MPower Energy

Review: I have received multiple harassing phone calls from MPower Energy sales people at my home. They are trying to get me to switch to using them as an energy supplier, but they are using false and misleading tactics. In some cases, they claim to be from [redacted] or to be calling on behalf of [redacted]. I spoke to [redacted] and they denied any connection with these people. Later in the discussions, I was told that they work for MPower Energy. I was pressured repeatedly to provide them with certain information from my [redacted] bill, which I refused to do. When I told them I was not interested and hung up, they called back. When I told them not to call again, I was told that I was required to comply and that they would continue to call until I provided the necessary information. I was told that if I did not comply, I would be subject to fines that would appear on my Utility Bill. I have no existing business relationship with MPower and I am registered with the DO NOT CALL list. They have no legitimate right to be calling me, so in addition to their unethical behavior, they are not obeying the laws regarding the DO NOT CALL list.Desired Settlement: MPower needs to review its telemarketing sales practices and make necessary adjustments. They need to stop making improper claims like threating people with fines. They need to start obey the laws regarding the DO NOT CALL list. If they do not, I would expect the Revdex.com, the BPU, the Department of Consumer Affairs, the FCC, and possibly other agencies will act to protect the public from this improper and unethical behavior.

Business

Response:

MPower Energy fully complies with the regulations of the Board of Public [redacted] and with local and federal DNC regulations. Any violation of these regulations is not sanctioned or condoned by MPower Energy. We uphold a Zero Tolerance Policy in matters of DNC violations and misrepresentation/misinformation of any kind and such violations (if verified) are grounds for immediate termination. MPower Energy purchases it''s leads through licensed vendors who scrub their lists regularly in accordance with DNC regulations. We will contact the vendor immediately to find out why we were provided this lead if it was on the list for longer than 30 days. (Numbers added more recently than 30 days may not make the list. Likewise one must be diligent about ensuring ones request for inclusion on the DNC is current). From this point forward, the number has been added to our internal DNC list and will not be contacted again in the future. With regard to the actual calls in question and the allegations of misrepresentation, MPower Energy will pull all recordings related to the number listed in this complaint and submit them to our QA department for review. If verified, the agents in question will immediately be terminated.

Review: MPower was advertised as an optional service which would REDUCE my gas charges. They were actually much higher than [redacted] over the same time periods. This was a classic bait and switch and has cost my household hard earned income.Desired Settlement: Please refund the difference of what I paid MPower vs what [redacted] would have cost.

Business

Response:

Mpower Energy is not a service that reduces energy bills. It is a third party retail supplier of electricity and natural gas and a competitive alternative to [redacted] and [redacted]. Our services are the same as those offered by the utility-namely, supply- though our purchasing strategies are vastly different from the utilities'. Due to regulation differences between public utilities and private ESCO's we are able to contract energy more strategically on the market and our savings are then turned over to our customers. That being said, MPower, like any other supplier purchases on the commodities market and is subject to market fluctuation. Our rates, in turn, will be higher than the utilities' rates in some months and lower in others. We tell our customers that savings cannot accurately be calculated until a full 12 months in service and if, at the end of those 12 months the customer has not achieved savings, MPower Energy will issue a credit to the account with the utility.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

There were months when cost was double [redacted]. It is a basic bait and switch...promise lower costs and charge more. my account should be credited with the overages.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

I have had not used them for 12 months. Once I realized that the fees were high I immediately canceled (9-10 months of usage). I was not informed by their customer service team about the review of my account after 12 months when I canceled the service even though I did complain about the price.

Business

Response:

The customer will be credited any rate differential in his favor by wire to the utility this Friday.

Review: M-Power advertises that customers are guaranteed to save money over using [redacted] or [redacted] alone. I gave them a try since they convinced me that I'd save at least 10%.

After about a year or so, I noticed my bills were actually higher than the previous year. After a phone call, they explained to me that it's impossible to compare bills over to previous years because the cost of energy and the consumption have to be taken into effect. Since it seemed like a valid reason, I kept the service to see what would happen.

It's been another year, and my [redacted] bills have been $488.09 and $302.10 on the last two months which is an outrageous amount in comparison to previous years which the maximum has been about $200.

I called M Power to express my concern, and I can't get to anyone. I even pressed the "Spanish" option, and it all goes to voicemail.

I then called both [redacted] and [redacted] to compare what the bills would have been if I would've had [redacted] 100% of the time. This is what I found out:

March 2014: M Power $96.16 [redacted]: $64.97

February 2014: M Power $128.37 [redacted]: $86.86

January 2014: M Power $156.69 [redacted]: $57.70

December 2013: M Power $75.13 [redacted]: $48.54

November 2013: M Power $37.15 [redacted]: $21.39

October 2013: M Power $15.69 [redacted]: $8.76

As you can tell, every month has been anywhere between 30% to 300% higher with M Power as if I would have used [redacted] to deliver gas.

I have now cancelled both Gas and Electric with M Power.

I hope this review helps others before thinking they can save with M Power.Desired Settlement: I want a letter of apology for misleading me to think I'd save money, and demand a refund for the difference in price for the past two years, which is $883.76.

