Reliant Energy Reviews

8-year customer sitting here in the dark right now because I'm 3 weeks late on my bill. Was going to pay it tomorrow when I got paid. I still am but I'm also switching because this is the second time they've done this to me. No notice at all either. No email. No "pink notice." Just surprise you're late for work because your phone didn't charge and your alarm clock had no power! They make their living off of "disconnect fees" and "reconnect fees" and don't care if you have to take a cold shower, can't see to get ready for work, can't make any food for your children and have to throw out all of the food you do have, then buy new food, pay their disconnect and reconnect fees and try to wipe your behind in the dark.

Tonight I will spend several hours trying to change my rate plan. Something I have done twice before in the last few months. They will TELL me it's done (costing me a $150 termination fee), but then I wait and wait, and it's not done.

Never use this company! I was with Direct Energy before and Reliant came to my door last month promising they can cut my deal down and they made it all sound good so I changed and haven't even got my first bill and find out I'm going to be paying almost double so I call them and to change the plan because I wasn't even getting free weekends like they promised plus a higher rate they tell me they can change it to a better plan but since it's a different plan I still have to pay the $295 early termination free even though I'm not disconnecting my service just changing it! They are crooks and liars! Never believe anything Reliant ever tells you! They will tell you what you want to hear and do the opposite and then try to make you feel stupid for it! Worse company I have dealt with ever in my life next to CenturyLink!

When I signed up with Reliant there was one stipulation and that was my bill had to be due after the 20th of the month and not a day before or I would not sign up and go to another company. Well they did not oblige what they sold me on nor comply with my billing date which was most and foremost important. Not one month went by without my bill being due every day of the month prior to the 20th therefore I had late fees, disconnect fees, late notice payments, and my bills just kept getting higher and higher. Well I complained 18 times and they finally ended up crediting me for every month eventually the 13 month. My 12 month history reflects that I was late every month displaying a horrible payment history.

Reliant energy has different amounts on your account when you call in for a issue on your bill than what amount shows on your bill. Usually it's just 1.30 or 1.75 but they cannot explain why their addition and mine does not add up. Also I was to receive 50.00 for refer a friend credit and my brother was to receive 100.00 in July 2015. We called and called and kept hearing wait another billing cycle or two billing cycles. My brother spoke with a supervisor in September and threatened to change companies and he received his then off his bill.

I called Reliant about their prices and plans. I gave them the data on my prior month's bill from another company. They said using the same usage with Reliant would be cheaper by $30 or more plus free weekends. That was a LIE! Not only was it more expensive it got even more expensive for the next 2 months. Only been with them 3 months and I'm paying the cancellation fee. It will save me money in the end. Not happy about it but I'm not into paying ripoff artist either!

A Reliant Energy representative came to my house and offered what seems to be an amazing plan: free electricity on weekends. He argued that around 32% of the electricity is used during weekends, so that would save me a lot of money. However, he LIED (or he was poorly-trained) when he estimated how much my bill would cost. Without making this a math lecture, I will simplify the explanation. He used that "32% discount" twice: arguing that I'd pay for only 68% of the electricity and that they'd use 68% of the rate. Once I realized the lie, I had already agreed to switch.

I am travelling a lot for my job, back and forward from Europe. Today I had the power cut and I thought it was a technical problem, but everything was ok. Then I discovered that RELIANT cut the power for a bill that was paid partially by the bank as the current account was temporarily out of money for a couple of days. The paper letter was sent on Sept 1st, and I did not read it cause I was away. Meanwhile, Reliant sent me an email on Sept 9th reminding a bill with due date Sept 25th. I paid few minutes ago by phone and credit card to restore service as quickly as possible as everything in the refrigerator is going spoiled including sparkling wine worth 500$.

Salesman came by my house. Talked me into swapping from Entrust Energy to Reliant. Convinced me that free weekends would drop my usage and bill. First bill, the half of the $300 sign up bonus was applied. The remaining $150 would be applied after my first year. Second bill - Woah! - jumped from average of $200 with Entrust on regular 7 days a week plan to a whopping $354 with Reliant. I researched data on SmartMeter.com and I was charged with 500 less kwh on same month last year and that was on 7 days a week charge. With Reliant on free weekend plan my bill was 56% higher. That does not jibe. I don't trust these guys and am ready to swap even if I have to pay a high early termination fee - which I will pay - $5 a month until it is paid off.

All they want is your money!!! I used Reliant as an energy supplier for less than 5 months and I got billed for more than $1500 on a 2 bedroom apartment. NEVER NEVER NEVER USE THIS COMPANY!!! THEY ARE RIP OFF!!!

Very dissatisfied with Reliant. The bill was said to be on a 12-month plan in which we would receive the same bill for 12 months. What they fail to tell you is that the bill will be tacked on with hundreds of dollars if you are even the slightest bit late. This makes you "ineligible" for the plan... so now you are faced with this massive bill to pay and no matter how you try and rectify the situation, you are stuck paying an extremely high bill. Will never use them again. Word of advice - ALWAYS, ALWAYS read the reviews before going with any company. You'll save yourself a lot of heartache.

I've been using Reliant since 2012 in 2 different apartment complexes. My first apartment was a 1 bedroom with loft that was around 850 sqft. It had high vaulted ceilings and was on the second floor. Even during the hot summers my bill never went over $180. A/C was running constantly and the apartment never went below 85 degrees. Now I am in a 499 sqft apartment in the summer on the FIRST floor with a tree providing shade for my porch windows (they never see the sunlight) and I just paid a $277 bill. The temperature in this room is always about 75 and the A/C is not running all day. This should tell you how crappy this company is. I did a month to month plan and they froze the price a year ago when electricity was expensive. My parents have a 5 bedroom house with TVs and it's always cool and they never pay over 180. I live in a 1 bedroom 499 sqft apartment on the first floor and all of my money goes to Reliant. Get something else.

I was looking to pare down my monthly expenses so I was in the market for a new electric provider. I was with TXU paying .15 per kwh. A nice young man from Jamaica comes to my door selling Reliant at .8 per kWh. He said he was offering a $200 incentive to new customers. The way he explained it, I would not have to pay a Reliant bill for two months -- because of the incentive. Since I knew I'd still owe TXU the last payment, that was agreeable. NOW come to find out, the incentive doesn't apply until the second month bill with Reliant so now I owe TXU AND Reliant this month.

So I had TXU and got suckered in to a door to door sales guys... (Which I found out was totally illegal.....) My bill was actually 2 cents higher. Then my buddy got me a great plan with out all the gimmicks with Stream Energy! I suggest you call him ASAP! ** No false claims, no gimmicks.

I signed up for the Reliant flex plan as I am very leery of committing to year long contracts. It seemed simple: sign up, pay each month, be done when you are done. No contracts, nothing. Come to find out, they put me on some ridiculous average billing ** plan that I DID NOT sign up for. I do not like debt so, had I known that is what this was about, I would not have signed up for it. I just want to pay everything when it is due, and be done with it. After my year, rates went up, as they will with flex plans and I understand this.

I get so upset when my bill double from one to the next. The only electronics I own is a tv, dvd, and a cell phone. I hardly cook! So why is it charging double? I feel like I'm paying for two apt complex! They are not helpful. They just tell you the usage you're using. Oh but if you want them to come through and check the meters, it will cost me! $50 bucks!!! That's ridiculous! So not helpful. I been with them for yrs! Anyone else had trouble with them? Any suggestions? Is TXU loyal???

Reliant Energy charges a 25.00 disconnect fee even if you don't get your electricity disconnected. They charge you a disconnect fee plus a 10.00 charge for sending you a disconnect letter. These fees are excessive plus they add late fees on top of that. THEY make sure to make the date it must be paid by to land on a Thursday so it is the day before payday so you can't pay the bill and they will be able to charge you these excessive fees. Customer service reps do not speak Good English and are all from somewhere else and have accents. Very unhelpful and rude when you call and you get a different answer from each one. No one knows what's going on and can't explain.

