I overpaid by about $3k in 2 years - I switched from Con Ed to Energy Plus. Because my bills were paid by direct debit, I did not realize I was being charged nearly double what I had been paying with Con Ed. I am now working on a class action against Energy Plus. If you were also overcharged and are interested in participating, I strongly encourage you to contact me immediately at ** or on my cell at **.
Consumer Complaints & Reviews
They promised me a cheaper rate than what I was paying Con-Ed. The first month was cheaper, the 2nd month the same, the 3rd month 20% more. In January 2011, I used 4,000 KW with Con-Ed and paid $500. In January 2012, I used 1,800 KW with Energy Plus and was charged $850. That's three times more than Con-Ed. I have since cancelled my policy and gone back to Con-Ed. What a rip-off company.
Bait and Switch - I took their offer in March 2011. They promised 'lower electric bills'. They offered Continental miles and so I took the bait. Fast forward one year and their rate is now 25% higher than the 'old' electric company (JCPL) ($0.159/khw vs. $0.115/kwh). Not unless you have the discipline to monitor the per kilowatt hour charge every month, the rate that Energy Plus (or Energy 'Minus') charges will creep up. Their customer service is nonexistent, not able to get a phone rep and there was no answer to an email that I sent asking for clarification.
Energy Plus offers a $75.00 bonus after 2 months of service with them plus a 3% rebate of the generation total after 1 year. Sounds great, doesn't it? Knowing this was going to be a variable rate, I did expect variation in the rate. My first month of billing was great; the rate was .0084, .005 cents lower than the fixed rate I had with my previous supplier. Next 2 billings came in at .149+ almost double what I was paying.
This is a ripoff, and nobody is doing anything about it (meaning, our consumer protection officials). I have cancelled with them and have gone back to my original supplier which has an even lower rate than my previous fixed rate of .0899. These people should be put out of business. By the way, I did get my $75 bonus check which offsets their inflated rates, so it's about a break even, since I cancelled after 2 months. People who stay with them for the year get scammed.
This was my 2nd energy supplier. No different than the first. Never choose a variable rate or a company that charges a cancellation fee. When your fixed rate period ends, you must change suppliers. The rate will increase and you will pay this jacked up rate for at least another month until the switchover. On my last month with this company, their rate was 50% higher than PECO. Try to arrange to have your last month in one of your low electricity month. That last 1-2 months of excessive charges could wipe out any savings. I had no savings with this supplier. I had a very modest saving with the first. I am on my 3rd now and have already picked out my next one. After the next one, I am going to evaluate and just go back to PECO if overall the savings have been puny and too much hassle.
Since the switch to Energy Plus, my electric bill has been higher compared with the same period a year ago. I thought it could be due to inflation rate increase due to shortage etc. I still thought I was saving. I finally compared the rates that would be offered by my original utility company (Con Edison). I could not believe that Energy Plus has been charging me more than double the rate compared with Con Edison. I am cancelling the service. I have contacted Energy Plus for explanation of much higher rate, but I have not heard back yet. I think it is important to review bills closely and be informed.
They are charging me three times what Con Ed would charge for Energy Supply. They told me they would be cheaper. This is outrageous. When I spoke to Con Ed he could not believe the price per Kilowatt hour they were charging me. For example, Cone Ed's cost for Dec 12-Jan 12 would have been 7.1 cents, and they charged me 22.8 Cents. How is this supposed to hep the consumer. I am calling Monday to cancel, and they better not give me a hard time. I am retired and don't have money to throw away to these rip off artists. What is being done to investigate these ESCO's?
Energy Plus Holdings LLC are scam artists. I was promised the same or better variable rate that I was paying, about 5 cents/KW. I received my first bill and it was over 10 cents/KW. Outrageous! Highway robbers and scam artists. I immediately left them; however, it took 30 days to take effect. I received a second bill that was worse. I think they are trying to make their money before everyone catches on to their scam.
I signed up with Energy Plus because they claimed to have competitive rates and offered American Airlines award miles. My first bill was twice as high as I was previously paying with NYSEG, and my second bill was three times higher. The third month was down a little, but still more than twice as high as NYSEG. And my fourth and final bill was about four times higher. When I called Energy Plus after the second month to cancel, they were responsive, but it took more than 30 days to become effective. I did get my AA bonus miles, but it would have been cheaper by far to just have purchased them.
