Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:24/10/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Hello,My name is ***************************.I purchased a property and moved in on May **, 2023.I signed up for utilities with ***** and not Direct Energy.I later received a utility bill of $****** from Direct Energy on July **, 2023. I called Direct energy as I never called or signed up with them and ***** is my utility services provider.Direct Energy said they are the default utility provider and they have been providing me gas.I was angry because Direct energy did not inform, call or make me aware that they are providing me service. I told Direct energy that Im already with ***** and would like to continue as I did not want to receive * different bills for utilities.Direct energy called and gave me offers so that I can stay with them but I said no.I paid $****** to Direct Energy on August ** through *** and I have attached proof of payment. I have been receiving several calls from CBV collections, so I called them to ask them to stop harassing me.CBV collection told me that I owe Direct Energy.I told them that I never signed up with direct Energy and the only bill I received from them has been paid.CBV collections insisted that I owed Direct Energy.Direct energy never called or sent me overdue or late fee bill.I have not heard from Direct Energy since August 202* and am not expecting to hear from them since I have paid their bill. This is unfair, I feel that I should be notified if I am owing instead of sending my name to collections.If I owed, am expecting them to have sent me late payment or overdue notice or some sort of notification.The bill I received from them was a shock to me and despite that, I still made the payment.This is ********, deformation of character and misusage of power / authority. I am very upset because I did not owe Direct Energy, never signed up for their service.I want my name withdrawn from the collections as I did not owe Direct Energy.************ is my phone#.Thanks,******.

  Business Response

  Date: 26/10/2023

  **************************** site ************* was left vacant, as the default provider for gas in *******, *********** was pulled and registered the site under *************************** for **********************************************************. Charges were back dated to **/01/23, no one claimed ownership of usage for this period. This procedure is approved by the ******* *********************
  07***/23 Account cancelled same day of registration resulting in no contact made prior. Gas Site ************* was taken over by another retailer
  07/**/23 Final invoice create and sent through registered mailing address, charges stated 04***/23 07/**/23 for $****** due 08/**/23
  08/**/23 Customer called, asked about an invoice created on 07/**/23, for $******. Our agent explained the reason for registration due to vacancy process, stating a new balance ($******). Agent offered a copy of new invoice but customer refused the pay anything above $******. Agent mentioned potential collections activity if the full balance was not paid off, charges are valid.
  08/**/23 Payment received for $****** with and outstanding balance of $*****
  08/**/23 Final reminder notice was mailed to the registered mailing address

  Customer Answer

  Date: 27/10/2023

   
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I did not receive any further bill from Direct Energy and I have been treated unfairly by not being informed that they were providing me services without my knowledge for * months. they did not have a good reason to not have introduced themselves to me. they waited * months and sent **** to me unexpectedly. I asked **************** (he was the person that called me from Direct Energy) why I did not receive late fee or payment notice? how long does it take before they transfer late payment to collections? and he mentioned * months. the supposed money I owed was due in August and I was sold to the collection in September (not up to a month) seems like someone was very angry and trying to get me. Because of the laps, lack of respect and commitment and for being treated so unfairly and shabbily, I am not supposed to be paying any more money. I deserve some apology from Direct Energy for not sending me letter or warnings and for selling my information to Collection too soon. it seems this is bad blood, someone must have been very angry and getting personal. all customers should be treated justly and fairly. I was not treated fairly and am not asking for a compensation but I feel they did not made effort to communicate or send me mails to notify that I was owing them and did not think I should pay anything further. Direct Energy owe me an apology.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:29/09/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I received a letter from a collection Agency ***************************** in ********) stating that I owe money to Direct Energy for an account that was created without my knowledge. I inquired with Direct Energy and it was for a property I sold last year and they created the account even though they werent able to get a hold of me. They waited over a year to send a ***************** after me. If they couldnt get a hold of me, I asked why they didnt try very simple steps such as calling Re/*** and asking who the **** Estate Agent was who sold the property (I personally did this and it took around 1min and 30sec for them to pit me through to the **** Estate Agent). Direct Energy said they wont do that and are demanding I pay this to them. Furthermore, the previous tenant that had the Gas **** in their name was a Direct Energy Account holder. They did not bother asking them either. I also asked if when a customer creates an account, do they do a confirmation that the address exists so they can gather simple information about the property owner just in case something like this happens, they said no. Compared to just creating an account in someone elses name and waiting a year to send a ***************** after someone destroying their credit and reputation, I believe I offered the above reasonable, proactive, and even cost effective options (rather than paying a collection agency over a year later). After the above discussion they still insisted today (September **, 2023) that they couldnt resolve my issue and demand that I jump through more hoops for them. Given they refuse to resolve this based on my very reasonable suggestions of what they could have done, my complaint is that Direct Energy are (best case scenario) either Lazy and Incompetent in this scenario or (Worst case scenario) *********. I imagine that a lot of ******** Citizens that receive a terrifying letter from a ***************** will simply pay to make it go away. Does BBB believe this is ok?

