Direct Energy Gas and Electric www.directenergy.com

direct energy changed the phone number on my account with out my permission. they called a stranger and gave my account information for months. the stranger whom they were calling even told them several times they had the wrong number and they never fixed it nor did they contact me to verify. my electricity was turned off and when i tried to have it turned back on they wanted me to pay a fee for their mistake!

any other company would be better!

Direct Energy doesn't even deserve one star. They should get stars taken away from them. I was falsely billed $220 for "tampering" with the meter by Oncor last summer and Direct Energy did NOTHING to help me. I had to file a complaint against Oncor with the TX PUC myself and still had to pay the charge. But Direct Energy was totally useless in even trying to help me.

And now, once again, I'm getting a HUGE bill when I've been freezing at 68 degrees all this month and was out of town for a week for Christmas with the thermostat set to 60 degrees and they tell me my usage is the highest its ever been. Now, again this is Oncor, but Direct Energy will not do anything about it again.

AND their rate has become rediculous $0.146/kWh. This is robbery!!! I've just switched to another company.

I would like to detail the horrible experience I am having dealing with Direct Energy. I sold my home and vacated the home on 4/30/09. On April 20,2009 I called to schedule a MVO. The MVO was never processed. I callled several times after continuing to receive bills. Many times I was given the runaround, attitude, and many times there is no record of me calling. I was offered no help, was treated poorly, and the lack of respect by Direct Energy representatives has been appauling.

I finally filed a complaint with the BBB on 6/20/09. As a result of the complaint. Direct Energy found that I should not have been billed past 4/30/09, as a new resident was occupying my home. My account was closed, and my balance made zero. In fact, I was issued a credit for 21.60.

Well, after thinking this ordeal was finally solved, I was once again charged by Direct Energy on my credit card for 162.52 on 8/4/09. I called Direct Energy immediately, and of course they have no record of my BBB claim, no record of my account being closed and set to zero. I have re-opened my complaint with the BBB. I also notified my credit card of fraudulent charges to my card by Direct Energy. I have also filed a complaint with the Texa s Utilities Commission.

I want this issue resolved, my account closed, and a refund of 162.52 placed on my card immediately.

My ultimate complaint is that Direct Energy is so completely incompetent that remaining with them became impossible. During the first 6 months I received my electicity from Direct Energy I only received one bill. They were completely incapable of generating a bill. When the bills finally did start coming there were several conflicting statements that came. We paid each one almost immediately - though it was hard to tell what we actually owed.

My father who switched to Direct Energy at the same time I did had ever worse trouble. In fact he only received his first bill after about 11 months when he and I decided we should move our service because Direct Energy is so incompetent.

That is when things really went wrong. They closed my account and sent me a final bill which I paid 2 weeks before it was due. Almost immediately upon cancellng my coverage I started receiving calls. When I would answer no one was there but it was clear it was an automated call. On July 3, 2009 my father mentioned to me that he had been receiving calls from an 800# that was driving him crazy because no one was ever there when he answered. He decided to call the # and found out that it was a collection agency looking for me. To be clear, I have not lived with my father for 20 years. As it turns out Direct Energy had turned me over to a collection agency at least 3 weeks before the bill was even due. The collection agency made many harassing calls to both my house and my father's house but NEVER left any messages. I was told these were "courtesy" calls, but no one can explain to me how this was courteous. This collection agency now has all my information including my SS#. Do yourself a favor and avoid them. There are too many better options out there than to deal with them.

Direct Energy Gas and Electric offer a fixed rate plan, and you're allowed to request a rate reduction if the average price drops from the original fixed rate.

Also no extra fees for the plan. It's considered an agreement, for a 12 month period, not a 2 or 5 year contract. No credit check. You may cancel at any time without penalty charges. Overall I think it's a really safe choice to go with. As customers and consumers we need to be more responsible for keeping up with the rates and our usage. You should also read your own meters too. That way you can somewhat calculate what you should be paying. I think some utility companies are really getting over on customers because they're not aware of what is really going on. They just open up the bills, read the amount due and pay. Sometimes I think companies just do an estimate of your usage. If that's what happening with anyone, YOU ARE PAYING MORE! Don't be afraid to ask questions!