We had a problem with reliant since end of 2014. We are their customer almost 2-3 years. It was nothing but last 8 month they lie all the time and they charge extra charge all the time. I don't know where they got these amount for one bedroom apartment condo. They charge us 160$ and up every month. They do not answer our questions clearly and every time we have to wait hours on the phone for their awful customer service, and every time we were told that these amount is correct and it's your fault or weather fault that we charge you more and more!!!! We did not change our habits and all the time to save electricity. This month they charge us 300$ and last month 515$ for only two month. 25$ every time they charge us when turn off. This month they turn off electricity. Today morning when we woke up, it was 6 day before due date.

Let me start with our first experience. And first off the bill is in my fiance name **. We first moved to alto texas back in January of 2015. After getting our power turned on at 223 fisher street a rep came by selling some added service and talked my girl into it. When she called in to ask about it found out there was a disconnect on the power they said we had called in and said we were moving. Well after several hours on the phone we finally get all that straight. When our lease was complete we moved to our current address. Well last month we put in a move order and had Reliant email us a letter showing we were getting power turned on because our new landlord required proof of it. Well it was phone calls and long hold times and lots of confusion. It took twice before we got the email. Then they had us turning power on at our current house and turning power off at a address we did not live at. So more calls more confusion.

These people are incompetent, don't care, and lie. We set up an order for installation for a condo for 1 JUN 2015. They were supposed to turn on the power, and then said that because the gate was locked they could not get access. Of course it's locked. It's a condo complex! No call to the number on file, just didn't do the work. Called the next day and set up an appointment for that day after spending over an hour on the phone with them. There was no record of the order and it did not get done. We set up an appointment for the following day. Then they said it would not be until the day after. DON'T TRUST THESE PEOPLE!

Pleasant door-to-door salesman convinced me to switch from TXU to Reliant by showing price advantages and TXU's plans to increase rates from $5000 to $7000 and soon thereafter to $9000 to pay off $63B debt. Not sure exactly what that meant but it sounded very ominous. He compared my monthly to what I could expect from Reliant but failed to mention assessments and numerous other fees explained in brochure supplied just before he left.

I took reliant connection in Oct 2014. Within 8 months I have 4 bad experience to share: 1.) Incorrect name - Despite of e-mailing them my identity proof copy, they have registered incorrect spelling in their records. Even after 4 followups in 8 months they have failed to correct spelling of my name. 2.) Forced move out - After a month of taking connection, they forced moved out me because somebody else requested for connection at same address. How can they do this without proper verification as to who is living on that address

I just got off the phone with Reliant trying to find out when my contract is up and the rep kept changing the story. First she said I could cancel after the first meter read in June with no cancellation fee. While she was gone I clicked on "my plan" and it said my fee is $250 until August. When I asked her about it she kept saying June. When I asked when I signed up for the 14 month plan, she said "6/11/2014" and I said "14 months would be 8/2015." Then she agreed with me. I was livid because if I had done what she said they would have charged me a fee and it would have taken hours if not days of my time to correct it. The agents either need new training on how to answer questions correctly or get training on how to lie better.

I signed up for Reliant Energy in March 2015. I chose Reliant because of the $400 rebate they offered. I have called each month when I received my bill because I have yet to receive my rebate. I spent over an hour on the phone with a supervisor named ** who refused to transfer me after 15 requests. He also refused to help me with the rebate. I called back immediately and spoke with an account rep named ** who contradicted what ** told me and said he did see the rebate and after a 45 minute conversation with him, I was told that he sent in a request to figure out the issue but that it would take 1-2 billing cycles before I would get a resolution. Really? I am very disappointed in the way I was treated and will find a way to either get out of my contract with Reliant or make sure that anyone who reads a review for them, knows how they treat their customers.

I started with Reliant in September. The worse mistake I ever made by switching from TXU. I started back with TXU this month April. Reliant never sent me a bill on time always two days after the due date. I called to find out what I owed every month. I talked to reps every month. It was like talking to a wall. Everybody I talk to now I tell them to stay away from Reliant. To stay with TXU. I'M going to pay the three hundred dollars to get away from Reliant. Think twice before going to Reliant. I can depend on TXU.

I chose Reliant on moving into my apartment, my credit was bad and they were the only people who were willing to provide me service, albeit at a $150 deposit. My apartment is about 300 sq ft, on the edge of Austin, TX, and built in the late 80s, with the original equipment. My bills were about manageable for the first year - peaking at about $100 to $125, lowest (in Winter, with no heating/AC) was about $80. However by the third year, without changing habits and after switching to average billing since I thought it would save the bite of the Summer's AC usage, my bill each month was about $250, give or take a few $, with around $60 of that bill going to Oncor for actually supplying the electricity.

I moved into a new apt and just transferred my current electricity provider, Ambit. However, after being here a month I get a bill from Reliant addressed to "current resident" saying they cannot activate service without a deposit of $210. Huh?? I have great credit and have NEVER had to give a deposit. Then the next day I receive another bill also addressed to "current resident" for over $190 for one month of service for a small apt. So total bill is now over $400!! I'm not working and I'm on food stamps. I can't afford this! I've lived here before and usually paid about $80/month for electricity! And I never even signed on with Reliant!! I'm afraid if I don't pay it they will cut off my power. I don't know what to do. This company is a bunch of thieves!!!

This company has very poor customer service. I called to have new service on 04/01/2015 and was told to send a copy of my ID by gmail and as long as they received it before 2 pm the following day that service would be connected. Well I sent it 10 min. after I got off the phone with the Rep. So the next day 04/02/2015 still no service. Friday 04/03/2015, still no service so I called them like 10 times and kept being told different answers. So I finally called Oncor and they advised me that Reliant put in a order for service to be connected on 04/06/2015. Needless to say, my daughter and I are without lights the entire weekend! Poor excuse for a company!

I have been a customer for about 5-6 months, every month I have been having a problem with my bill. And every month I talk to someone different and they all assure this won’t happened again. I signed with an independent contractor of Reliant. My contract from him says different on what the people on the phone are saying; now my bill is too high and they won’t take my hold off. Threaten to cut my lights off can’t get no lights from no one and I have kids and it is cold. Someone tell them to take that block off so my kids can have lights. Help me tell me who to talk to again after I already talked to the supervisor.

We recently switched to Reliant Energy from another service that we had for years. The rep told us that they would save us money. She signed us up for a plan that included free electricity on the weekends. So instead of paying for 7 days of electricity, we are supposedly paying for 5. Our habits with our electricity haven't changed, but since changing to Reliant, our bills have nearly doubled. The rep said we would notice a big difference in our electric bill, but it wasn't for the good. We signed a 3 year contract and I am currently trying to find a way out. STAY AWAY FROM RELIANT ENERGY!!! They are nothing but shady car salesmen.

Reliant is promoting low rates (nights and weekends). What they "forget" to disclose is an additional charge called “Center Point Energy Pass Through Charge". This is significant. For example: The actual energy usage of $123 had extra $100 pass through charge. On another bill $21 usage and $17 pass through charge. Reliant customer service blames Center Point. Center Point blames Reliant. Apparently Center Point is charging this fee for wiring, poles etc. Here is the problem: Some electricity providers charge higher rates because the Center Point charge is included in their rates. For Reliant it is dishonest and misleading to promote low rates and "omit" to mention there will be additional charges up to 80-85% of the bill.

I called Reliant to have my power turned on at a rental house awaiting repairs. The call was on Thurs., Feb. 26, and Reliant said they had everything they needed and power should be on Friday, Feb. 27th. I discussed work to be performed with my contractor, he started what he could without power. It was not turned on on the 26th after all.

In December 2014, a Reliant sales rep visited my home and sold me on a cost reduction in my energy bill if I transferred service to Reliant from Stream Energy. The plan he was selling was free weekend electricity and a somewhat lower rate overall for a promised savings. He said I would also receive a $200 credit that I could use to pay the contract termination fee I would have with Stream.

