Direct Energy and Enbridge
At the end of December, we received an update on this complaint. Here’s the update:
I received a bill from Enbridge this morning. It would seem that this matter has not been resolved despite promises from both Enbridge, Direct Energy and the energy Obudsman.
In June of this year we sold our house and purchased a new home. Unfortunately our new home would not be ready until October. Due to the delay we had to rent an apartment and were unable to transfer any of the companies with which we were dealing to represent us in our new home. I contacted all of the companies (hydro, gas, banks) and explained the situation. In July I received a final bill from Enbridge. Aside from the usual charges we were charged an additional 383.53 as cancellation charges. These charges pertained to our Home heating and cooling protection plan.
I called the company and tried to speak to a representative about the charges. I was told to call Direct Energy as they handle all of the billing for Enbridge. I then called Direct Energy and spoke to a representative. I explained the situation and the rep. Elizabeth agreed that we were billed in error (the amount represented the remaining charges as we were not going to keep the heating and cooling plan for a year). The representative agreed that we had been paying the monthly fee for 10 years, and rarely used the plan. Elizabeth also agreed that we should not be committed to paying fees for a service we would not be using and that nowhere in our agreement did it state that should we cancel that we had to pay a for a year in advance. Elizabeth gave be a PR # TEMINO and told me that we would be credited the $387.53 on our next bill in August.
In August I was surprised to see that our account was not credited. I called Direct Energy, explained the situation to Amanda an executive officer. She checked our file, agreed that a mistake had been made and re-assured me that Direct Energy would contact Enbridge and that the amount would be credited to that account.
In September I received a letter from Enbridge saying that our account was passed due and that our names would be sent to a collection agency. I tried once again to explain the situation to the Enbridge rep. Pashoy employee # 660059 who in turn told me that there was nothing they could do that the information had to come from Direct Energy. I then called Direct Energy and spoke to Amanda Ross, another executive officer. I again explained our situation, was told once again that our account would be credited and that the credit would be reflected on our November account. Imagine my surprise when I opened the bill from Enbridges saying this is a final notice, and that our name would be place in collection if the bill was not paid. We now owe $411.57 because of additional interest charges for late payment.
I called and spoke to Donavan employee # 32585. I again explained the situation to Donavan. Donavan in turn told me ‘not to worry that if our name was place in collection that they -Direct Energy’ would do everything possible to help! I was not happy with his answer. Dovan assured me that he would look in to the matter and call me back within 24 hours. It has been 24 hours and I have not heard from Donovan nor any other representative from Direct Energy.
In the end I am absolutely disgusted with the treatment we have received at the hands of both Direct Energy and Enbridge. It would appear that there is no longer any such thing as ‘customer service’. It would seem that being very good customers for 10 years holds absolutely no significance to either company.
What can I do?
Where do you go from here.
Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.
June 25th, 2011 at 7:14 pm
As seems, Direct Energy Home Services invented a new kind of fraud.
In April of this year I called Direct Energy Essential Home Services
regarding problem with our rental Water Heater.
The technician visited us and made necessary repairs. No charges were apply
since service and repairs for rental water heater are free.
In May of 2011 I received Enbridge Bill, which, particularly, indicated
Service Visit charge of $158.19 from Direct Energy Home Services.
That amount looks pretty close to amount we “saved” according to
“Water Heater Service Technician’s Checklist”.
When I called Billing at 905-943-6944 on May 24, 2011, after some investigation
I was informed, that it was not a charge for Water Heater repairs, which are free
for rentals, but for maintenance of our furnace.
This looks like absolute nonsense – we installed new furnace recently
from another company, and it completely covered, so we even in
theory don’t need any service calls for furnace from Direct Energy!
After many calls and a lot of trouble, on June 03 I’ve been informed
that they will credit that charge, but can’t correct my current bill which
was due on June 06 because it’s too late.
Even more, that credit of $158.19 will be applied to my June’s or July’s bill and only to
Direct Energy Home Services part of it.
Since that part of bill includes only monthly charge for rental Water Heater – $17.49, it means
my money will be repaid only after 9 months ($158.19 / 17.49 = 9.04…)!
Why don’t mail to me the cheque with that amount instead?!..
Since Direct Energy Home Services has many thousands of customers, the charging
even some of them with such “errors” brings to company a lot of money that can be
used for months…
I think appropriate justice institutions should pay attention to this.