  Business Response

  Date: 10/10/2023

  On July *, 2022, the site ************* (************************************************) was listed as vacant.

  On August *, 2022, we received consumption for the site *************. Due to the vacancy process, the customer was enrolled as the responsible party, backdated to July *, 2022.

  On September **, 2023, the customer called to dispute the enrollment and was advised of the vacancy process. The customer advised that they sold the property on August **, 2022 and sent us the sales agreement. We have not received this document. A case was created by the agent for assistance.

  On October *, 2023, an agent working the case found that the new owner took responsibility on January **, 2023. The agent advised the customer to provide a copy of the sales agreement and send it to the email address ****************************************************************** if the sales date is different from the land title dates.

  We found that the charges are valid. As of today (October **, 2023), we have not received a copy of the sales agreement indicating the customers sell date for the property. Once this information has been obtained, we are more than happy to assist the customer with any corrections as necessary.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 13/10/2023

   
  Complaint: ********
  

  Direct Energy has not addressed all of my concerns. I am still awaiting them to get back to me from my most recent email. They have not confirmed  to my satisfaction how the ***************** will effect my personal Credit. 
  Furthermore, looking at the response they gave you, they have not provided accurate information. They say that I first called to raise my concerns on September **, 2023. I made phone calls on September ** & ** raising my concerns. I spoke to a representative from the Customer Experience Team ***** on October **, 2023 and asked why they provided the BBB with inaccurate information. He told me the agent I dealt with on September ** wrongfully closed my account so no one could see anything with the concerns I raised. The only reason my concerns continued to be addressed was because I called back on September **. Furthermore, I was verbally reassured by several agents that I no longer had anything to be concerned about with the ***************** as long as I was communicating with Direct Energy. I explicitly told them how horrible and terrifying the conversation with the ***************** was when I tried to give them an update. However, today on October **, ***************************************************************** to follow up with them about this Direct Energy account. Why wouldnt ********************************************* send a message to the ***************** giving them an update and to do nothing with the account?
  Furthermore, I in fact did send my property sale information to Direct Energy on 2 separate occasions: September ** and October *, 2023. I even sent him the Automatic confirmation emails I received from Direct Energy for both days. When I spoke to ***** on October **, 2023 He didnt know 

  (See rest of statement attached)

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 13/10/2023

  Please see attachments for full complaint. I will send multiple of these messages to make sure you receive the full statement. The submission box only allows **** words.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 13/10/2023

  2 of 3 for full statement.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 13/10/2023

  2 of 3 for full statement.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 13/10/2023

  3 of 3 for full statement.

  please feel free to give me a call at ************ to discuss further.

  Business Response

  Date: 16/10/2023

  Below is an updated resolution for the customer:

   

  On July *, 2022, the site ************* (**************************************on, AB) was listed as vacant.

  On August *, 2022, we received consumption for the site *************. Due to the vacancy process, the customer was enrolled as the responsible party, backdated to July *, 2022.

