or the like, it would be great to hear from you.
Trudi P

Oct 7 2009

Dear Ellen, I also have been a victim of Direct Energy trial program.

I was contacted by a telephone telemarketing agent in January 2008. I was to be on the program till March ‘09 and if I did not want them as our electric supplier, I was to do nothing and we would revert back to Hydro One as our supplier. So I did not call.

Now I’m getting bills of over $720 per month, and I didn’t realize I was still on the Direct Energy program. I did not sign or receive any contract.

I called Direct Energy and was told there was nothing that could be done. I spoke to a person who said I would be sent a CD of my conversation with the telemarketing agent. I am to receive this CD in approximately 35 days. This means I will still be with Direct Energy for another month or longer.

Being on Old Age Security as my only income, how do I survive these large bills? How do I get out of a contract with Direct Energy that I never agreed to or signed? Please help.
Gary Thompson

Oct 21 2009

I’m writing because I recently discovered that I am one of many people in Ontario that have been caught up in a very bad and deceitful practice of Direct Energy.

Like most people, I typically pay my utility bills when they arrive without giving them a second thought. I noticed of late that my bills (gas and electricity) are very high. I decide to call my gas and electricity companies to try and get an explanation for the increasing costs.

To my utter surprise, I was informed that my services are with Direct Energy. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing because my bills were appearing on the local utility companies statement as they have always been.

I called Direct Energy only to be told that they had a verbal conversation with my wife over the phone and that we are locked into a five year contract that would cost us several hundred dollars to cancel. This is outrageous. My wife cannot remember the specifics of the conversation and I am convinced that this was deceptive marketing to fool unsuspected individuals into agreeing to a contract that they know little or nothing about. This has to stop.

I am completely surprised as to the number of people on the internet that have raised concerns about the business practices of this company. I am seeking any assistance to cancel my supposed agreeme4nt with Direct Energy.

I am also concerned that they continue to use your local company’s billing statement so that the unsuspected would not easily know that a switch has occurred. I will not pay the cancellation fee that they are charging. This practice is what you would expect in a Third World country, not Canada.

I need your help, please.

Gary
ZV

Nov 25 2009

Today I received a letter in the mail from Bond Street Collections stating I owe nearly $600 to OES (now Just Energy).

I am a university student and two years ago I was living in a house with 3 other girls. When I was living there, the hydro bill was in my name, and it had been transferred to my name from a girl who had lived there and moved out.

I don’t know what happened, but somehow a contract with OES was signed for this account. Either the previous account holder signed the contract, or one of my roommates signed it on my behalf, thinking we would be saving some money. Now, over half a year since I have moved out of that house, they want me to pay a cancellation fee. I was not aware that I was even signed up for this.

What I know from what I have read about these people, whoever signed the contract was most likely misled. If they had been told that we would be locked into a contract, they would surely not have signed it. We were all students living in a rented house. Obviously, none of us would be living there for five years.

Also, if the contract was signed by one of my former roommates, how can that be ethical? The bill was in my name, so I should have been the person to do the signing. I was never aware that a contract had been signed and now I am being pressured to pay money I don’t have. I am finishing my university degree, and I already have $25 000 in student loans to pay back. There is no way I can pay $600 for something so outrageous.

Hopefully I can get some help. I can’t believe I have to deal with this. Please help.
Charlie

Dec 11 2009

My partner recently sold her house and the deal does not close till next month.

In preparation for that event, she has started to notify the utility companies. One of those companies, Energy Only, has notified her that she will have to pay several hundred $’s to terminate her account or carry it over to her new address.

I do not want anything to do with them, so I was wondering what are the steps necessary to get these people off her case w/o paying this apparent penalty that she had no knowledge of.
Colin Grieve

Dec 12 2009

I have POA for my mother Iris Grieve and I recently received a bill from Direct Energy for a ‘cancellation fee’ of over $800. My mother’s gas supplier was Union Gas prior to her selling her house and moving to a retirment home. She never signed any contract with Direct Energy. The ‘invoice’ asks her to send her last 12 months worth of gas bills to a Lock Box if she has any questions about the ‘invoice’ so they can review them and determine if any further adjustments are required to her account. This has all the earmarks of sleazy sales tactics at best and fraud at worst.
Ryan

Jan 20 2010

I have been renting in a Minto terrace home since September of 2007 and recently gave notice to Minto that I was moving. I am moving into a family member’s basement to save money for a down payment on a home. I am not responsible for any utilities.