I switched from JCP&L to Energy Plus under an advertisement that the company offered significantly lower and competitive pricing. The rate performance over the last six months has been far sub-par and I have the strong impression that my electricity rate is personalized for me (i.e. competitive for 1 month), followed by substantial, almost monthly, increases, gambling that I will not notice (which I did not for about 6-7 months).
The company claims to be competitive (our variable rates are market-driven, **), yet there is no evidence of this intent in their rate development. There was an increase in my electricity bill of $500 in total over the last 6 months. During this period, the rate for JCP&L went down (-3%), while the Energy Plus rate increased by 41%. Only the rate in the first billing cycle was lower than JCP&L's. I wish I could seek input from other Energy Plus customers to compare rates during the same period/same region in order to determine if the company is indeed deliberate in its customer-based price setting rather than market mechanism-based price setting as claimed.
I switched to Energy Plus in 2011. Below are the electric supply rates for each monthly bill, in cents/kWh and the monthly electric supply rates I was paying prior to switching. I have switched to another supplier and I have filed a complaint with the Consumer Protection Agency. This is the kind of stuff from which consumers need protection.
You think you're saving money on electric? Wrong! It costs a lot more than with JCP&L (they gave me a one-time credit back of $40 for one month... wow!) Now I can't afford to pay my bill because of this company. Never deal with them! Hilton HHonors should not connect themselves with this company. Now I'm facing the threat of electric shut off, and I can't pay due to an average of $40 or more a month with this company.
As an American Airlines Advantage customer, I was solicited by Energy Plus offering bonus miles to my Advantage account & a low rate currently $8.9 cents per kwh which was variable but stated "We believe that we can compete with other electricity suppliers in your area".
Rate was lower for a few months then has continued to rise every month whereas the rates for the two other providers in our area have stayed the same for over a year. My current rate for past few months with EP is approximately .16; TXU rate has been .124; First Choice .112. Therefore, it was false advertising implying they would remain competitive with other local providers. Energy Plus stated "no monthly fees" but statements reflect a large listing of various fees every month added to to energy charges. When I was with the other providers in the past, the most I ever paid in additional energy charges were flat fees at $9.95/month. This was to cover the TDU pass through charges. On my last bill from Energy Plus, those charges were over $60 and at the lowest, around $20. I have no way to substantiate the amounts EP is stating are pass through from TDU so who knows if these charges are legitimate.
Energy Plus is the only provider in our area who "jacked their rates up" during the hottest summer we have experienced in quite some time.
I signed up with Energy Plus because I was offered mileage points from AAdvantage. It sounded like a good deal, but I was scammed big time! After a decent rate at sign up, they raised the rate above any other electric company out there. The last month I was with them, my electric bill was $504 for one month on a 1750 sq.ft. house and only two people. As a senior citizen on a fixed income, I feel violated. This shouldn't be allowed and should be against the law.
I have not yet paid because I can't afford it. They are adding fees and now the bill is $528.88. I don't know where to go with this!
Energy Plus has scammed me with rate, dramatic increase and a very confusing way of billing to evaluate the charges. They have misleading information and sales pitch. I've paid more than $50 a month for a long time now since I've been with this company.
My bill was approximately $325.00 when I use my original electricity supplier. Then, it increased to $514.00. I used 520 kwh less. Energy Plus charged me .14875 per kwh. My original supplier's cost for the same months was .6051 per kwh. My first billing was $189.00 over what I would have paid for the same billing period.
I will join the chorus of frustrated people screaming "don't sign up with Energy Plus, no matter what they offer you." It is simply a scam. My signing rate was $0.04/kWh, which was incredibly low (this was June 2011). However, they tack on a $64 delivery charge (which is pretty high), so I figured it was just a clever way to charge very little per kWh. I also figured that the rate would increase the next month, which it did.
In July, the rate went to $0.09/kWh with a $69 delivery charge. At this point, I figured that it had probably stabilized and now, I was only slightly getting ripped off compared to my previous electric company. In August, my new rate was $0.1556/kWh (also with a $69 delivery charge). I have never paid so much for electricity! I checked the average price for the state of TX: around $0.10/kWh.
This is a total scam. I called and asked if there was anything they would do--none. Don't waste your money on this company. I should have stuck with the old wisdom that if something seems too good to be true, it will be.
I received an offer that stated competitive prices, airmiles and the benefit of "going green" with wind power. I tried to find out their rate and couldn't. The advertising leads you to believe you are going to benefit from choosing your own plan with a competitive variable rate. My rate was three times higher than Central Hudson. I let two billing cycles go to see if it improved, but it continued to not vary in the least, and certainly not in my favor.