  
  We have received the necessary documents from the customer advising that they sold the property on August **, 2022. We have made corrections on the account with the below changes:

  
  All charges from August **, 2022 moving forward have been removed from the account. As the customer was still the owner of the property for the period of July *, 2022 to August **, 2022, the charges within this period are valid. We have removed the customer from any collections activity for the account. We have also provided a $*** credit for the customer. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:27/09/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On May **, 2023, I had returned home to find an **** van outside, he was here to turn the gas off, I had informed him that I had kept up with my monthly payments. I had called direct energy to find out that the wrong site number was on my location. the lady on the phone had said she had to turn my services off so she can enter the right site number, myself and the **** guy stayed on the phone until everything was settled. In June I had received two bills from May ** to May **. I had called both direct energy and direct energy regulated services and would lose contact or I would get hung up on when I asked to talk to a manager. I finally got in touch with a lady who I thought took care of this issue. In the next months I have received another bill that was higher then the last. When I talked to the lady who was looking into into this, she said I can not be billed twice for the same days, (which was May ** to the **. I had informed her that there are notes on my May bill in the proper account. I don't think I should be paying this bill as I never asked for this and had no idea this was happening. Account in question ************ Account with information *********** this is my account.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/10/2023

  We spoke with the customer regarding the billing concern.We advised on May **, 2023, the customer was incorrectly enrolled with ******************************************************************** Service. The enrollment and charges billed to the customer for site ID ************* at address ** ** ** *** ****** * ** * * with the regulated provider have been reversed.

  On May **, 2023, the customer phoned in to report that **** was going to disconnect her ************ The agent confirmed that the site ID ************* for address ** ** ** *** ****** * ** * * that is currently enrolled was not the same as the one being disconnected by **** for site ID ************* at address ** ** ** *** ***** **** ******. An erroneous enrollment case was created.
  
  On May **, 2023, the agent working the case confirmed that site ID ************* for address ** ** ** *** ****** * ** * * was provided by the customer on the enrollment call from January 10, 2022. The agent dropped the site ID ************* as erroneous enrollment as part of the investigation. The customer was advised charges were valid.
  
  As the customer provided site ID ************* for address ** ** ** *** ****** * ** * * the charges are valid for the period of January **, 2022 until May **, 2023 for Direct Energy.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:25/09/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I received a E Mail from Direct Energy Services say my account was be closed because I was changing providers. I called Direct Energy Services & explained I never closed my account to get a new provider. As I explained to the representative on the phone , why would I closed that account keep my other one open? So as a result they charged me $****** for closing my contract before the anniversary date. I explained this to the rep again that I did not close my account. He said he would open a claim # for investigation & send the in info by e mail. He also told me to call **** gas & find out what happened, I called **** gas and that rep told me that it was closed by accident because someone gave them the wrong address. **** rep also told me they could not charge me the $ ****** because I never called personally and cancelled my contract. So I check my statement and Direct Energy Services charged me the $****** on Sept */23. I just called them this morning Monday **/23 & tried explaining it all again to the Direct Energy Services rep, to no avail. I was put on hold for several minutes while the rep checked thinks out. When the rep came back on & explained it all over again as to why I was charged i asked to speak to a supervisor. I was put on hold again the hung up on!!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 25/09/2023

  Account #************

  Business Response

  Date: 28/09/2023

  On September ** 2023 site ID ************* with address ************************************** was picked up by another retailer.  
  On September *, 2023 an estimated final bill was generated with the amount owing of $******. The charges included the $****** from the prior billing as well as the charges from August **, 2023 to September *, 2023 of $***** plus the budget settlement of $******. 
  On September **, 2023 the customer called to reactivate the budget payment plan as their account had been closed. The agent created a case for further investigation. 
  On September **, 2023 the agent completing the investigation applied the budget payment plan to the account again with the budget request amount of $******. A new final statement was generated for the period of August **, 2023 to September *, 2023 reflecting the $****** leaving the remaining current charges owing of $*****.  
  On September **, 2023 a statement was generated with the prior charges of $***** plus the current charges of $****** for a total balance owing of $****** due by October *, 2023. 
  The budget payment plan has been adjusted to include the charges of $***** in the differential for a balance owing of $******. 
  We contacted the customer and advised the budget payment plan has been adjusted to include the charges of $***** in the differential for a balance owing of $******. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 29/09/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/01/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Hi, i am acting on behalf of my 84-year-old father-in-law. I am listed on the direct energy billing. He sold his residence in October of 2021 and has been receiving bills for his new residence and the one he sold. When i phone for clarification, they keep forwarding me to other people and cannot answer why they keep billing for the old address and how much my father-in-law has paid for a residence that he no longer owns. They refuse to acknowledge the property is no longer his even though I have sent land title information. I have called at least 4 times in the last two months and always get shuffled to different people. No one can seem to resolve this.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/01/2023