I recently received a letter from Direct Energy, saying that if I was cancelling my services I would be charged an exit fee of approximately $780.

I had been talked into signing one of these fixed rate contracts in the summer of 2008 by a Direct Energy rep that came to my door. He said my rates would increase unless I signed a contract.

Not once did he mention anything about a cancellation or exit fee. I had said that I was renting the unit and was unsure how long I would be staying in that unit.

About a month ago, there was another issue I encountered. I received a knock on my door from a field worker at Ottawa Hydro, who informed me that my lines had been crossed with another unit on my street.

So for over 2 years, I had been paying and receiving another unit’s energy bills, and when I signed the Direct Energy contract it was based on the usage that I had been receiving on my bills, which in fact was incorrect as there were issues with the lines.

I then received a massive invoice from Ottawa Hydro for over $2,200. I have since resolved part of that issue with them, but since I was going through Direct Energy, they needed to recoup some of their money as well.

All in all, this crossed lines issues has caused me numerous problems for something which I had no knowledge of the entire time I lived there.

I feel as though that the exit fees for the Direct Energy plan should be voided. I signed it under false pretenses from the sales representative, and it was based on problematic billing / a hydro line issue.
Liban

Jan 24 2010

Ellen, please help us, my wife signed a contract with DE about December 2008. My wife did not understand what she was getting into.

We emigrated to Canada about 10 years ago and we had never paid utilities because we always lived in apartment buildings and it was included in the rent. Now we live in a townhouse.

I have spoken to DE reps about our bills and why they’re so high, especially my hydro bill. To make my story short, DE have give me $0.2999 on my gas untill my contract finishes.

I have just cancelled my electricity because our bill was so high, $300 to $400. We didn’t know the extra money we pay every month to the government because third-party was involved, which is DE. We used to pay $100 to $150 before the contract and this is ridiculous. They are now asking as to pay $600 for early exit fees.
Dave

Jan 24 2010

Thank you, Canada, once again for sticking it to the working man.

After discussing utility bills with friends and neighbours, I was disgusted to learn I have been paying almost double. And why? because I enrolled in a scam called Just Energy which, by their sales pitch, was going to save me money.

These people are scam artists, they should be incarcerated. Where is this country headed when our government allows people to do this?

We allow foreign companies to buy our resources (Vale Inco), try and break unions and lower our standard of living, We have a disregard for our environment and have not addressed the problem with our economy, Afghanistan etc.

Now our own leaders, who were elected to Pariament, have decided to take a break and forget about all the issues that need to be addressed. Wake up Canada.

I will be paying the fee to exit from the Just Energy scam. Please educate yourself and family before you agree to anything. I am totally embarrassed and disgusted to be a Canadian.
AJ

Feb 2 2010

I would highly advise anyone to please beware if you receive any phone calls from Direct Energy, as they use/manipulate with statistics in order to get you to lock in a fixed rate for a number of years.

What is worse is the fact that they make you feel that the gas prices will definitely be increasing. And to add insult to injury, it is all legal.

When I was contacted by Direct Energy, they didn’t mention anything about a cancellation fee nor did they say anything about paying the early exit fee when you have sold your house. I now have to pay over $1,000. This is unacceptable.

I wish people had more awareness about this “legal scam” called Direct Energy.
Bob

Feb 2 2010

I got into that contract bulls*** also — $3,500 to cancel, paying about $150 more a month. Imagine that. I need help.
Rick Taylor

Feb 3 2010

We had our house for sale with a sign on the lawn when the DE salesperson knocked on the door. We explicitly pointed out the house was for sale and would not be there long. Not a problem were told.

Now we get Bond Collections trying to recover money for gas used by the people who bought our house. Apparently, we were supposed to take the contract with us. If they can get gas on my street, I’ll be pleased to complete the contract.