Valeri Lechtchev
Mississauga
July 18th, 2011 at 6:01 pm
Today is July 18, 2011. Direct Energy called us to ask us to renew our contract as it expires this year. Excuse me….but OMFG…. Back in 2004 or so, a Direct Energy rep came by our home to get us to pay for their existence by fixing us with a contract. As new homeowners, my husband signed up. As an accountant, I looked at what Direct Energy was offering and decided to cancel. We called Direct Energy a few days later and cancelled. We got cancellations confirmations etc. We trusted Direct Energy to complete the cancellation as it should not, in our minds have been a big deal. And yeah, the T-word, we trusted ahem Direct Energy, fools as we come to realize we are. Hmmmm….7 years later, it seems we have been billed according to that Direct Energy contract all along. When it supposedly expired 5 years ago, they decided to kindly renew it on our behalf, err, but this time didn’t need us to help them along. Fast forward today, we called Direct Energy to find out ….err, excuse me….WTF…. And well, they will calls us back in a week, and gave us a complaint number – a nice touch. So, Direct Energy, kudos for making believers out of us. I hope for all the profits you have earned, it is worth the frustrations of everyone on this blogue.
August 7th, 2011 at 9:48 am
On July 7, 2011 I received my Enbridge gas bill which usually only has a water heater rental charge from Direct Energy. (approximately $25.00/month). I moved into my brand new home in July 2010. This month’s bill contains an “account settlement rental” charge of $128.81? I use a propane heated water tank so there is no supply from Direct Energy or Enbridge. Does anyone know what this charge is for?! Why is it just appearing now one year after I have moved in? I have dealt with Enbridge and Direct Energy previously and found errors more them once and received credits but wanted to hear from anyone else before I let loose the fury at some innocent customer service rep!!!
Thanks
August 22nd, 2011 at 7:53 pm
I got good one for you.Had my furnace in winter die on me again for about 5th time and it has been serviced and cleaned(LOL) by them.I was at work the tech came in told my wife the house could blow up,he’s red tagging it.The ducts were wrong,it was leaking carbon monoxide,the a/c coil was probably dirty and since I dropped a/c plan could cost $1,000.00 0r more.I needed everything replaced.So my wife called me and I spoke to tech.Said I would call my A/C guy and get back to him.Like a miracle from heaven,there was no gas leak,he checked coil with cam it was spotless and he replaced small part and has worked since now August.I have advise them that he will not be allowed in my house ever and they can stick their plan when comes due,bunch of crooks.So beware.I am afraid how many people been conned into new furnaces.
November 8th, 2011 at 4:54 pm
I just wasted 30+ minutes on the phone with Direct Energy regarding a bill for services neither rendered nor required. The bill is for a heating protection plan which I don’t need having moved into a condo. Direct Energy were informed of my move twice, late Apr and again mid-Aug but claim not to have any record of my calls.
The first rep. I spoke with spent 10 minutes “checking my account” (puttng me on hold several times) before she decided she couldn’t help me. I was transferred to Andrew an “Account Specialist” who asked for pretty much the same info. the 1st rep requested. He too placed me on hold so he could “discuss the matter with his supervisor”. When he returned, he was “delighted” to tell me that a credit would be placed on my account within “one or two billing cycles”. Meanwhile, I had to pay the bill!! I protested, repeated that as I was in a condo & had no need for any of Direct Energy’s services. Andrew was not a happy camper. He said that DE can’t just reverse a bill. The upshot was, he’d have his supervisor speak with me.
Mr. Supervisor slurred through his name twice….sounded like Todd, or maybe Cory. Round Three ensued, same questions, same answers. Todd/Cory was surprised I’d no furnace; what about a boiler then, he asked. BTW do any of you peole know that when you move, “your” plan moves with you?? So I was informed. At this point, I expressed frustration at the amount of time spent on what to me was a very simple solution so Todd/Cory advised he’d “make an exception” in my case and cancel the billing. Yahooo!
Thank you God. But wait…I was to be transferred back to Andrew so he could give me a reference number.
Back on hold again during which time I completed a difficult Sudoku.
After Andrew gave me the number he said “A credit will appear on your bil within one or two billing cycles” (Does anyone know the old song “There’s a Hole in the Bucket”?) I reminded Andrew that as his supervisor was cancelling the bill (“Oh,is that what he said”) I would not be paying it whereupon he replied that the interest charges would mount up and Icould deal with them whatever way I saw fit.
To be continued………..
December 13th, 2011 at 12:25 pm
Can someone provide me with a contact to file a formal complaints, I’ve tried to get a resolution on this matter below over the phone without success, they are quick to slam plans on your account but refuse to remove them (heating protection plan):
I’m writing to you as it doesn’t seem that I can get a resolution for my issue. I tried calling Direct Energy as suggested by your CSR however when calling them they were very confrontational and to be honest rude. I was encouraged to sign up for the Heating Protection Plan from a phone call last year and was told that I would be under contract for 1 year and after the year I can cancel it at any time. I had recently received an email suggesting that I had not taken advantage of the free maintenance call so I thought I would call and schedule it thinking it was from last year. As I tried to cancel the Heating Protection Plan today a Misty, who I must say was very rude and then a Christy who was the ‘Supervisor’ advised that I was under contract for another year and that I would have to pay the balance for the year even if I cancel the plan. I feel I was misled when they signed me up for this plan, also Misty was down right rude and confrontational through our whole conversation, the reason I would like to remove this plan is that we are trying to cut costs as we feel that it’s not necessary.