  Resolution:

  • Upon review, on September 15, 2021 the customer called to request a transfer of ******************** from address *********************************** to address ******************************************************************** to begin on October 8, 2021.
  • Services were ended for October 7, 2021 for address ** * ** **** ***** **** ****** / ** as requested.
  • From October 8, 2021 to October 29, 2022, the customer was billed for address
  • On December 6, 2022 corrections were requested by the current responsible party for address ** * ** **** ***** **** ****** / **. Land title was requested and reflected ******************* and **** ******* ***************** as the owners. ******************* was enrolled from October 8, 2021 to February 28, 2022 as the land title holder. The enrollment for address ******************************************************************** was reversed in error. The agent has been coached accordingly.
  • On December 19, 2022 the customer called to inquire why they had received billing for two properties. The agent submitted a case for further investigation and provided email address****************************************************************to the customer to send a copy of the proof of sale for site ID ************* for address ** * ** **** ***** **** ****** **.
  • On December 21, 2022 the required documentation was received indicating the property was sold as of October 8, 2021.
  • On December 22, 2022, corrections were completed and the charges from October 8, 2021 and forward were removed. Correspondence was sent to the customer advising the corrections had been made and a credit of $****** was reflected on the account.
  • The statement generated on December 23, ************************************** ************* for address *********************************** with charges of $******. Site ID ************* for address*************, then adding the current total charges of for both corrected sites*********7613 and************* in the amount of $********, resulted in an amount owing of $******. The current statement generated on January 6, 2023 has current charges of $******.
  • On December 23, 2022 the customer call regarding the resolution received. The customer disagreed with the credit amount reflecting after corrections. The agent submitted a case for further investigation and call back at the customers request.
  • On December 30, 2022 the agent working on the case attempted to contact the customer to explain the billing was correct and all charges and payments accounted for. The agent was unable to reach the customer.
  • On January 3, 2023 the customer called to inquire about payments made between October 7, 2021 to September 2022. The agent incorrectly contacted the vacancy department who advised the customer would need to send proof of sale. The agent has been coached accordingly.
  • On January 6, 2023 correspondence was received from the customer inquiring about the payments made to the account for address** * ** **** ***** **** ****** **.The case was incorrectly closed and no response provided due to prior information provided on the account. The agent has been coached accordingly.
  • A reconciliation has been compiled for the account************to reflect the corrections have been made. The customer has only been charged up to and including October 7, 2021 for address** * ** **** ***** **** ****** **. The new address of
  • We contacted the customer and explained the corrections have been made back to October 2021. The letter received in December 2022 stated incorrectly corrections were made to October 2022. I advised we have completed an account reconciliation which has been sent to the customers email address of *******************.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 18/01/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  the intial dates " providing proof of sale " was prior to December 19th ,    in addition the claim that the land title was pulled and confirmed **** as the owner is false, I pulled the land title and the new owners and title was registered May 2022. 

  to date I have been asking for an account of invoices for the *********  range road property,   confirming that no invoices or payments from Oct 7, 2021 were issued to or made by my father. Their obsession with the land title and failure to check regularly after we had advised them on more than one occassion is a rather poor defense,  