I was told by the collection agency to prove I didn’t use gas. I took pictures of my heat pumps and sent them to Brandon at Bond Collections. It bounced back.

I’ve called and left messages and nobody returns calls, but they continue to send letters.

Avoid this scamming company like the plague!
Jan

Feb 9 2010

Need help… I have spent over 30 hours on the phone with Direct Energy.

My 2009 bills have totaled $7,800 and my house is only 2,500 sq ft. I have a brand new HE furnace and my bill is $1,000.

My contract was over in Dec 2009 but still getting billed from DE…I can’t get any answers and I’m going to seek legal help. Any advice?
Mike

Feb 10 2010

Hi. We have the same issue. We actually sold the house that we signed up under and now live in a new house.

We didn’t know we had to notify them about the sale and somehow they were able to find us and contact us and now they said that the contract is still valid even if we sold the house!

They are now charging us exit fees and our account is with the collection agency.

Are we still bound to the contract even if we sold the house?? thanks. Please help us, Ellen.
Jolene

Feb 15 2010

DE seems to be doing everything they can to literally steal money from people. My family purchased a new furnace installation through DE. In Dec/09 it was paid off entirely in a lump sum payment of nearly $4000.

Since then, we have been continually billed, informed that we have not made payments at all in spite of their own billing statement sent to us stating that the money was received it was not apparently applied to the account.
Now this month we receive notice that payments are past due, the nearly $4000 payment shows no where on the statement and nearly $1000 has been added to the total amount owed.

There are no answers from anyone at DE. Customer service insists that the $4000 must have been applied to another account we hold with them. We have no other accounts or contracts with this company. The bank shows this money was taken from our accounts, but DE says they do not have it even when their statements say they do.

This is no small sum of money to anyone, especially these days. We paid off the entire amount of the furnace because on several occasions before they lost hundreds of dollars in payments we made to them. They were simply never applied to the account. We just wanted to be done with them.

Now I have a mother who is beyond stressed over this, terrified that the continual late charges being applied to her are going to ruin her credit rating. I’ve had to take the entire situation away from her literally out of the fear that she’ll give herself a heart attack trying to deal with these people. But I have no idea what to do now, hire a lawyer at the expense of several more thousand dollars?

Where do we turn when a corporation is stealing from us?
DOC

Feb 23 2010

I am currently waiting to hear the results of an “investigation” into my situation, from a utility retailer. I have my own similar story to tell. I just can’t get over how many consumer complaints can be found, all over the internet, about these companies! These retailers should be prohibited from soliciting sales door-to-door. They have been around long enough, that people who want a fixed rate contract, know where to find them! It’s very unfortunate that they seemingly make more money from cancelling contracts than actually selling energy! Don’t sign anything at the door, no matter what!
Sanjay Patel

Feb 24 2010

My Natural Gas contract got automatically extended with Direct Energy after my previous contract had ended at more than 3 times current flex rate of $0.12/cubic meter for natural gas supply charge, I am paying $0.378/cubic meter now. I had no idea that the contract would get renewed automatically and at a very high rate. The only reason for me noticing the issue was that I had a residential bill over $400, ouch. I enquired with Enbridge about the supply rate not knowing that my contract was still with Direct Energy, it should have ended in October of 2009. I learnt that I am automatically stuck with a contract renewal for another 1 year, previous contract was 5 year. I had not read my bill carefully until a very large bill came and that is why I started to make enquires. This corporation is deceiving and not moral. After I had gotten myself stuck on the original 5 year contract I was not about to get into another energy contract. Please help me fix this and also help other consumers. I found out from a service personal at the Ontario Energy Board that there have been others that complained about being automatically renewed and if a person is not carefully looking at all their bills and mail may miss out on the opportunity to opt out of new contract. The home owner doesn’t need to approve to get signed up for the 1 year contract extension but must opt out, this seems very wrong. I don’t think Direct Energy gave any prior notice to allow opting out of the 1 year contact extension. Even if a letter was sent to Direct Energy to opt out they may ignore it and say that nothing was recieved. Big crooks can get away with murder and just get a minor slap on the rist. The headache, worries, and money lost they cause should be considered criminal. - Thanks
Nata

Mar 1 2010

Ellen, thanks for the comments and help regarding gas supplier issues.