Have been on equal payment for years with bills generated between $146 and $135. My February 2015 bill was $215...I struggled to pay it. March comes a $284 bill due March 3, and a $449 bill due March 13th, total $733. Was told that I needed to sign for a new plan as mine was no longer in effect after the $284 bill. I agreed to sign. Then the $449 bill showed up. I have corresponded with them several times and got nowhere. Simply cannot pay $733 this month and worry about what the April bill will be. I am a senior citizen on fixed income on social security and a pension -- REALLY fixed income. Also handicapped in a wheelchair which is electric and needs charging, and on dialysis. Angry (single star) is NOT how I feel. Minus about 10 stars might work -- totally PISSED OFF.

I had a little girl come to my house. She explained to me how my bill will be only 1/3 of the current bill I had for electric. She did the math for me, promised me 8.6 cent, no other charges, free electricity on the weekend, just awesome. She called in to the company and all her lies was confirmed to me again. I was not to see a bill for 6 weeks and the first bill should be below $100.

Yesterday, a woman came to the door with a clipboard that had a list of the names of the people in our neighborhood. She said she was going to save us money by using Reliant. I have heard many complaints about them and told her I wasn't interested. She kept pushing and I said, no! She then got quite sarcastic and said, "So you want to pay more for electricity!" I said, "Yes", and shut the door.

In November, my husband changed our electricity service from Reliant to TXU because our contract with Reliant had expired and they weren't offering their current customers competitive rates. Unbeknownst to him, I had our service set up based on averaging so we got stuck with a $775 last bill right before Christmas. (As a side note, I tried to go back to Reliant because I hate TXU and used to like Reliant. When I called Reliant in November, I was told it was too late because the account had been closed. Really?)

I received a bill from Reliant Energy in the amount of $487.00. I filed a complaint with the BBB. They immediately sent the complaint to Reliant. Their spokesperson got back to me and basically blamed everything on Texas New Mexico delivery charges. A gentleman by the name of Bern ** called me and spent maybe two minutes on the phone with me and immediately sent a response to BBB, stating that there was nothing they could do and that the readings were correct. Way to go Reliant Energy!! The company should have to go a federal investigation. No one should ever have a bill this high for an apartment!!

I have had Reliant Energy for almost a year now. When I opened my account, the rate was lower than what I am being charged now. My bill goes up even when I'm not home or have anything on or plugged. My bill literally is about $10 more EVERY TIME it comes in. It went from $126-200 or more! Even with nothing on! I don't get it. I've called several times and it never gets fixed. The only reason I still have them is because I signed for one year and am waiting for my plan to expire. I do not recommend them.

Our plan ended Dec 2014. We signed up for our new plan before the Dec 2014 plan ended. We were unable to access our Reliant online account until the new bill came out in the middle of January 2015 and we have been charged an amount approximately double of what we should owe for the period from Dec. to January. Reliant says they can do that and that they do not have to honor the new plan terms until they get their work done and that we have to pay a 1400 bill when our normal bill should be 675. They refuse to make an adjustment even though we have chatted online and phoned them many times since the plan was to renew. It should not be an expense to us when we are paperless and we did not let our previous plan lapse. We do not have the money to pay this bill and they refuse to do anything. We are looking to join a class action against these fraudulent practices by Reliant.

Your salesman does not ring the doorbell. He pounds loudly on our glass storm door. He has done this for two nights now. When we tell him we are not interested, he continues loudly pushing your product. My husband has been exceptionally nice, but after listening to how your sales person spoke to him, I told him to slam the door in his face. Two nights of this! When I looked out of the blinds to see if he had gone, he was still standing right at our door. When he saw me looking out the window, he said rudely, "Hello. I am just marking him off the list so I won't be saving him any money." I closed the blinds in his face.

These people take advantage of what we all need, with all the fees they make up. I got a fee for $25.00 for "disconnect recovery charge". That is when they disconnect your service and you pay what you owe, then they connect your service back. I got a fee for "Disconnect Notice Fee" and paid my bill. Why do they charge for something they did not do?

I don't understand how so many people complain about this plan when it actually been helping me ever since I first signed up with Reliant Energy. A door-to-door rep offered me this plan and explained to me exactly how to benefit from it. It's simple, he explained. New thermostat for my AC unit that will reduce my consumption by up to 20%. Guarantee by NEST Company themselves. I did my research over this device and found out that Google themselves bought this product for 3.2 BILLION dollars! I posted the link for you guys to read yourself: ** I mean, I'm no expert in this but for Google to buy out a product for this much means that it's worth it!

While I was out of town visiting relatives, my power was turned off. I arrived home late at night and my house was pitch black. I would never do that during the holidays. Only a heathen would do that. Don't use power from them. Then after I had paid the bill, it took three calls in order to get someone who was knowledgeable enough to understand my problem. DON'T GET YOUR ELECTRICITY FROM RELIANT. They are a screwball company and are low scum **. They are bottom fishers of the ocean, and lie with all the ** of the ocean.

I was with Reliant, got sucked in to all the yada yada promises. I paid my Bill always but when I lost my job, I asked them for an extension after being faithful. They told me I could not have an extension and then they were going to disconnect, and they did the first day of winter that it snowed outside. I was only asking for a week extension and I was caught up on my previous bills. Anyway, got a loan, my light were on later that night, but a year later I switched to bounce energy and they are very easy to deal with and very polite! This company has the Worst Customer Service. They really should learn how to deal with people in a better way because they're terrible at it.

I don't even want to give one star to Reliant Energy. They don't care one bit for their customers and I can't wait to see the end of my contract with them. I have been with them 10 years. Should have left a long time ago but better now than to put it off any longer.

I would not use reliant for anything...I just transferred my electricity to another co. Because I came home and no lights... I payed almost 300 on Oct 26 to cover Oct/Nov..and then tried to pay Dec on November 29...They say it wasn't posted and I used the automated system and this has happened before with their system...But anyway I payed, it wasn't posted but really not due yet either and with no notice to pay or anything else since it wasn't due. They still turned off my lights. They had no reason and not sure why they did but said I need to pay Dec bill before they can turn it on...My bill is due the 18th every month so it wasn't late and already tried to post a week earlier and I felt that I was payed and still nothing to worry about because it wasn't due either...but I came home on 12/5/14 and no lights....So I paid again and they said it would be Monday before it's restored...How amazing it was turned on 15 minutes after I paid a second time in one week period even though it's not due till the 18th...

This company is the worst. They do not pay their employees correctly and lie to their customers. Jasmine, Philip, and Jeff in the Dallas office do not know how to do their jobs correctly and Brad in the Houston office is a con artist. Reliant energy is just a bad light company. Do not join them or work for them.

I am writing this as my formal complaint against your company. Up until the past several months I have not had any issues with reliant and have used you as my provider for several years. Last year I signed up for average billing. The way it was advertised I was under the impression that you guys had taken my previous 12 months of bills and averaged them out to get my new monthly payments. In June I moved from one apartment to the next and transferred your service. I was then sent a bill for almost 400.00. I had no idea why I owed that money and when I called in I was told it was because of the balance from my average billing. They advised me that the average billing keeps your bill around the same (which it never was, FYI) every month but if I went over in usage that money would go into a separate account and upon cancellation I would owe that entire balance.

Reliant Energy charges customers/me a $10.00 disconnect notice fee and a $7.00 late payment fee even though the bill is paid in the current month due. That is abuse and theft. Customers should be refunded.

Reliant usually offers a competitive rate up front to lure the customers in. The hidden charges are under Oncor Delivery Charges. I just received my first bill with Reliant Energy - $40.98 Energy Usage Charge and $17.87 Oncor Delivery Charges. Be aware of this hidden charge before signing up with Reliant. I'm locked in with 2 years contract and not sure if I can get out without the $295 early termination fee.