I know that the issue is with Direct Energy however as I pay for this plan under my Enbridge bill I was hoping that I can get some assistance with removing this plan.
If required I will draft a letter to Robert Comstock SVP for Direct Energy as I feel I’m being treated unfairly for a service I was misinformed about.
December 17th, 2011 at 9:15 pm
Had a new hot water heater installed in May, three months free, should have received a bill in September.
NOT ! I have called and pleaded with DE and Enbridge to Please send me a bill, or give me an account so that i could set up my bank to pay something in the interium to DE getting the head out of their ass.
Enbridge says DE has to send them the paperwork, DE says we live in Wiarton, Not Chatsworth and to talk to Enbridge. This is all very frustrating.
My brother in law, did’nt get a bill for over one year, then got slapped with a pay up or else.
If anyone knows how we can get this resolved quicker than making multiple calls to multiple customer service reps that don’t care or care to know, please let me know.
[email protected]
December 30th, 2011 at 9:20 pm
I have had excellent service from DE technician. I called for my water heater issue, tech was at the door in about 2 hrs, same day. and he had the part to solve problem on the spot.
January 3rd, 2012 at 3:48 pm
I manage a rental property and came across a problem when my 50 gallon tank did not provide enough hot water for the 5 units within the building. I had extensively research the best option for my problem, even considering tankless water heater but was informed by Direct Energy employees that the best option was the 75 gallon tank. So I agreed to have my 50 gallon replaced by a 75 gallon tank. It was only until a few weeks ago that I was informed by a DE technician that the water tank THEY installed was the incorrect one for the location it was in. At this point I had at least 10 technicians come into the unit and say nothing about the problem. It was only until this one man that I was I was properly informed. I called DE to solve the issue, only to find out that they did not have access to a larger tank that was apprioate for the unit. I than decided to to cancel with DE to install my own water tank. I called to find out cancellation fees and was told that my only option was to “buy out” my tank for a cost of over $1,000, at which point I would own the tank. Frustrated at this point, they did not own to their mistake and persistently told me that there was no other options. If they properly trained their technician/customer service rep I WOULD have NOT installed the tank in the first place and wasted my time waiting for appointments, being placed on hold and throwing away money for additional costs associated with the 75 gallon tank. ED is a careless company, that does not provide the best service to Canadians. For once it would be nice if they could admit to their mistakes and fix THEIR problems.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:07 pm
Just as “Ch ip” above, I have a complaint regarding the “Heating Protection Plan”.
Back in November of 2011 (just about month an a half ago) my old furnace stopped working.
I found out that the issue was most likely the thermocouple, so I called Direct Energy to have it replaced.
I was told that I had 2 options. One option was to enrol in the “Heating Protection Plan” before placing the service call in which case I would be charged a nominal fee regardless of what needed to be fixed (as long as it was below $500.00).
The second option was to just place the service call (without enrolling in the program) in which case I would have to pay for the full cost of the repair.
Because the furnace was over 20 years old, I agreed to enrol in the plan.
However, when the technician showed up and repaired the furnace, he told me that the plan was only good for low cost repairs. He said that if the furnace broke down again and it needed a major part replaced, the technician would most likely recommend that the furnace be replaced due to being over 20 years old and would not repair it.
This meant that being enrolled in the “Heating Protection Plan” in my case didn’t benefit me that much.
Because of this and the rebates the Canadian Government is offering at the moment, I decided to have the furnace replaced.
The new furnace is covered by a 10 year parts and labour warranty, so now I don’t really need the “Heating Protection Plan”.
I called today to cancel the coverage, but to my surprise was told that the plan is a one year contract and if I cancel before the year is over, I will have to pay for the remaining of the year (in my case 11 months).
I explained that I was not told about any contracts (at least I don’t recall being told) and because the technician actually charged me as if I was not enrolled in the contract (he told me that I had to call to get the charge corrected) I would like it cancelled without any penalties.
I was told that I should have received a package in the mail explaining the details of the plan (I don’t think I got it because I don’t remember seeing it) and that I had 10 days to cancel the contract if I didn’t want it.
Anyway, I understand that a contract is a contract, but because I was not told about it when I enrolled and because I don’t really need the coverage now that I have a new furnace (with 10 years parts and labour warranty) I was hoping that Direct Energy would agree to cancel it without charging a penalty.
But they refused. They said that all they could do was to refund the difference between what I was charged by the technician and the flat fee that I should’ve been charged under the plan.
However, the difference is only about $13.00. The service plan is costing me $21.99 per month, so the refund is minimal in comparison to the cost of the plan.
I don’t think that posting here is going to make any difference, but I just want to make my experience known, so others will be aware of what they are getting into when joining a plan offered by Direct Energy.