I am with Direct Energy and have 1 year and 6 months left in the 5 year contract at 39.9 cents/cubic metre. The current rate is 12.9 cents.

When I called to cancel the contract, they told me there will be a cancellation charge of $350. I asked them to send me a copy of the contract and the confirmation, which they said would take a maximum of 30 days.

I don’t recall the salesman telling me anything about the cancellation charges. On my repeated asking, he told me that there will not be any fee if I sell the house and buy another one in Ontario or if I move out of the province after selling the house.

This charge is very unreasonable and I request your help to solve this matter. I have been paying 39.9 cents for the last 3 and half years, which I think should have provided enough profit to Direct Energy.
Imran

Mar 8 2010

Hello,

I am currently going through the same situation with Direct Energy. I have two accounts.

A shady salesperson came by when my father was helping me paint this new property. No one is allowed to sign for anything except myself. The salesperson told my father that he needed to sign the contract to get the gas connected. Well, it was a total scam: I received my first bill and found out I was paying a ridiculous 44 cents per cubic metre.

I cancelled and went to another gas supplier. Then, I received cancellation charges totalling nearly $3,000. I called them and explained the situation. They said they needed me to fax ID, along with my father’s, in order to waive cancellation fees.

I did as told and I’m still receiving letters from CGC, a collection agency. I just recently faxed all the information again, and also wrote an email to CGC explaining what the situation is.

Is there anything else I can do? These idiots have probably ruined my good credit, not to mention the time and aggravation. I think we should all start a class action lawsuit against DE.
Imran

Mar 8 2010

Oh forgot to thank Ellen for this great resource and blog. Keep up the good work!
Ed

Mar 10 2010

I was with Direct Energy for 7+ years and I called last summer to inform them I would not be renewing with them again. I also asked to be removed from the calling list.

I still received more than 10 calls to renew the contract. Most of these callers did not care who they were talking to as long as they got a yes. So anyone answering your phone can lock you in to a multi-year contract.

Then January came and I was still being billed. I called them again to find out why and she told me it takes 2 to 3 months for the cancellation order to take effect. Now I got my new bill for February and it’s way lower than this time last year & the many years before.

I will never join with an energy company again. Still find it hard to believe the government doesn’t act to protect us from these cancellation fees and demand signatures to renew — not an endless barrage of phone calls till they get the right answer.

Direct Energy never saved me a cent. Instead, it cost me many thousands of dollars in the last decade.
Ed

Mar 10 2010

Sorry, edit last post: I was still billed till March, with my contract ending in December.

They like to wring out the last little money at the end, since they know you’re not re-signing.

Warn your families & friends.
John

Mar 12 2010

I see where Lisa Frizzell keeps writing things like “We have contacted him and resolved the issue to his satisfaction”, but how can this be true when people have been cheated & scammed?

My mom was tricked into a 5 year contract by being promised a $100 rebate cheque every year with Direct Energy. Why don’t the people who posted tell the end of their story?

I can’t see everyone being happy with paying extra high bills for years, while we all know DE never paid extra for hydro to provide their service, which we were going to receive anyways, then punish customers for finding out it’s a scam.

The government should close these companies down. No BS Direct Energy spin doctor is going to write that me & my mother are satisfied with being cheated for years, only seeing people convicted of fraud will make us feel better. Thanks Ellen for helping these people.
Dan

Mar 19 2010

I am in the same situation with Direct Energy. I had been talked into signing one of these fixed rate contracts for hydro and Gas in the summer of 2008 by a Direct Energy rep that came to my door. He said my rates would increase unless I signed a contract. The rep misrepresented about everything that came out of his filthy mouth.

1 year later I am paying double what was before. I am lining the pockets of the bastards at Direct Energy.

I recently received a letter from Direct Energy, saying that if I was cancelling my services I would be charged an admin fee, early cancel fee and GST? , $5200 total fees.
Not once did he mention anything about a cancellation or exit fee. I can’t afford paying for false bullshit fees Direct Energy makes up. I just want out.