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:23/12/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In Oct 2020 we paid our Direct energy bill but there was a software problem and the transaction went through 4 times. We asked our credit card company to correct this and in Nov 2020 3 of the payments were returned. We closed our direct energy account in December 2020 and moved to a new provider. We paid our bill in full and had a zero balance showing.On Dec 16 2022 we received an email from Direct energy saying we owed $604.30. We called on the 17 Dec 2022 and asked for this to be investigated. We received a response today, now Direct energy says we owe ******, (****** plus a late charge). We called and asked for clarification and customer service told us that our credit card company sent a request for a payment to be returned and it was returned to our credit card on Dec 16 2022. We contacted our credit card company and they said there was no request and no moneys were returned on 16 Dec 2022. We called Direct energy back and they are continuing to state that the ****** was sent to our credit card. We asked for a receipt or evidence that this happened. They have sent us an account reconciliation. I'll be honest the reconciliation is impossible to understand. 27 Dec 2020 it shows paid up and then 16 Dec 2022 and 19 Dec 2022 there is a lot of activity that makes no sense. I have attached the reconciliation. I do have credit card statements that show the 4 payments and 3 returns.They have sent this matter to collections and we are already receiving phone calls.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/01/2023

  • Upon review of the account, we found that on the statement dated October 6, 2020, Ms. ******* outstanding balance was $******.
  • On October 23, 2020 and October 29, 2020 respectively, we received two payments of $****** for a total of $****** on the account. This resulted in the account having a credit balance of -$******.
  • On the statement dated November 5, 2020, Ms. ******* new charges were total $******. The credit balance of -$****** reduced these charges to $*****.
  • On the statement dated December 4, 2020, payments were received in the amount of $***** on November 20, 2020 taking the balance to $0.00. Two additional payments were received on November 23, 2020 in the amounts of $****** each, totaling $******. The total credit balance carried over from this statement was -$******.
  • Also on the December 4, 2020 statement, three overpayments of $****** (totaling $******) were returned to Ms. ******* credit card on November 24, 2020. The difference between the credit balance of $****** and the return payments of $****** is in the amount owing of $******. The $****** was added to the current charges of $******. The balance owing is now $******.
  • The account was closed on December 8, 2020. A final invoice was generated on December 11, 2020.
  • On the statement dated December 11, 2020, the balance of $****** was carried over. New charges of $***** were billed to ****************. This updated the total outstanding balance to $******.
  • The balance of $****** was paid by **************** in two instances. The first payment was received on December 19, 2020 for $******, and the second payment was received on December 27, 2020 for $*****.
  • Due to an error by our billing team, a balance was generated in the amount of $****** on December 16, 2022. This balance has been reversed and the agent has been coached accordingly. The current balance is $0.00.
  • We attempted to contact **************** vie telephone but were unsuccessful. We ask the BBB to relay this information to *****************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/12/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Direct Energy charged my house unit * under my name to my credit card as well as unit ** under the name ************************* to my credit card for 6 months. They wasted 18hrs of my time to get my money back and I had to file a ***** complaint with my credit card company to get it back. They never offered me a ***** more nor the ******** the charges cost me on my credit card that totaled over ****$. Just recently they have been still charging me after I went to **** and had to cancel my credit card because of the *****. They say I owe them **** dollars now or they will turn off my services, When I called to get resolution I was hung up on and was not taken seriously, in fact the manager laughed at me. I assume they sent negative reports affecting my credit score. I am a very busy service ****** and I want this ***** by them to stop. The account number they charged is : ************. This is the same account number they tried to charge ************************* so I suspect they are still charging my me for unit **? I desperately need resolution as their employees are extremely negligent in doing their job..............