Tony
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:09 pm
OOps!.. Please delete my first post.
The plan cost is $21.99 as it appears in my second post, not $24.99 as in the first post.
Sorry for the trouble.
Tony
February 6th, 2012 at 12:12 am
WOW !! I cannot believe all the complaints and horror stories regarding Endofbridge and InDirect Takeurmonee!! I might as well add mine. I called Direct Energy because they emailed me 4 times in 3 weeks telling me to take advantage of the free furnace inspection since I got the main. package 2 months ago, so I did. The high school student they sent over told me he would show me how to properly set my thermostat and find a filter in his van when he was done seeing my furnace. He had a detector and a few tools and after 15 mins., told me that I| had a hole in my heat return. Sorry for the bad news sir, he said. Then he asked me to look inside the furnace to show me the hole and I| said ” WHAT HOLE ?” Its there sir….beleive me. To be honest, a private furnace tech guy told me that my heat return might have a hairline crack but was hard to see and the monoxide reading was good. 1.5 out of 10. He told me I might need a furnace in 18-24 months, maybe 30 months. That was 8 months ago. Anyways the high school tech guy shut my gas off cuz its the law he said. He then took off without getting my filter or showing me how to set my thermostat the right way…not a word. It was like he shut off my gas and ran. He also guaranteed me I would get a call from DirectDicks in one hour. Never got it…Never got it the next day, so I called and got a long BS story and she said I would get a call on day 3…Never got it. I had to call on day 4 to get a tech guy to repair the heat return at $800.00 plus tax…$904.00 !!By the way, I was promised heaters while the gas was off since it was winter……….never got them. Good thing I have 3 and we were quite comfortable. By the way, when they wanted to come to fix the problem, I told them no thanks, I have a guy.
February 15th, 2012 at 9:22 pm
I have a good one…
So we moved into our new build home in Feb 2008. In Dec 2011 Direct Energy discovered that they had not billed us (or anyone in our new neighbourhood) ever for the hot water tank on our property. The week before Christmas we got a bill for $330.
We contact Direct Energy and requested a copy of the lease agreement and were told the buy out on the unit was $960 + HST.
In February we discover that they increased the rental by 50 cents (yes not a huge increase but no notice was sent) a month and still havent received a copy of the lease agreement. I call them again to be told ‘the lease agreement was sent out… oh today’ yes 2 months after it was requested.
I then proceeded to ask what is the depreciation value of our hot water tank. Based on the information they have provided me the tank brank new is worth $1680 and today I can buy it out for $960 (the same price they gave me in December before I paid the $330). They then proceed to tell me that the depreciation value is an annual value and that they cannot give me what that value is. I explain that is unacceptable and would like to speak to manager. After being on hold someone named Phave comes on and says let me ask my colleagues, please hold and comes back and tells me the depreciation value is $5 to $10 a year. Do they think their customers are stupid they have already deprecitated their tank $720 in 4 years.
Am I asking too much to want to know how they determine what the depreication value is?
I cant wait to get their crap off my property… because let me tell you, had I know what I know now I would have never agreed to rent a hot water tank. And as I explained to Direct Energy its not problem they didnt bill me its theirs…
To all who may purchase a new build home ask your builder lots of questions and demand supporting documents…
March 2nd, 2012 at 11:20 am
I signed up for a yearly maintenance package with Direct Energy in September 2011 and received a service cleaning on my furnace. In November 2011, I upgraded my plan. Since November 2011 I have been receiving calls, emails, and letters in the mail advising me that I am entitled to a free maintenance on my furnance, which I am aware of, but since I just got one in September 2011, I do not wish to have the maintenance done until August/September 2012. I have explained this each time I have received a call and asked nicely to be removed from their calling list for the time being. I asked them to please call me again in the summer to schedule the maintenance. Some weeks I receive 2 calls a day each day for 1 week straight. It has got to the point where it is ridiculous now. One call I received last week informed me that if I just make the booking for sometime at the end of March I would stop receiving calls, so I tried that but have received an email, a letter in the mail and 2-3 calls per day since last week. This is insane! Yesterday I spoke to a Supervisor called Amanda who ensured me that the notes were upated in my file to not call me again and she apologized for the misunderstanding and constant calling. This morning at 930am I received another call from an agent (Shawn Elder)about booking my maintenance. If I receive one more call, I will cancel my contract, file a complaint with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, create a blog regarding the horrible service I have received from Direct Enery, post on Twitter and Facebook as well. I AM ASKING ONE LAST TIME…DO NOT CALL ME ANYMORE!!!!!