I need HELP.
Eric

Apr 24 2010

I too am getting scammed by DE. I used to own a condo and sold it 3 years ago. I since then have moved back to my parents, and have been going to school.

I just got a call today saying I owe DE $1,800 for terminating my contract early. I don’t ever remember signing anything.

I just phoned and got the services hooked up. And when I sold it, I phoned and cancelled. No one informed me of any cancellation fees or anything like that.

I can understand a 50 or 100 dollar fee for cancelling early, but 1800 dollars? Sounds like I’ll be telling everyone I know to avoid Direct Energy and their marketing scams. I can’t believe how misleading they are for such a large company.

I don’t know how this affected my near perfect credit but I’m not very pleased with how they waited 3 years to tell me. Not once did I get a phone call or email from DE saying I owe them this money.

I’d rather pay a lawyer the money and sue them than give them $1,800 for gas I never used. Anyone had a similar situation? If so, how was it resolved? I’m really curious, as I do not have this money to lose. Thanks!
Linda

May 5 2010

I have a $6,000 bill from Direct Energy. Nice scam…I cancelled the contract and they put it through anyway.

I have all my paperwork, emails, copies and good lawyers…Let the games begin.
Brian Tilles

Jun 23 2010

I also have been hosed. I signed a deal, being assured that I could get out at any time.

They throw this Unforced Capacity Charge on me (ucap) that makes the price per kwh more than what was being charged when I changed!

I have been offered a good rate from an alternate supplier that is reputable. I use them at my home, 5.0 per kwh cheaper.

I want to get rid of this low class company without all of the penalties!
Kate

Jul 6 2010

I too am having the exact same problem as posters on this site. Is there really any help out there?? If so, please pass it on.

My so called contract is ending in 2013 with a fixed rate of 39.99 cents. As an account holder, I wasn’t the one that signed the paper through the door to door salesman.

I didn’t give authorization to anyone, but since my husband signed for it, they considered it as VALID, since he’s a resident in the house.

I also was not the one that received the phone call for affirmation on the contract. I would have been smarter.

Does Lisa Frizzell, Direct Energy spokeswoman, really exist?? I haven’t seen a response for quite some time. Thank you.
Lester

Jul 22 2010

Well I am certainly caught in the scam. Big Time.

- Signed up 2004 for 5 year plan at prior address
- Sole title ownership of home
- Moved to new address in 2008
- Joint ownership of home
- Utility automatically moved the plan to new address with new account number
- Called Direct Energy and they said my contract expires in March 2011
- I told them that I do not have any contract with them since I moved to new address and the original contract had expired
- They said that the contract continued in 2008 when I moved
- They said that the contract was automatically renewed because they sent me a renewal notice and did not get a reply
- I have no recollection of ever receiving any renewal notice
- They again said that they sent it and with no reply, they are allowed to automatically renew
- They then tried to over me another 5 year plan (unbelievable!!!)
- I said I was not interested and that they need to cancel any perceived contract
- They said there would be a cancellation fee, but they would have to mail it to me as they do not have it.
- It has been a week and haven’t received the cancellation fee by mail
- Well I called today and asked
- $3232.34!!!!!!!!
- Looks like I have to go to court
- Anyone with any other ideas on how to get out of that?

Thank You
Pastor K

Aug 23 2010

Ellen

This site has been very informative. We signed our church up for DE 1 June 2010, however two weeks later we got a much better rate 4c Per KWh lower so we switched. DE called us the next day to ask why, and when told said they couldn’t match that rate. We asked if there was anything else we needed to do with the cancalation since we had been with them less than two weeks and we were told no. Needless to say 1 month later we get a call from Greenberg Grant & Richards, Inc (713-789-5893) telling us we owe a %1511.70 cancalation fee. I explained to Mr. Eric Bates that was impossible, we never recieved the DE policy and when the first and final bill came we paid it. He said he would request a copy of our contract to review it and call back. We havn’t heard from him, but got a letter stating we owe this fee. Can you help me figure this out?

Pastor K

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