I had been using Reliant for a couple of years and my contract ended in April. When this happened, they switch me to the most expensive rate. So I used about the same amount of energy than the month before but paid twice the amount. When I called to get set up with a new plan, they only gave expensive options thinking I wasn't going to shop around. I think Reliant will try to rip you off no matter what. I did my homework and read great reviews about Source Power. I'm looking forward my new contract. Reliant SUCKS!!!!! DO NOT DO IT!! They are the worst company to go with. They will freaking rob you every chance they can get. They are unhelpful and rude. When you call their customer service line and hear the automated system tell you that "a very highly qualified CS rep will be with you shortly", DO NOT BELIEVE IT. IT IS A LIE!!!! Every one of the CS reps are unqualified and unhelpful. I should know because I talked to a dozen of them yesterday trying to figure out their completely screwed up billing logic.

I pay my bills on time and take great pride in doing so. I recently got an e-mail alert that I was being credited back my payment to Reliant for my bill due in June. Curious, I decided to call Reliant. I thought maybe I was getting a deposit back or maybe paid the bill twice (unfortunately I've done that before). Let me start off by saying the Reliant's Customer Service Department is the WORST!!! I had to make several calls to customer service. I told them the situation and I wanted to know why my June payment was rejected. I pay online thru my bank every month and never had a problem. Until now. First, they said "We don't see you made a June payment". I told them that I did and that Reliant for some reason had it returned to my bank. Their response was that since that it seemed like I didn't make a June payment, they don't know why it would be rejected. I told them thank you and hung up. Not satisfied, I called back. This time, I asked immediately to speak to a manager/supervisor.

A door to door salesman from Reliant promised that he could save me 30% on my monthly electricity bill. I was paying about 9.7 cents a kwh with TXU and he claimed that with Reliant's free weekend plan, my rate would average to about 8.3 cents. I asked him specifically if the 11.5 cent rate in the contract was based on an average including the weekends or only for the weekdays. He said it was only for the weekdays so if I add the weekend usage and divide it by the actual charged amount it works out to about 8.3 cents. I switched and am now paying close to 30% more. The salesperson didn't know what he was talking about or lied about the weekends not being included in the average rate.

A Reliant sales rep going door to door comes to our house this weekend and pitches the Reliant Free Weekends 24 plan. He says the rate is 12.1/kWh but that I would get weekends free which equates to ~32% discount. I generally use 2000+ kWh/month so he says that my rate based on my usage should be about 11.7/kWh and that I'll get the weekends free. He says that approximately 32% of energy usage is on the weekend. My current plan with TXU Energy had a rate of 9.9/kWh but with delivery charge it's about 10.2/kWh. I am an engineer so I start into the questions about how I am going to save money with this plan. I asked, "Does the 11.7 include the delivery charge?" He says yes. I asked, "Does the 11.7 per kwh apply to the weekday energy hours?" He says yes. I did the math and it appears that I will save an average of $30/month. He also says that I will receive a free Nest thermostat or $150 credit on my bill which will cover the typical $150 cancellation fee of most other energy suppliers.

I would never refer this company to anyone I know... Not even my worst enemy. I had called and made arrangements with Reliant on a bill and wasn't explained all of the details and how their procedures work. It wasn't until this evening when it was all revealed to me, but of course this being past any deadlines I could have taken advantage of. I won't go into the details of my particular case. Too boring for most, but I assure you as I'm breathing, I will be changing providers this week. I am cancelling my contract paying the $150.00 they require to cancel.

Was a customer for over 9 years; was in an average billing all the time. Past few years, our bills got larger and larger. Started off at $.09 per kWh. Now paying $.17, the most I have ever seen anywhere. I called to sign a new plan found on Powertochoose.com and they said that was only for new customers. I stated that 16 cents per kWh was insane! I can go to other competitors for 2 cents cheaper but wanted to stay with Reliant (why I have no clue). SO I went to competitor for 7 cents per kWh. I got my final bill as expected, for $449.00 for the previous month, $41.00 for current month, and $600.00 for the Cycle! What cycle?! Was not in a contract, already been raped for years without knowing it and now they want over $1000.00!!!!! I will never use Reliant again because all they cared about was my money and had 0 customer service!!! ** you, Reliant!!

Reliant energy hold my deposit for 4 year and I told them I want to move out to cut it off. The deposit is 189 dollars. Without interest and they charge me 150 dollars extra charge after increased my meter rate without notice.

I asked Reliant I want to go on a payment plan for the bill of February. The payment plan requires you pay half of the bill and then pay the rest subsequently. I paid half of it which came out to be $47. Since I will be moving out March (had moved out, this is April as of writing this complaint) I got my final bill in the mail, and looking at it I almost threw up. The amount due is 5 times the current charge. Someone has an explaining to do. Can someone tell me why they draw up charges like that on the bill? Is it cramming? Perhaps deceptive business practices?

My last bill is for $56. $35 was for electricity and $21 for Centerpoint Delivery Charge. I don't understand why I have to pay for this. That's almost half of the bill.

A sales person came to my residence saying that he was on behalf of CP&L electric company which is our provider as he talked to my spouse saying that our provider CP&L was overcharging us and wanted to give us a rebate of 150.00 dollars. All that my wife had to do is place a call so that the rebate would take effect. He went further as he read the bill which is under my name that we were on a month to month contract. As my spouse place the call, the call changed our services to Reliant Energy. The salesperson failed to identify himself as an employee of Reliant. He said that CP&L had sent him with false pretense.

I switched to Reliant back in November. When I set the account up, I explained as clearly as I could that there were two houses on the property I am on, both houses share the same address, but I am in the main house, and the 2nd house is vacant. I verified with them what house to connect to, so they didn't activate the wrong house. They said they understood and proceeded to set up the account.

Reliant sales rep going door to door comes to our house and pitches the Reliant Free Weekends 18 plan. He says the rate is $.115 per kwh and we get the weekends free. He says that approximately 30% of energy usage is on the weekend. My plan with Cirro Energy had a rate of $.0925 per kwh which includes the delivery charge. I am an accountant so I start into the questions about how I am going to save money with this plan. I asked does the .115 include the delivery charge, he says yes. I asked does the .115 per kwh apply to the weekday energy hours, he says yes. I said, so, I am going to be paying about $.02 more per kwh but I am going to get 30% of my hours for free, again, he says yes.

DO NOT TRUST RELIANT...THEY ARE DECEPTIVE ALL THE WAY!!! First of all the representative who sold me the Smart Plan, the pay as you go plan did not explain their calculation method for this plan differs in how they calculate their monthly plan. In my case I was being charged $20-$30 a day. They advised that if I sign up for email and text notification, I would be informed of my balance. I paid $50.00 to get it started. When my $50.00 was depleted, I should have received notification, instead, after I was in the negative $233.00 they send me a text.

I received my electric bill for the month of Dec and was stunned! My bill had MORE than doubled from November. I was gone for 10 days during the holidays with my thermostat set at 60 while gone. Furthermore, have it set no higher than 66 during the day and lower it to 62 at night. I called Reliant to complain and ask to have my meter reread (at a charge no less). They said the reading was accurate, then requested they test the meter for accuracy which, of course, they said it was getting an accurate reading. The Oncor delivery charge was approximately 1/3 of the cost of the electricity used. Therefore I had a $513.33 bill. How can this be?? I would not recommend Reliant to anyone. I am a 74 yr old lady and know that something is not right. Reliant told me they could not do anything about it, So here you have a senior citizen living on a fixed income with an outrageous bill.

They had offered me a good plan free weekends!! Well I had been with Ambit for the last 3 years and my bills were never higher than $190. I have been with Reliant for 3 months and my bills are no less than $359 with weekends free!! This is ridiculous. Don't ever go to Reliant Energy. All the customer service representatives say "Im sorry it must be the weather, we can't do anything, sorry." Oh unless you want to pay a $250 cancellation fee! This is so sad!