March 29th, 2012 at 4:30 pm
I wish to file a formal complaint against Enbridge who in fact charges the highest rates in the country for gas. Life in Ottawa generally sucks – we pay more than every province west for our utilities and are saddled with crooked corrupt utilities which pass their losses annually on to the consumer – the losses are due to poor management. My friends and family out west are shocked to find out what I pay here in Ontario for everything! For the third time in ten year’s Enbridge has demanded an additional $250 payment which they call a deposit but never will return. I have been paying the gas bill at my residence since 2010 and have been refused access to the account as my ex’s name was on it. I told them he left ago and they decided to call me a new occupant and charge me $250 for the same account we already paid $250 to them for. The payments have been coming out of my bank account for years. This is discrimination on the grounds of marital status. They apparently do this to anyone who suffers a breakup of a relationship and they do it to both parties. So everytime a marriage splits up Enbridge makes $500 dollars. Quite the racket.
April 10th, 2012 at 4:38 pm
Lisa Markey,
I had the same experience when I wanted to change the names on the bill to only one. I cannot believe the inflexibility of a monopolized system
April 10th, 2012 at 5:38 pm
For the record, I have been a long-time customer of Direct Energy and have been a satisfied customer of their Heating Protection Plan for over 10 years, until Dec. 2011. I want to submit a formal complaint against Direct Energy (DR) for unreasonable, unjustified practices against their consumers:
1) In Nov. 2011, I sold my old home and moved to a new house within Toronto. About a month prior to my move, I called Direct Energy and notified them of my impending move and informed them that I wanted to continue with my HIP service at my new home. They took down the information and accepted the request.
2) By Dec. 2011, I noticed that I had been charged $259.96 through my auto-billing with Enbridge. I called DR billing to investigate this charge and was told that it is DR’s practice to charge the annual charge of the HPP plan when the customer is moving. I guess this is their way of making it difficult for the customer to leave. The irony is that I intended to stay with DR and in fact have called to “transfer” the HPP plan to my new account.
3) Then the representative proceeded to explain to me that because I am staying with DR, the charge will be credited to my account but will take 2-3 billing cycles. This was in Dec. 2011. I was assigned a ticket #.
4) On Feb 17, 2012, I called DR customer care and provided them the ticket # to check on the status of the credit and much to my dismay, the case has been mishandled and “lost” and clearly not processed correctly so another ticket # was assigned to me to re-process the credit DR still owes me. Then I was told it will take another 2-3 billing cycles to process.
5) While following up on the billing issue, I also discovered that I was no longer had the HPP at my new house. That too was not handled correctly from before so we had to process a new HPP service contract.
6) On April 10, I called to follow-up on my billing status for the credit and the representative could not really tell me if it is being processed or not. All she could say is that it takes 2-3 billing cycles so watch for it in my May bill. You bet I will be watching for it in my May bill and if the credit does not come through, I will be escalating this case.
My complaints are simple-
1) The oversight in billing and re-processing indicates that there is so much inefficiency within Direct Energy. Furthermore, such inefficiencies ride on the backs of hard-working customers who pay their bills on-time every time.
2) There is a question of poor business practice unbeknownst to existing customers i.e., billing customers who might be leaving the full FUTURE annual charge of a service e.g., Heating Protection Plan.
3) This issue and second oversight has dragged on for 5 months with no clarity of resolution. Can one imagine if the tables were turned and it is the customer who is in arrears with utility company? One would not dream of this because they would probably not think twice of disrupting one’s service!
Direct Energy has exerted unreasonable timelines and unfair practices at the expense of its customers in that it is taking unjustified time to process simple billing corrections promptly. Moreover, no representative who has handled any of my inquiries has expressed any apology or regret for the inconvenience their mistakes have caused me. Perhaps there is a lack of care in their customer care department and/or this is a classic example of the fact that when there is lack of competition, the customer is left with little or no options or any recourse.
NOTE: I will also be writing to Direct Energy’s Customer Care Complaint department and will report back on any response I receive.
April 14th, 2012 at 6:44 am
I’m interested to see how many people are being actively caused problems by Direct Energy and by Enbridge (DE and E).
My problem has now culminated in a 2nd erroneous so called collections notice that is also claiming to be a disconnections notice.
DE and E actively dug their heels in and have, to date, not resolved my complaint or the additional issues and complaints that have arisen as a result.
First, last August, after I’d taken possession of a new property in June, I discovered 2 maintenance plans on the DE portion of my E bill, neither of which should have been there as I didn’t request them, and that were there without my knowledge or consent. This also raised my suspicions about the vendors and the agents who had tried to get me to take over a maintenance contract on the furnace which I not only told them, in writing, I didn’t want, but I specifically told them to cancel it and to provide with with written confirmation that it was cancelled. I was told I was being unreasonable, to which I stated I’d take that on advisement and that the plan was to be cancelled.
Now I was was faced with 2 maintenance plans that I learned had been put on my account the day that the sale of one property and purchase of the other occurred. The day I was also moving. So it was not a reasonable suggestion that I’d had a telephone to place a call and request those plans be put on my account for the new property.