  Business Response

  Date: 08/12/2022

  Upon review of the account, we found that ************** had been enrolled at an erroneous address under accounts ************ and ************. The agent that completed this enrollment has already been coached accordingly.  
  At the same time, ****************** was also being billed for their correct accounts ************ and ************. 
  ************** paid a total of $******* to all four accounts. ************** was billed $******* on their correct accounts as valid charges. Corrections were completed for the charges incurred by the erroneous accounts. Following the calculations, a credit of $******* was provided to **************. This refund was placed on account ************ as a result of a prior case.  
  Upon further investigation we found that **************** credit card company had reversed multiple payments that they had made on the erroneous accounts ************ and ************.  
  For account ************, the credit card company reversed a total of $*******. For account ************, a total of $****** was reversed. As corrections were already completed on these accounts prior, and a credit had already been provided by Direct Energy Regulated Services, this resulted in ************** now owing amounts ******** and $****** for accounts ************ and ************ respectively. 
  These charges are valid as ************** received the refund and the credit card took the payments made back, which is why the customer owes this balance. Had the customers credit card not reverse the payments, the accounts would have a balance of $****. 
  Currently, ************** has no active services on any of the four accounts mentioned. There is also no collections activity on any of the accounts.   
  We attempted to contact ************** via telephone but were unsuccessful. We ask the BBB to relay this information to *************** 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:28/11/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I was a Direct Energy customer for many years. I phoned ********************************************* ***************) at 9:12 AM on 14-October-2022 and cancelled my service. It was cancelled by Direct Energy the next day on 15-October-2022. I was shocked to see a November statement for me from Direct Energy charging me for their services and gas usage in October and November after I had cancelled service to my house. In addition, my hot water heater and furnace had been turned off long before I cancelled the service; even more ridiculous I was charged for using gas which I couldn't have used.I contacted Direct Energy many times on their web site and in emails but they have ignored me. I informed them that I expect prompt payment of the $34.40 that they owe me when my account was cancelled. It is difficult to see how BBB gives Direct Energy an A+ rating and reduces people's faith in BBB.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/12/2022

  • Upon review, on October 14, 2022 a call was received from the customer requesting to cancel their ********************. The agent proceeded to cancel the account. The customer did not ask to have the ******************** disconnected. The agent asked for the reason of the cancellation and the customer stated they own the property but it is idle and they were currently staying at a different location.
  • On November 15, 2022 gas site ID 0001096496211 for address**** ************************************************ were enrolled due to land title search and back dated to October 16, 2022.
  • On November 28, 2022 correspondence was received from the customer inquiring why they had received a bill as they had cancelled the services. The customer stated the hot water tank and furnace had been shut off.
  • On November 28, 2022 a response was sent to the customers email address of*******************letting them know how the site was enrolled and asked for documentation if the property had been sold.
  • On November 29, 2022 correspondence was received from the customer regarding their inquiry the day before. As a response had been sent to the customer on November 28, 2022 no additional correspondence was sent to the customer.
  • As the customer did not request to disconnect their services and are still responsible for the property, the site was enrolled. The gas was only shut off at the site, not disconnected. The distributor charges idle charges as the gas is still flowing to the property even though it not used and the infrastructure supplying the gas is still in place therefore the charges are valid. Estimated charges on the statement generated on November 22, 2022 will be corrected when the information is received from the distributor.
    To have the services disconnected during winter moratorium, the customer will need to submit the **** Gas Winter De-energize form found on Direct Energy Regulated Services website atwww.directenergyregulatedserivces.comand either fax or email it back as per the instruction on the website. There is a reconnect fee charged by the distributor of $128.00 plus GST for 1-5 business days or $298.00 plus GST for 24 hours.
  • We contacted the customer and advised they had not asked to have the services disconnected and advised as the gas was shut off at the site, not disconnected, the distributor charges idle charges as the gas is still flowing to the property even though its not used and the infrastructure supplying the gas is still in place and the charges are valid. We provided the websitewww.directenergyregulatedserivces.comand the path to find the **** Gas Winter De-energize form as well as the email address************************************************************************, asthe customer wantedtorequest the call recordings.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/12/2022

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  ? It is apparent that Direct Energy is not interested in a fair and reasonable resolution or in accepting responsibility for their actions but only defends its actions and has no respect for me as a long-term customer

  ? I am definitely not satisfied and my complaint has NOT been answered

  ? I phoned Direct Energy on 14-October to disconnect the gas as the house was vacant and I had turned off the furnace and hot water heater and was therefore not using gas and did not want to continue paying for gas when I didnt want it or need it.

  ? Direct Energy failed to notify me that I had not used the exact wording they wanted to have the gas stopped.  I then did not know I was being billed for nothing until I received the 22-November-2022 statement.

  ? Direct Energy may think it is gaining revenue by not notifying customers of their options so as to increase their revenues at their customers expense but in the end they lose out much more.  I will never ever be a customer of ********************************************* again.