I called CH and had them switch me. I asked for a comparison over the period of January to July, and I paid almost $1000 more for my electricity even though my usage was down from 2010. These people should be shut down and now. I feel very deceived by their advertising. I also feel they are having a damaging effect on the future of what people feel about alternative energy sources like wind power. This is really quite a scam. I am going to report them to the Public Service Commission, Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General as well.
I received a letter in mail claiming that Energy Plus would lower my monthly electric bill. When my my electric bill went higher this month I called my electric supplier.They informed me that even though I used less kilowatts, the rate per kilowatts has increased this month. I inquired if this was Energy Plus rates.They told me starting March 2011 that Energy Plus would be billing me. That I would need to call them for their rates. When I called today they told me the rate per kilowatt would be 2X's more than my current supplier. That I could cancel my account with them but I would be charged at the higher rate for the month of March/April.
The only reason I considered switching suppliers was to lower my bill. This is what Energy Plus led me to believe. If Energy Plus would have been clear about their rates I would have declined their offer. They never informed me of their rates. I received a letter with promotion in the mail with an online rewards code. Why would I want to pay double the rate per kilowatt? I do not want Energy Plus to be the supplier for my electric source ever. To make it worse I am billed every two months.
Please read this if you are considering switching your electric supply company to Energy Plus. The supervisor I spoke with did a quick review of my account and told me that indeed, over the last year I had paid a bit more than my original supplier would have charged, but the year prior to that I had done well. He assured me that he would look at the last year of my bills and see if some adjustment could be made.
While I was waiting for the supervisors call back, I did a bit of investigating myself. I searched "Energy Plus Scam" and was not surprised to see the page fill with complaints of overcharging, then I took a detailed look at my last 23 months of electric bills, noted the amount charged by Energy Plus for my energy supply and called National Grid (previous supplier) and got the amount they had been charging during the same period. The result of this simple check dropped my jaw in disbelief. I had been taken to the cleaners. The initial three months after signing were nearly identical to my previous suppliers rate and then for the next 20 months, Energy Plus overcharged me from 100% to over 200% more each month than what I would have been charged if I had stayed with National Grid. Most of the months, the overcharge was between 140% and 200%.
I called the Energy Plus supervisor back and asked him to look back a bit further than one year because his representation that the first year of their service, I had done well, was much like the original sales spiel, not true. The supervisor then told me that, I shouldn't forget, that all the while I had been benefiting from the 3% rebate back to my son's Upromise account and that their rate had been clearly stated on my bill. He went on to say that I could have canceled at anytime, free of charge and that as it turns out their company isn't as competitive (there's that word again) in my area as they are in other areas. I again brought up the salesperson's original representation of saving an average of 7% annually on my electric supply. The supervisor acknowledged that this was a statement that his company's salespeople would sometimes make.
The following excerpt is from Energy Plus website as of February 13, 2011; "As with all variable rate plans, your supply price may fluctuate on a monthly basis lower or higher to reflect the current state of each power market. However, in order to make an informed comparison to competitive offers, customers should average their bills over the course of several months or seasons, rather than taking a snapshot of just one month. Our goal is to be competitive with other energy suppliers and your local utility company over the long run, while offering valuable rewards."
Well, I would say that Energy Plus was not very good at meeting their goal. Notice again the frequent use of competitive in Energy their well-crafted statement. The statement implies savings and in essence says you really can't make an informed decision unless you wait through seasons of their inflated bills to make a decision. Rather insulting, Energy Plus doesn't list any rates past or current on their website for a good reason, it would limit the number of people they could take advantage of. They'd rather have you take their word, regrettably I did. The supervisor did get back to me that day, and offered me $600.00 and advised me that he didn't have to offer that. Six hundred dollars isn't close to what their overcharges amounted to. He went on to say that he was only able to go back one year in my account and that would be the best he could do.
I've severed my relationship with Energy Plus and am waiting for the check now. I fully expect the check to have some kind of statement below the endorsement area which will release them of any further liability. If that is the case, I will not be signing it. Either way, I will be filing a complaint with the NYS Public Service Commission (80 complaints in 2010) and perhaps the NYS Attorney General in the coming weeks. It is indeed scary that a company like this can continue to do business. Why hasn't the NYS Public Service Commission shut them down? Why have the Energy Plus executives not been prosecuted for fraud. I hope that Upromise has or is in the process of disassociating themselves from Energy Plus.