I placed a telephone call (which over time turned into several telephone calls), explained the problem and requested an explanation. The girl didn’t know, and, after looking around in my account was able to tell me the plans had been put there on June 15. She seemed surprised that I had not requested them and didn’t want them. Couldn’t provide any other explanation and said she’d call me back the next day.
She didn’t and that’s why several other phone calls placed my me occurred. I was trying to follow up, to speak with her = she was never there when I called, she wasn’t scheduled to work that day or until later that day, other people looked into it, she never got back to me in any case, and nobody else seemed to have the capability of giving me the answer to my question. Now my suspicions about staff competencies at E and DE were raised.
After much searching, ‘cos DE and E have deliberately made it difficult to locate specific contact information, I got hold of a fax number for the President’s office of DE Home Services. I demanded an explanation. I was told by telephone, and eventually by e-mail, that a staff person had erred and inadvertently placed the plans on my account.
I told them that I wanted that reversed and credited, I wanted it to show on the bill and a proper bill with a proper total owing provided to me. And that I wanted the actual records of what had happened, and why, and what was being done about it, provided to me directly from my file, unredacted.
There lies the sticking point.
I have, since last August, been given nothing but the runaround because nobody that I’ve approached seems to be able to, much less want, to assist me in this matter. I’ve asked for information. DE and E aren’t giving it to me and aren’t providing a reasonable and supportable explanation. E put a hold on my account at my request because I said I not only wanted the information and a proper resolution to the problem, but I wasn’t going to be paying the bill until I got those things. When the complaint remained resolved after the 60 day hold was up, I requested an extension, which I’d been told would be done if I remained unsatisfied, and yet I was refused.
The Enbridge Ombudsman, DE’s president and CEO, DE and E’s so called customer service, the Ministry of Consumer Services Consumer Protection Branch, the OEB, the Federal Privacy Commissioner, the Better Business Bureau, and finally the DE and E privacy officers have all been approached about this matter and nobody can or will assist. Someone is hiding something. Not to mention that, just because I have a complaint and have made it clear I’m not paying the bill until its resolved and I have a proper bill, E has implemented its heavy handed collections process and has acted completely unfairly. DE decided to cut me off and has totally ignored the complaint. The E Ombudsman’s role was only to behave as a bill collection agency – that is NOT an Ombudsman. DE provided me with a telephone and an email explanation which is fine except I do not see the problem with actually being provided with hard copy, unredacted proof from the actual file. Especially when DE said “the file is closed, there are no documents” and told the BBB that providing the information I’ve requested “is something they simply cannot do”. Not once have they stated why. And I have questioned how they can come up with the explanation yet cannot seem to provide the hard copy record from the file, which must exist otherwise how did they come up with the explanation in the first place?
And I have watched my invoices with incorrect charges, penalties, late fees, threatening notes that I explained to E and DE I wouldn’t recognize or pay. I have 2 bills with the same date and 2 different totals. So, having corrected the first bill in question and credited the charges from the maintenance plans, they have, over time, exacerbated not only the problem that they’re not providing me with the information I’ve asked for, they’ve made errors in the bills and added things in that they should not have been adding in.
I have called their accounting practices, their customer information management practices, and their lack of customer service and complaint resolution into question.
What do you all think? Is it time the customer base took a serious stand on these types of things as well as the other complaints customers are experiencing and have experienced with E and DE to force positive change?
From my perspective, the point is not whether or not I pay the bill. The point is that a series of bills contain errors which require correcting and other things need to be reversed. The point is that my consumer rights are being arbitrarily, ludicrously and unreasonably trampled upon. The point is that neither DE nor E want to face their mistakes, fix the problems they are causing, only want to lay the blame on the customer and hold the customer to account with the ultimate collections process and disconnection, which of course also means a lot of negatives for the customer as an honest account holder with these utilities and also for their credit rating and history. And that the complaint will not be resolved because they don’t feel like it. So paying the bill or not doesn’t matter. They feel they’re the winners and they’re the big bully boss by not providing customer service, by not resolving the complaint, by not accepting accountability and fixing the problem that they are at the heart of, and by cutting the customer off, causing them financial and credit hardship, and leaving the customer holding the bag and a giant problem that didn’t need to happen in the first place.
I finally heard from the privacy officer at E. Not from DE (why would I?). I’ve responded and given them until April 25 to correct and reverse all the errors, penalties, sanctions, erroneous charges, collections processes, credit slaps, etc. and to fix the problem and produce a proper bill showing a proper final total.
I’m going to the Minister of the Ministry of Consumer Services. I’m going back to the Federal Privacy Commissioner. I’m sending copies to the heads of DE and E. I’ve approached the NDP.
I called and left a message for the privacy officer at E that I received her letter, that I’ve sent a response in rebuttal, this is being widely shared, that I find their tactics and strategies unfair and unreasonable, that I received an erroneous collections notice also claiming to be a disconnection notice and with which I cannot and will not tolerate or comply.