If you have extra money to get rid of, please immediately take the Reliant service. You will be surprised by the way that they steal your money. I am secured 12 plan which is "fixed rate" $9.8 per kw. I swear that I am out of my apt from 10 am to 11 pm and the weekly usage does not exceed $2 and due to only Sunday usage. Lastly, I pay to them $76. I don't find any clarification from them. They show you amazing prices but they will steal you by many ways like that you don't use enough or delivery charge or any thing insist for you to pay. Don't try, you will lose and look to the top 10 energy companies. They are not from them. You know why? Just because they really reflect their reality.

We were signed up for average billing without our knowledge. Never in a million YEARS would we have done this. Last November, we got an offer to switch to another energy company at a cheaper rate, and since we were out of our contract with Reliant, we made the switch. A few weeks later, we received a bill for $408 in the mail. Neither my husband nor I could figure it out. We have fought with them for a year and FINALLY today got an answer as to why - average billing. They defer the overages to the end and then hit you with a bill.

Yesterday, Oct. 2, 2013, I was approached by one of your solicitors wanting to sell me the idea of switching to Reliant. At first he was polite and well informed about his product. After he explained the program and I told him that we were satisfied with our present supplier, he became argumentative. I again said that I was not interested, he stated, "YOU JUST DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH A BLACK PERSON??" I asked him, "Are you calling me a racist? He stated, "No, I don't like to deal with Mexicans."

RELIANT ENERGY DTPA VIOLATIONS RE: Complaint # **. For those of us who are savvy & regularly use the PUC website (www.powertochose.org), I have disturbing news. Reliant Energy regularly advertises PROMOTIONAL rates in the VARIABLE category on our PUC website that is chartered with providing a consistent current landscape view of our energy market. This has the dilatory effect of masking the accurate reporting of changes in this most volatile variable category on our PUC's site which we rely on to keep things honest in this deregulated energy atmosphere. This is a violation of the Defective Trade Practices Act, i.e., DTPA (1984 Melody vs. Holmes).

Reliant wrongly turned off my power at 10 am, failed to admit fault, made false promises, leaving my family, with kids ages 5, 4, 3, and 20 months, without power and NO hotel at 10 pm. Do not do business with this big business that cares nothing about customers!! We were without power for over 12 hours. They couldn't seem to submit the order to the utility company! Absolutely the most ignorant, rude, and dishonest customer service EVER!!!!

I was using Reliant for seven months during the lease at my apartment. I got off the preferred plan as I was going to move. I ended up resigning my lease at my apartment and called Reliant to get on another preferred rate plan. So now my electric bill is the biggest it has ever been at the worst rate of $0.145kWh and that is because it takes two or more billing periods to have the "new" rate take effect. Basically, I can't get out of my plan unless I pay $150.00 and I can't get the good rate until they say it is in effect! Meanwhile they put me through to an energy expert to help me conserve my electricity. I live in an apartment and keep my temperature on 78 or higher if I am not home! I had the apartments replace my refrigerator and put new weather stripping up and I am still billed for $266 for a 900 q foot apartment! Don't ever sign with Reliant! They are not going to help you get a good rate.

I called Reliant to transfer my service to my new location. I was told that I could keep power on at both locations till the 1st of July. They turned my power off at 10AM yesterday. I frantically called over and over to get them to turn the power back on. Not only am I in the process of moving, but it was going to get 100 degrees yesterday. I was told by one rep that she needed to listen to my original call to determine whose fault it was that the power was turned off at my house on the wrong date!!! Does it matter? It was dangerously HOT! Needless to say, she called me back and confirmed they were in the wrong. Did they rush to turn my power on? NO!

I called Reliant Energy on May 13 because my husband had surgery and was out of work for 3 weeks, so we were penny pinching to get by. I was informing them that I could pay $100 and pay the rest that Friday. The rep first said no. Then I told her, "Well, what if I sign a new contract since my contract is up?" I was desperate as I have a 10-month old baby and still have to buy Pampers and formula. She said, "Yeah, okay. We can do that. I'll notate the account." I was relieved! Then today, Thursday the 16th, I got up at 7AM to get my 6-year-old ready for school and there is no light! I'm so upset. I cried!

A company rep came to my house stating that the government was promoting these new "smart meters", and Reliant would provide a cheaper flat rate because of this. I had no issues with my current electric company (I love them so much more after dealing with Reliant). I was told that nothing about my current company or billing would change; they would basically be this magical middle man with their smart meter dropping my rates. I signed up and based on the customer service while signing up, I started having doubts. I immediately found the reviews on this site and called to cancel less than 2 hours later (they give you 3 business days). The person cancelling my account sounded like he was worried it wouldn't work. That was so bizarre to me. I then got an email requesting a deposit. Every person I talked to on the phone sounded incredibly confused, like they had been hired and put to work with zero training.

Horrible service. All the time I keep getting charged all types of fees and my bills are extremely high. I am so frustrated with them and the supervisor was no help, does not even let me talk, keeps talking over me, very rude, and not professional at all. I cannot stand being with them any longer. I am going to switch asap! Do not do not sign up with them!

I'm writing another complaint about Reliant Energy. After my previous letter dated December 6, 2012, I've received 2 letters from ERCOT telling me that Reliant has switched my electric service from TXU to Reliant. If I wanted to stay with TXU, I should call them to prevent an interruption of my service. I've called TXU 2 times and I’m good with them. The service was for my 86-year-old mom's house. I've spent something better than 3 hours of trying to straighten out this mess and prevent Reliant from continuing to screw up my mom's service. Be aware of how much trouble that Reliant can cause! They tell you one thing, while lying out there, and do another.

I had representatives from Reliant come to my house to tell me that if I changed service to Reliant from TXU, I could save 30%. After a long sign up process, I agreed to change my service at about 5:00 pm yesterday. This morning, I had a gut feeling about that change and I called Reliant to stop the change. I was told that they had already changed the service and my service with TXU had been terminated. I was told by the Reliant representatives that I had up to 45 days to decide whether I wanted to stay with TXU or Reliant and that if I decided to stay with my original service provider, there would be no charge. This morning at about 9:30, I made the call to Reliant and was told, when I cancelled service with them, I would be charged for less than 24 hours of service with them. I was chapped! I terminated my service with Reliant and called Oncor Electric, the delivery company, and was told that I needed to call TXU in order to avoid a service interruption. I called TXU and had to start a new account altogether. Do not use these people. They are crooks!

On September 26, 2012, I heard a loud boom at 3:26 am. I live in an apartment complex. I do not own the property. I called as a courtesy, thinking the transformer blew or it might be a terrorist threat. I had no idea that I would be charged $50. I have sent emails to CEO Tom Gros, spoken to Crystal ** and Ms. **, and contacted the PUC and the mayor’s office. No one will help me get this charge removed. I feel that it is unfair to be charged to ask them to do their job. They do not state in their commercials on television or in any inserts notifying the public that you will be charged if you call them out to do their job.

I signed on with Reliant Energy over a year ago. They told me about this great new plan called Average Billing. I thought it was too good to be true, so I asked about any fees or additional charges. The customer service rep said there were none. A year later, I went to transfer my service then immediately received a $500 electric bill because it was the deferred amount. While I saved money throughout the year, I was hit with a huge bill at the end. When I called to dispute the charges, I was told there was nothing they could do. I asked them who would sign up for a plan like this because it made no sense. Who would choose to pay a massive bill versus paying the normal rate through the year? The rep had no answer why anyone would want to have this plan. I proceeded to find out when I transferred my service I was again put on Average Billing, even though I specifically told them I did not want it. And this was before I found out what Average Billing was. Beware, they will not ever tell you what Average Billing really does. They never once told me, not the first time or the second time they put me on it without permission.

I've been trying since March 2012 (it is now October 2012) to get my e-mail address corrected on the Reliant online system. I've made the changes many times online; I get a confirmation e-mail with tracking number to the updated e-mail address, and the next day, when I login to Reliant, it has reverted back to the old address. I make the changes in all the locations possible and have also tried to change my c-card payment to a new card - also to no avail. I work with their upper level support folks and had tickets submitted to repair the problems and it has now been a week and still no positive results. I was just on the phone with their upper level support, and he seemed to indicate that the IT folks were working on my two tickets and possibly a larger issue with their website and database. Anyway, when my contract expires in 1Q13, I will likely move to another provider. Not because of their rates or such, but all because of not being able to pay attention to the little things.