  ? Direct Energy has not explained why I was billed for gas usage during the latter half of October and November when I didnt have any gas usage (even in their words service had been disconnected; also as mentioned above the furnace and hot water heater had been turned off)

  ? On 30-November-2022 the Direct Energy person who phoned me would not speak to me unless I gave her permission to record.  I did not want to but I reluctantly agreed when she gave me the address to get recordings of my conversations with Direct Energy.  Then today I received an email from Direct Energy stating that they would not provide me with the recordings but would rather let me listen to them.  That is not good enough and is not what I was led to believe.

  ? Direct Energy continues to ****** me and I received another email today (2-December-2022) claiming that infrastructure and distributor charges are still payable even though I completed the **** Gas Winter De-energize form yesterday.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:22/11/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We sold our house in ************** ** in May 2022. We had been on the equalization payment for both gas and electricity. On the gas side we had a balance owing of $426.78 which we paid on May 30 2022. On the electrical side, we had a credit of $1273.20. We have still not received any monies owing to us (as of November 22, 2022). We were first told ***** days. Then we were told they had refunded the credit card and to deal with the bank. The bank said we had to wait 30 days, then 30 BUSINESS day and in the end told us they never received the funds and to take it up with Direct Energy. On October 4, Direct Energy said to email the credit card statement to them to prove we never received the refund, which we did. On October 7, we received an email from Direct Energy saying they were going to cancel the credit card refund and issue a cheque. When we called today, the payment had not been reversed; the person on the phone said she was reversing it and we can expect a cheque in ***** days. In light of the fact that we have been told several times over the last 6 months that it was going to be ***** days, we have our doubts that we will receive it and are hoping that this complaint may help in receiving it.

  Business Response

  Date: 24/11/2022

  • Upon review, services ended for electricity site ID ************* for address **************************************************************** on May 22, 2022. 
  • On August 9, ********************************************************************** ****. The agent advised the credit had been processed to the card in two amounts. $1255.52 on July 6, 2022 and $17.68 on July 11, 2022. The agent contacted the remittance department and was advised the refund was processed successfully. 
  • On August 9, ********************************************************************** ****. The agent advised the credit had been processed to the card in two amounts. $1255.52 on July 6, 2022 and $17.68 on July 11, 2022. The agent contacted the remittance department and was advised the refund was processed successfully on our side and advised the customer should contact their bank. 
  • On August 9, 2022 the customer called to request the refund to their credit card and wanted the refund transaction numbers sent to them by email. The agent contacted the remittance department and was told the customer needed to speak to their bank. The agent provided the requested information over the phone.  
  • On August 12, 2022 correspondence was received from the customer requesting transaction receipts for the credits processed to their **** card as they had contacted **** and they did not have a record of the transactions. The agent submitted an investigation.  
  • On August 12, 2022 the agent working on the investigation sent correspondence to the customer advising the refund of amounts $1255.52 and $17.68 have been issued to card ****************************************************************************** number could not be provided, only the doc numbers of ********* for the amount of $17.68 and ********* for the amount of $1,255.52.  
  • On October 4, 2022 the customer called regarding the refund. The customer advised their bank needed documentation regarding the refund. The agent advised the customer to provide the statements indicating the refund had not been received for further investigation. 
  • On October 6, 2022 correspondence was received from the customer with the requested credit card statements.  
  • On October 7, 2022 correspondence was sent to the customer advising the credit was processed successfully from Direct Energy Regulated Services and if this credit had not been received it can be cancelled and a refund cheque issued instead.  
  • On November 22, 2022 the customer called to inquire about the refund. The agent advised of the prior investigation resolution.  The agent contacted remittance to have the refund reissued through cheque and verified the mailing address on the account.  
  • On November 22, 2022 the refund cheque request was submitted and is pending. 
  • The refund cheque has been issued in the amount of $1273.20 and can take up to 14 days after it is mailed to reach the customer.  
    We contacted the customer and advised the cheque has been issued for the amount of $1273.20 and provided cheque number *********. We advised of the standard time to receive the cheque of 14 days.