Anybody else got any other ideas?
June 19th, 2012 at 6:09 pm
I am writting here to complain about Direct Energy’s inferior service and deceitful ways of handling their customers and business.
I have a water heater which was installed by direct energy 16 years ago and I have been paying monthly rental fee for 16 years now.
I called Direct Energy and asked for replacement of the old water heater as I was concerned about the health and safety of my family, I heard so many horror stories about old water heaters causing damage to both property and life of so many people.
I need the Water heater replaced since I have little kids at home and I am very concerned about their safety. Also since the water heater is old enough it can’t accomodate the load and can’t supply enough hot water to 2 showers which is very inconvenient.
I called Direct Energy and explained the whole situation to them, there technician showed up and said he can’t remove the water heater since the furnace is in it’s way and he can’t remove it and I have to bear the cost of removing and reinstalling the furnace or I should rent or buy a new furnace from them and ONLY than Direct Energy will waive any cost associated with removal of the furnace.
My question to them was that the furnace I have is 25 years old and was there when they installed the water heater, they didn’t have any problems installing it then but why now they have difficulty removing it.If they could install it then, same way they can remove and replace it now.
Anyhow, they argued with me and told me that someone from their management will call me and will answer and solve my concerns.
It has been 3 days since I asked for replacement and no one from Direct Energy called me.
My question is what if the water heater malfunctions and cause an explosion damaging property and injury to my family members. Who will be responsible ? I am thinking about filing a complaint with Ministry of consumer services.
Direct Energy is keen to get money from you but when it comes to extending service they turn a blind eye on you. I paid more than enough by renting a water heater for over 16 years and I can’t pay for it’s replacement while other companies are doing it for free.
I will appreciate if anyone could guide me what to do next.
Thanks,
July 25th, 2012 at 9:53 am
Direct Energy is trying to rip off customers for their ignorance of terms and contract. I had signed up for their cooling protection plan and called for service after 2 months in end of Jun 2012. Technician found problems with compressor and tried to push me to buy a new AC from Direct Energy , instead of providing us a true estimate to fix the problem. As per their terms, there is $500 limit for two items , Compressor and Condensor coil and to take advantage of this term, technician told us , $2200 for the cost of compressor. DE will pay $500 and rest $1700 customer has to pay. This is clear that jacking up the repair cost was only for shifting to buy a new AC. When I took quote from licensed dealer/agency , I came to know that compressor cost is only around $900-$1200. Lodged a official complain to DE President Office. Spoke to DE CSR for 8times and asked for the price break up. DE were trying to make up the price to match $2200 and it was not easy for them. Later they provided me a quote for compressor is $899+tax but there are other tasks like environment fees , leaking valves etc to make it to $2100. DE still could not match $2200. As per DE plan there is no limit for fixing leaking valves but they merge this task with compressor to pay only $500. Also I found from same licensed dealer/agency the there is contractually no environmental fees associated with compressor replacement but DE did that to hike their quote.
Bottom line after 4 weeks , I am still without AC and now I have to take help from OEB/Ontario Proection act to resolve this. Beware of Direct Energy cooling or heating protection plan. DE wants you to pay monthly premium and when it comes for repair, you have to deal with this kind of frustrations.
September 24th, 2013 at 2:28 pm
Direct Energy are a huge scam company.
They’re forcing me to pay $1400 for a water heater that they never replace. My original heater works, therefore I cancelled the call. A month later, I received a bill for $1400 and they refuse to remove the charge. They want to come into my house so that they can tag it “unreparable”… Apparently have no “contract” that was signed…only Terms and Conditions. Tell me why I’m renting a water heater and if it breaks down, I have to pay for a new one??? If it’s not my property, they should just replace it. Also, what does “automatic renewal” mean exactly? If there’s no contract, there’s no renewal. I haven’t been able to find an address for Direct Energy anywhere…they make it difficult to write them a complaint. If i want to get out of this and buy my own heater, I still have to pay for the unit I’m renting from them??? Scammers!!!
September 24th, 2013 at 2:32 pm
Still fighting with the Direct Energy President’s office. How can they put an illegitimate charge on my bill, when they didn’t repair or replace anything?
November 25th, 2013 at 8:04 pm
Is anyone there to advice how you can have service gas provider in Mississauga with other company than Direct Energy???
They are 150% more expensive service. The most abusive experience ever i had
I have no health to deal with their unauthorized charges. I do not want ever to go trough this calls again even if I have to sell property. Do we really live in such world where we have no basic security over our accounts and subscriptions…
March 25th, 2014 at 1:05 am
Hi,Everybody,
I have the same problem, I got charge for the “Water Heater” for 4 yrs. and 2 months, I called them again and again, they just made me wait and wait, they said they would adjust the bill for me, never do anything.
The interesting thing is:-actually, we own the “Water Heater”.
What a big jok!!!