I received a late bill payment notice from Reliant Energy, which urged me to call to make payment arrangements on a late account. When I called, I was on hold for an inordinate amount of time, only to speak with a rude customer service representative, who took even longer to get me to a customer service supervisor. I ultimately hung up the phone and called in again to request a service supervisor. While the supervisor did follow through with the payment request, this company needs to teach its front-line customer service representatives that they have a job only because of loyal customers. There always seems to be a disconnect with this company on that point. It needs to be drilled into their heads before they ever get a chance to answer a phone and be rude and condescending to a customer. After six years, I'm choosing a new provider.

I'm a disabled individual, and was forced to move from my old address by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. My landlord had enjoined another individual (that doesn't know me) to harass and threaten me to the point of being rushed to the ER at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Sugar Land, Texas (near where I live). The Houston Police Department declined to investigate the landlord for felony harassment of a disabled individual, stating that it was a "civil matter" between landlord and tenant. In other words, they didn't want to be involved or didn't want to fool with it.

I have requested for Letter of Credit from Reliant over my previous services as I have recently moved to Ohio and had to change the electric company. Reliant had published a wrong Letter of Credit both to me and my current electric provider stating six late payments. As per the records with Reliant, I have not done any late payments. However, the customer care representative was unable to provide a quick service to correct the information and send it back to current provider or to me. This is making life horrible for a person who has been so genuine to do all his payments on time with Reliant.

I am a Reliant customer. I was on email for billing and payment due to privacy concerns about mail in the box. All of a sudden, I had no e-bill. I checked online. My info is changed to Reliant info so I would never get the bill. I corrected it and got confirmations. The next month – I still have no bill. The CS rep corrected it, and I got confirmations, but no bill. Each time, my info would get changed to a bogus email they have to prevent emails being sent, and notations do not send emails. This carried on for several months.

A Reliant Energy rep call in December 2011 and said if we changed to Reliant Energy we would get a special rate of .068 kwh energy charge. We thought, "Great. We will save some money." The rate sound good so we changed to Reliant Energy. We got our first bill in January 2012. We were outraged with the price of the total bill. There was a $204.22 charge for Oncor electric delivery charges. We were not told about such a charge when the rep from Reliant Energy called offering us this great energy price. If we had been told we would have not changed.

My account has been on automatic draft for over 2 years. Last month, they drafted duplicate payments of $218 from my account. I called and asked why. They said they did not know why it happened, but they would refund the second payment and it would never happen again. Well, this morning I logged into my checking account and discovered 2 payments drafted again. I called customer "service" and they said they don't know why it happened, but the system was already processing a refund. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told that I was making the second payment each month from my computer. Hmm...no! I am not that stupid. I asked them to remove the automatic draft and release me from my contract. He said the contract was only about the rate, not billing issues and implied that I deliberately made extra payments to get out of the contract. Ridiculous way to run a company!

I was charged $275.00 deposit with a promised turn on date. That date was rescheduled, then I was notified 4 days after the date that there were problems. They still have not refunded me my money. This was in 2006! Payment of my deposit plus average interest rate for all this time, they have made money off my funds.

I was looking forward to canceling my service or changing plans so I contacted them through live support. I gave the rep my policy number, my address, and other info. Kathryn, the rep, said to wait as she would review my account. I decided to transfer plan and she asked me to complete the online transfer request.

Two guys were wearing Reliant shirts and caps with city permits. They were canvassing door to door, selling Reliant services. We were busy but said we would talk with them later in the day. They returned around 8 or 8:30 in the evening. They talked about 6 cents/kwh. I declined stating we already had a good rate with our local provider. They requested to see our electric bill. I let them (don't ever do this with anyone). They looked it over, took down our acct #, billing info, etc., all the while pretending to be "calculating" the rate differences. They also said we should just look it over, that we had 14 days to read over the literature and decide if we wanted to switch. We agreed to look it over.

I had an average billing. When I transferred my Reliant electric service to my new location, I received a bill for $972. This was due to average billing and because I owed a "balance" which was explained to me when I arranged for the transfer. However, it was never discussed at any point that I may end up with such an unreal amount due. When I called to work out some kind of payment plan, I was told that I qualified for an extension for 10 extra days, at which point the amount was due in full.

I am relocating to a new residence and contacted Reliant Energy to transfer my electrical services. The calls started on September 19 and continued through to Friday, September 30, without resolution. I was first informed that a transfer could not take place due to a past due amount. After several calls, I found that my account was due on the 19th, the very day of my first call.

I was overcharge (not TXU) by Reliant. The problem comes from smart meter which is controlled by Oncor. Please fight this first with Texas PUC. Visit ** and search case number **. Your case is not alone. This Texan customer was overcharged several hundreds to thousands a month.

The price terms of Reliant Energy's Basic Power Flex Plan, a variable price plan, are misleading. The initial price changes from time to time, but is now set at $0.05 per kwh. And the terms of service provide for at least 14 days' notice of any material change to contract. Reliant's contract says the initial price "is the price that will be applied during your first billing cycle." It further says, "This price may change in subsequent months at the sole discretion of Reliant Energy. After the first billing cycle, it can increase or decrease by any amount." Unfortunately, Reliant does not consider a change in price to be a material change in the contract. Reliant Energy also refuses to make any alternative fixed-price plan available until after the initial billing cycle. Therefore, it is forcing the customer to suffer price-change risk before being able to change to a fixed-price plan.

I had a new electronic meter installed on my house about four or five months ago. My electric bill has quadrupled in the last four months!

My first bill from Reliant for 12 days of usage was $47.77 plus $20.31 (42.5%) for "delivery charges." My second bill for 31 days of usage was $125.74 plus $53.74 (42.7%) for "delivery charges". Reliant's Cap-and-Save Plan is a big rip off.

In my last electrical bill from Reliant, I was being accused of tampering. The bill was $800; my former bills have an average of $70. I was told that Oncor has proof of my meter being broken; that somebody has damaged the cover and that they therefore billed me with the estimated usage. This estimated usage had nothing to do with my former usage, but was much higher! My former bills have been low because I travel a lot and I am conscious with electricity consumption.

The people at Reliant Energy are lying idiots. I called 3 days after making the decision to switch from TXU to Reliant to cancel the switch, according to the phone number that was given to me in the Cancellation of Switching paperwork. They told me the cancellation was complete, and there was nothing to worry about. My husband forwarded me an email from Reliant, welcoming us to their company.

We shut off service on 11/8, effective 11/10. We were told that our $750 deposit would be refunded within 10 days of shutoff (11/20). Instead, we received a final billing dated 11/17 showing a refund due of $742.35, but no check. We called again on 11/23 and were told the original info was wrong. Refund would be issued ten days after final billing (11/27). On 12/3, there’s still no check, so we called again. At first we're told the check will be mailed out today, then we're told the check is "in processing" and won't go out for another 10 business days.

It's a nightmare of incompetence. Do any of you brainless ** at Reliant have a command of the English language? I have never been so frustrated with any company. Who is the watchdog in Texas over the ** who run the power companies? What part of closing my account is so difficult to understand? Why is the power still in my name 6 weeks later? Who is the moron who took my disconnect service? Why is he not accountable? Why am I being punished?

I was moved from an average billing plan to a new plan, which looked at the last two previous months and the previous month from previous year without my knowledge. In this plan, they show you how much energy you used in these averages and then average your billing out. In some months, you use more than you are charged and other months you use less than what you are charged.

Almost invariably when I call in, the person I am talking to cannot understand me nor can I understand them. It becomes very frustrating when trying to communicate and they cannot understand letters when spelled or numbers when said. I think for the customer's assistance people who are employed should be able to speak English well enough to at least communicate. I get off the phone so frustrated I wish I did not have my business with Reliant at all. Something needs to be done. I'm very upset!