March 25th, 2014 at 1:06 am
Terrible service!!!
April 4th, 2014 at 3:22 pm
Dealing with DE is the most time consuming and nerve- racking experience I have had in my 75 years. I never get a reply to registered letters to their Billing Department or management of DE Home Services of their disputed billing practices.
In October 2010 their rental water heater sprung a leak and needed replacement. Their service rep gave me an estimate of $300, for replacement of the rental unit. I objected since I paid monthly rental charges through Enbridge for their water heater and felt they should replace their defective unit and I would continue with the rental agreement.
I made enquiries from other service providers who offered far better options. I informed DE of my options. Their Service and Marketing departments launched a promotional campaign and convinced me to use their services. They agreed to replace the water heater under the rental agreement which they did and got me to sign paper work on completion of the job.
At this time their Home services offered me total home protection Furnace and AC maintenance and over the phone offered to come and inspect the Heating and cooling systems at no cost to me. After a couple of visits and recommendations I agreed to consider getting the protection plans. In July 2011, DE billed me, through Enbridge, $665.13.
I pay all my bills regularly, and this was a complete wake up call to their Sales and Marketing and billing practices that are totally incomprehensible. I spoke to various departments of both Enbridge and Direct Energy and finally on March 21 2012 I got a credit of $503.52 issued by Direct Energy through Enbridge for the disputed amount. On August 25, 2013. I received a bill from Direct Energy for Amount Outstanding of $711.89. Totally perplexed and angry, I initiated lengthy discussions with their Billing & Customer Service and DE Collection Department Representatives & Supervisors for clarification. Finally, I requested, by registered mail, copies of the bills covering the outstanding amount as I do not have a direct billing account with Direct Energy.
Since July 2011 I have been covered by a DE Home Services package billed though Enbridge. These services are now subject to my review for cancellation.
I would be happy to get legal opinion on claiming compensation for countless hours wasted because of their most unprofessional customer relations. I cannot get a single clarification in writing. Their billing practices and interaction between their Collection Dept, Billing Dept and Customer Services needs some serious review.
April 7th, 2014 at 9:50 am
Hello everyone,
Ottawa…March bill is 100% over February.
Upper tennant has the account, I am renting the lower.
Since I am not an account holder, they will not anwer what I think is a simple Q.
Q: Are the “new gas charges” actually “new”, or can that amount include some balance forward charges?
Because my bill has some whited out parts and I am not allowed to see page 2…!…100% increase over 1 month seem very suspect as is the doctoring of the bill…(too bad I cant attach), Thanks, Bob
August 18th, 2014 at 9:39 am
Well, after reading all this, I am disgusted at this company. I can tell you that I went with another company in January of this year (2014), they still billed me for the period I was with the other company and not them despited I was never a direct customer with them. Then Enbridge allowed them to bill me for amounts that is higher than what I used to have with them and then Enbridge refused to allow billing from my other company, (Nationl Home Services), I can tell you that Enbridge is in on it with them because despite I showed documental proof of not being a customer of Direct Energy, they still continued to bill me month after month after month, until they tried to force me to pay bills that I did not use, when I refused to pay it, they cut off my gas as if it will make me pay, so I took both companies to the Human Rights Tribunal.
August 18th, 2014 at 9:41 am
I know they are thieves and I want nothing to do with them, and until another company come and offer gas services, we are stuck with Enbridge against our will.
July 28th, 2015 at 2:16 pm
A Direct Energy rep called us around the end of March 2015 and offered to upgrade our current plan by $5.29/month and get services of electrician and appliance repair service. We said OK.
the billing was changed to $10.90 more per month and they added a Heating Maintenance plan for $9.99 which was already included in the plan we had. This plan was not discussed at all.
We also got billed an adj of $86.26 for this Heating Maintence Plan!
We have emailed customer service at Enbridge and the Ombudsman at Enbridge. They said if Direct Energy does not resolve this within 45 days they will take the charges off their billing system and we have to deal with Direct Energy directly!
Direct Energy said they will review the taped conversation and will have a supervisor call us. Someone called around the 45th day time frame but she had not listened to the taped conversation and said the conversation with the rep in March was deemed a signed contract. Since there is a dispute about what was agreed she had to listen to the tape. She would not listen to us and threatened collection agency on us. She eventually agreed to listen to the tape and call us. That was 1.5 weeks ago, she has not called or will not return our phone calls.
The behaviour of Direct Energy is fraudulent. No- one will listen to what you have to say or do due diligence and listen to the taped conversation
Enbridge Gas has washed their hands. How can this be acceptable? They claim they are gas deliverers and only do the billing for Direct Energy. What do they gain by dealing with a scrupulous company like Direct Energy. By their mere association with them they are subtly endorsing them!
How are we to have this resolved? I see many complaints in the media Direct Energy but nothing is changed. What does it take to have them fix this gouging of the customer? How are they getting away with this behaviour?