I authorized $300.65 on my card on their website on 9/17/10. They drafted $645. On 9/19/10, I called and spoke to Isaac who assured me my card would be refunded the difference in no later than 48 hours. On 9/20, I called and my call was escalated to "supervisor" Nicky. She did not want to work with me on the refund nor transfer me to a supervisor. She did not think a refund was due at all. Later the same day, her supervisor, Preston, called me. We called my bank together. The bank told him that they would cancel the transaction if Reliant would send a letter requesting as much. Preston explained he would not do that and no one at Reliant is authorized to write such a letter. I'm just out of luck. The consequence is that Reliant drafted out $350 extra, which was supposed to go to other family expenses, including groceries! Additionally, I will be out a lot of money in overdraft fees.

Our restaurant had been a Reliant customer since we opened in April 2009. In May 2010, working with an electricity broker, we applied to StarTex but were declined, and when the broker called to ask if I wanted to go with Brilliant, I never returned his call, as I had decided not to switch. Well, guess what? He forged documents and we got slammed into Brilliant, which cancelled our account with Reliant without our knowledge. When I received the customary notification from Ercot, I immediately got on the phone to Reliant, who promptly told me that regardless of the situation that we were now under contract with Brilliant Energy and there was nothing they could do about it, and they had already mailed our $800 deposit back.

Reliant Energy will steal and lie and take your money and there is nothing you can do about it. The PUC, why are they even there? Could care less. I do not know where to change my electric service to but it will not be with reliant. If you read, this take a fools advise. Don't use Reliant Energy. Everyone already know they are thieves and I intend to push this as far as I can. i will try the PUC one more time then it will be talk radio and internet and finally my congressman. They should not be allowed to take our money as they do in this time and state the country is in.

There are two of us living in this house that are disabled and need electricity to survive in this day and time. The power will be cut off on Monday because we cannot pay the bill until Tuesday. After a day of attempting to get an extension on with this company, I was told point blank the company did not care about human life nor are they concerned about us or anyone else's situation. They just want money no matter how they get it.

Due to some unexpected hospitals bills, I called to make payment arrangements. They did set a date but when I called to let them know that my bank had placed a hold on a check and I would not be able to pay until Tuesday, they would not extend it. My bill went from $215 to $360-400. This is a big increase. My electricity will be turned off and it is too hot to be without AC in Houston.

I received a car loan through Reliant Credit Union. I got behind on some payments. I filed bankruptcy. They came to repossess the car and I surrendered vehicle. But they are garnishing my wages for the remainder of what was owed on car as well as legal fees.

I went onto Reliant's website to pay my bill. My bill was for $121 and I fat-fingered it and put $1201. I called Reliant ASAP to stop the transaction and they have refused, stating that I have to go through my bank and file a dispute with them to have the transaction reversed. In the meantime, they have stolen over $1000 from me and will not help me out. I have already file a complaint with the BBB. All Reliant will say is that they will not reverse the transaction so I can pay the right amount. To add to the insult, when I told them they had stolen a $1000 from me, they said "that is how you feel". Now I have to get with an attorney to sue them.

My electricity bill was paid in full (balance $0) as of 2/15/2010. Since December of 2009, I had paid a total of $799.39 to make sure our bill was totally current. In early March, I received a bill for $4 and some change for my current billing cycle. I knew something was wrong so I contacted Reliant Energy and asked for a technician to come take a look at the meter.

My one-bedroom apartment bill jumped from $60.00 to $122.00. Now, I turn the thermostat to off! It takes only a few minutes to get such a small area comfortable. The only other electrical usage daily is an alarm clock/radio--I'll start unplugging it. Because of what they did, I am now broke! I would like to eat something besides bologna and ramen noodles for a change!

My consumption charges have increased drastically. The kWh usage tripled for 01/08/10 from the 03/06/09 reading. From 03/06/09 through 11/04/09 the monthly usage averaged 1352.4 kWh then for 01/08/10 and 02/08/10 3374. Now, during that time I have 4 rooms cut off from heat, all windows securely sealed, all light bulbs have been 40w compact fluorescent, 7 ft. ceilings, all duct work was sealed and inspected by a company referred by my electric company at the time, the house has been insulated and wrapped with Tyvek before new siding was installed.

I am out of the country to the Middle East and have been since July 2009. I have had a $150.00 electric bill till about a month ago. My most recent last 2 bills are now averaging $800.00 each. I have called Reliant several times in the middle of the night (because I am 9 hours difference here) to explain that no one lives there and nothing was left on, because my brother drives out to my house 4 times a month to check on it.

My light bill with Reliant went up from $300 approximately to $1300 for the month. I contacted Reliant and they told me that the box had been changed out. Well, I had someone that lived in my complex to check the box and it showed ERR. I contacted Reliant and they stated that they would go back and read the original meter and make corrections. Well I received a call from Trini with Reliant and she advised they read the meter correctly and changed out the meter. I live alone, work during the day and live in a townhouse with less than 1900 square feet. Although I kept explaining that something was wrong the supervisor with Reliant advised me that I need to make arrangements to pay the $1300. Reliant is a rip off and if you ask them to reread the meter, they will always say that it is correct. I am currently paying a bill for 1300.00 for a townhouse for one month. What can be cone with Reliant?

My husband and I just bought a new home on November 30, 2009. We chose Reliant Energy for our electric company. On January 20, 2010 we received our first electric bill of $370. I knew immediately something had to be wrong since we were gone for 15 days with nothing left on. We are new to this area, so I had no idea what the average electric bill ran. Since then I have talked to several neighbors and have learned that they received $800-$900 bills. I called Reliant, which issued a meter test and learned that the meter on my new home was last tested in 1990. I felt some relief knowing that the meter was old and that there was a possibility that there was something wrong with it.

I cancelled Reliant Energy service because in my view their kwh charges were outrageous compared to all others. When I received my final bill, they imposed an equally outrageous cancellation charge which I could not substantiate. I contacted Reliant on numerous occasions requesting support for the charge. Each time, they promised to send me the information. Each time they sent me a generic package welcoming me to Reliant. Finally, they just threatened collections if I didn't pay. I paid, what choice did I have? This is a totally dishonest and unethical operation. Unless you want the same treatment, stay away from Reliant. There are many other honest power supply companies available. Anybody can contact me at any time for further info.

Reliant Energy is a rip off! I have disputed three different bills on three separate occasions and have never received a letter or email stating that they looked into the matter or resolved it. This last time, I moved about a month ago, but never had Reliant shut off my electricity because I had some furniture I was selling. I did however turn off the A/C, heat and all the lights. The only thing running was my refrigerator.

I was having difficulty due to hurricane Ike. They are charging me for energy they say I used over a three-month period because they say they did not read the meter due to repairs that had to be done after the hurricane. I received a bill that was almost $1,600 in January. I have tried to talk to them and to Center Point. Reliant has set me up on payment plans that still put my bills at or over $500 a month. I was told if I was late on the payments, it would be considered defaulting and I would have to pay the entire amount owed. I have lost power over this. I have tried to figure out why Center Point changed my meter out after it was tested twice. I was told there was nothing wrong with the meter. But it was changed out and I was aware of this until a lady from Reliant told me. She has tried to contact Center Point and they will not return her calls either. They refused to talk to me and sent me to Reliant who actually only does the billing for Center Point, at least that is what I was told. I was late on my last bill and now today, they are probably going to cut my power off. It is cold outside and I have animals and a daughter. Talking to them does no good. They expect full payment today of $1,500.

My light bill jumped from $150.00 to $320.00, July to August. When I complained, they said they read the meter wrong but I still have to pay the bill. In the 50 years I've been here, this is a first. I run two 6000 BTI window air conditioners, stay in one room most of time when I'm home only to cool the bedroom. This is a hell of an increase. If I'm not home for them to read the meter, it seems that they charge whatever they want to. This should be against the law.

On the 17th, I switched apartments. It's the exact same complex, just a different apartment. The month prior, I had signed up for Reliant's Average Billing program to stop the steadily rising prices I was being charged. One month, it was $60-something; the next, $100; the next, $120; and this last, if not for average billing, it would have been $170. Well, after changing apartments, I checked the status of my bill to make sure the electricity was shut off at the old apartment on the date requested, so I wouldn't be charged anything for it. And that's when I got the news that I owed $177 for this month's electric.

I have one very specific suggestion. We really need to do something to stop this dirty company (Reliant Energy) to stop their dirty charge. I have experienced the same problem you guys are experiencing. In one month alone, they charged me $350. I called them and asked why my bill was so high. They told me it is what I used. I said no, I have never paid this much money for electricity in my entire life. I told them there is no way I am going to pay this much money. I called them 5 times disputing about the bill. Unfortunately, they were unwilling to listen to me. Finally, I filled a complaint with the BBB. They called and said they will investigate. I forgot them and changed my provider to a different provider. I use AC 24/7 and I really pay less than $200. We really need to stop these thieves before they victimize more innocent people. Let’s act together and write to our congress, guys.

My last bill from reliant is $700 for a 1200 square foot apartment. I mean are you serious? Reliant Energy would rather you pay in full $700 rather than work with you, keep you as a customer and take off $200 (even though a $500 bill for that space is stupid!). I will never ever use their services. I felt like an Enron stockholder with these guys. The lady said everything is accurate and I disagreed. This is what is wrong with America. No wonder people are going bankrupt.

My mother's husband passed away in February of 2008. We sent Reliant the death certificate in March 2008 and had the bill transferred into her name so I could pay the bill online for her. In February of 2009, I switched her to another provider and received a cancellation bill of $200 from Reliant in March 2009, because her husband apparently signed up for a 2-year agreement with Reliant before he died. We were being told that since she is his spouse, she is responsible for fulfilling the contract.

My family and I moved to a new address and asked Reliant to transfer service beginning August 11. We received an invoice at the end of December stating that we owed over $600 from the month of August. After reviewing previous months' bills, my wife and I discovered that Reliant transferred our service to our new address but never ended service at our old address. They were billing us for the usage of the people we sold our house to! After being told that the matter would be reviewed, the service at our new address was disconnected due to non-payment...of someone else's bill! After giving in to this extortion and paying the $600, Reliant sent another bill for almost $700 which included a disconnect fee and a reconnect fee... again for both addresses!

I was going to switch electric provider on August 2008. On 8/04/08 the power to my home was turned off, by my provider which at time was Green Mountain Energy. I called them and asked why. They said that another provider submitted a move out request. That provider was Reliant Energy. Reliant Energy said they had did not submit any request, that it was my current provider. I cannot get a straight answer. I have documentation from both companys.

I am a single parent who two years ago lost my job, my apartment and car due to illness. It took me 4 months to recover, then 2 months after that to get a new job. Needless to say, my already not so great credit got worst. I worked 19 months on my new job and was laid off due to a merger. I was in my own place again, in another car, new utility services from cable to electric. Paying deposits sometimes double, in order to re-establish service. Reliant asked for $250. Yet they will not allow me to have payment arrangements or extensions when I need it. Every month I call and ask.

In a four year period of time, Reliant's rates have increased well over 50%--as has the average alleged kilowatt per hour use. We compared our rates and useage for the past four years and found that we are paying double what we were paying just four years ago. Interestingly enough, last month we literally shut down the upstairs portion of our home. Closed all vents, closed up the rooms, turned off any and all appliances right down to clock radios. Set our thermostat up five degrees, did not use the oven for a complete month, cut our laundry in half by using a fluff/fold service, and prepare most of our meals on the propane grill on the deck.

My service was disconnected by Reliant Energy on 07/22/08. I called them and they informed me that I had not payed my bill. I went to my bank to get a copy of my check front and back and faxed it to them showing where my check had cleared. After I faxed to them I then called them and to make sure that they received the fax, What happened was that they posted my payment to the wrong account. Then they apologized and connected myh service on 07/23/08.

March of 2007, I lived in an apartment, my light bills had begun to be $300 or more each month. All of a sudden I was not getting a light bill, so I tried on several occasions to contact Reliant, finally did and made them aware of the fact that I had not received a light bill, I was put on hold for at least 45 minutes, and when the lady came back she said that she needed to research more and that they would get back to me. Well some time had passed before I realized I had not gotten a call back from Reliant.

I was late on a payment, Reliant put in a disconnect order, I made a payment, they did not initiate the disconnect since I made the payment, they dropped me from the average billing program and billed me the balance on the average billing all at once. This was $500 added to my monthly bill. I could not afford that so I called TXU immediately and connected service so that we had no lapse in service. I now owe Reliant over $770 because of this activity on my account that will be reported to the creditors and degrade my credit dramatically for 7 years.

When signing up for service with Reliant we go through all of the options and agree which is better then at the end of the phone call the customer service operator reads the contract back to me in the style of an auctioneer. I can't understand any of it but assume it's the usual stuff like company is not responsible if your limbs fall off....etc but I can't really tell. Is it legal for them to have a verbal contract like that read over the phone in that manner?

We received our electric bill from Reliant Energy on January 16, 2007. The billing period for this statement was from 12/11/06 1/12/07, in the amount of $4.87. Upon looking at the bill, we thought there might be a mistake because it showed that we were only charged for the Customer Charge, plus tax. We called Reliant on January 22nd to inquire about the bill and spoke with a customer service representative named Roxanne. She said it looked like our meter was broken because the account showed zero usage. Roxanne said since Reliant failed to check our meter upon connection on December 7, 2006, we were not at fault and therefore would not have to pay to have the meter fixed, and we would only owe the $4.87 for that months bill.

We switched to Reliant from TXU becuase they said they were cheaper. Once we got our first bill it had a $44.93 credit. When we got our second bill it was $1,174.32. I called reliant and asked why my bill was so high and they said because they made a mistake on the first one and corrected it. I then ask them how in the world could I have used so many kWh and they kept trying to say that I had a pool or a big garage, which I have neither.

I called Reliant Energy to make payment arrangements (there is only ONE month on our bill). The representative I spoke with could not help me make arrangements. She transferred me to the Credit Department. The first time I called, I held for 20 minutes. The second time I called I held for ONE HOUR and 23 minutes. That was last Friday. I called again this weekend, but there is no one in their Credit Department on the week end. Today is Monday, and I have currently been on hold for over an hour. The recording tells me that they are cutting off our electricity tomorrow. So what is a customer supposed to do when they are unable to reach their provider?

I have been on the phone for the last two hours with several customer service people at Reliant. I called on behalf of my mother's account. Her situation is this - a little over a month ago, my mother moved into an apartment, #403, where she had service from Reliant. She received a bill, was informed by Reliant customer service that she should not have received the bill, and that she should not be receiving any service at her aparment because Reliant had no record of a meter at her address. She was then told by Reliant to disregard the bill, and the matter would be investigated.

I explained my reason for calling was because I received my last three invoices showing bank drafts for an old service address, where I have never lived and previously had call to cancel the transfer. I was told that it takes up to 45 days for investigation, and that I would receive notification of the result by mail. Sara assured me again, that I would receive my credit within five-business days. Well here I am a week later and my money still has not been credited. All I have left to say is that I am discusted by the service I have received by the Customer Service and Resolutions Department. I really dont know how a company like this can stay in business.

Allow me to summarize the situation: 1. Moved into Apartment on June 27, 2000. 2. Received notice of cancellation from your firm some 10 months later. As of April, I had not received a bill. 3. I requested a detailed bill by month. This was received, and I paid the amount due for the period I lived in the building. I continued to get threatening letters. 4. I paid the amount due for the time I lived in the location. 5. Company continued to harass me for some $99.00 (original bill was for $700). 6. I moved out at the end of April. 7. Credit department lied to me about having spoken to the building management firm regarding my move in date, and insisted I pay the $99.00. 8. I faxed a copy of the lease to the credit department on June 25th.