Business

Response:

What the customer was informed is correct. There is no way to compare bills against previous years or even previous months. A number of factors affect the final pricing and these can change from month to month and year to year. The past two months, for example, have been drastically more expensive for ALL energy providers, [redacted] included. [redacted] was offering rates in the $0.30 cent per kwh range while Mpower was in the $0.20 range. Though this is an unprecedented spike in prices, Mpower Energy was still offering lower rates. That being said, according to our records, the customer called in on 3/**/14 and was informed that his rate structure would be changed to a guaranteed savings structure. As one may infer from the title, the savings on this plan are GUARANTEED. At the end of a 12 month term, customers on this plan are guaranteed to have saved a minimum of 1% over the utility's rates for the corresponding period. If the initial rates charged were not lower to begin with, the savings are credited retroactively directly to the account. Though the customer was not under this rate structure initially, the CSR who assisted him approved a credit for his first year in service as well. The customers complaint, therefore, is unfounded.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]

M-Power guaranteed lower prices when I first joined over a year ago. After checking my bills, I realized they charged more than $100 in the past three months than if I would've stayed with [redacted] and [redacted]. After calling M-Power, the CSR told me it'd be impossible for M-Power to charge more than [redacted] and [redacted]. When I asked to talk to the [redacted], he realized and confirmed they indeed had overcharged and promised a refund for the difference. To this point, I have not seen the refunded amount.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

The customer's refund will be processed with Friday. The credit will be issued directly to [redacted] by wire and will appear as a credit against the account balance.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

I will keep an eye out for the refund. If I don't receive it within 30 days, I will reissue a new complaint.

Thank you,

Review: Harrassing marketing calls. The agents call non stop everyday. They were asked numerous times to remove my number from any future calling.Desired Settlement: no more calls. ever.

Business

Response:

As requested the customer's information has been added to our internal DNC list which should ensure that he does not receive any more calls from our agents. It appears that until now, the customer has been speaking only to the agents rather than requesting addition to the DNC directly through the main office. While this is not an excuse and our agents are required to report such requests, failure to do so is not something we become aware of until the customer contacts us directly. The agents will be retrained or dismissed as required.

Review: This company, M Power is harassing me. They have contacted me numerous times, both on my cell phone and by physically visiting my home, trying to get me to subscribe to their service, even though I HAVE REPEATEDLY TOLD THEM, BOTH ON THE PHONE AND TO A SALES PERSON STANDING IN FRONT OF MY DOORWAY THAT I DO NOT WANT THEM TO CONTACT ME, EVER, IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM.

But no matter how, or how emphatically, I tell the M Power representative that I do not want them to contact me, they continue to do so.

Business

Response:

Our representatives and team leaders are required to maintain DNC and Do Not Knock lists which are submitted to Mpower Energy daily. The master list is then updated and disseminated to all of our marketers. An investigation will be conducted to uncover the representatives responsible for not submitting the customer's information and the appropriate disciplinary action will be taken to ensure that this situation does not recur. The customer's information has now been added to the lists and any marketer who contacts him from this point forward will immediately be terminated. We request that the customer contact the Compliance Dept. at ###-###-#### [redacted] to provide his cell phone number (only one number was listed in this complaint but he complains of receiving calls on both home and cell phone numbers) and to report any further contact directly to the Compliance Manager.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

I certainly will contact the number you gave me because I received a call from Mpower TODAY. My cell phone rang, the number "868" showed on my screen, I answered and a woman with an [redacted] accent (from a call center in [redacted]?) asked to speak with "[redacted]." I said, I'm [redacted], the woman said she was from Mpower and I immediately terminated the call.

So apparently, your employees, or at least not all of them, are not getting Mpower's message not to call ###-###-####.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

As is the case with any DNC list, including the federal registry (which takes 30 days), there is a waiting period between the time that the complaint is entered into the database and the time that the DNC request will fully go into effect. Though there may be an immediate reduction in the volume of calls as companies scrub their lists on a rolling basis, due to the number of companies that may be using the phone number at any given time, this allows everyone an adequate and reasonable time frame to update their lists in compliance with the FCC's regulations. Similarly, MPower Energy has a large number of marketers, contractors and agents using different lists. Although this should not be the case, asking a marketer not to call back does not guarantee that the marketer will relay the message to MPower Energy headquarters and even if the marketer desists, there are still a number of other companies marketing on our behalf who may have the same number on their lists. MPower Energy does not have the ability to record and monitor the calls of its independent contractors. The only way to guarantee that the calls stop is to contact MPower Energy directly in order that we may disseminate the number among all of our representatives. [redacted]'s request did not come to our attention until a Revdex.com complaint was filed and his phone number was consequently and immediately entered into our DNC database. As I also stated in my original complaint, this should ensure that no marketer will contact him again in the future, however, the change will not be immediate. Though in most cases the calls will stop well before, we request that the customer permit up to 30 days for the DNC request to take effect.

Though our original response may have failed to clarify that there would be a waiting period (though the phone number was immediately added), the customer was given the direct contact information for the Compliance Dept. and was advised to contact us directly in the case that a marketer violated the DNC list. MPower Energy has expressed its intentions to make every reasonable effort to ensure that the calls desist and its willingness to investigate and penalize any and all violations. Instead of contacting us, the customer went back to the Revdex.com within days of receiving our response to his Revdex.com complaint. Prior to the end of the waiting period, there is no further action that MPower Energy can take to ensure that the calls desist and we believe that due diligence has been done in this case.

Review: 2 employees let themselves into my apartment building and started banging on doors shouting "Building verification!" I ignored them the first few times but they wouldn't stop, so I unfortunately, opened the door to my apartment. He told me that my energy companies were screwing me over (over charging for energy estimation costs.) I argued that I feel very unsafe having a random person come to my door to "sell me" something. And he insisted he stay & was there for my own good to save me money. I fought with this guy for over 45 minutes, but he pressed and pressed for me to sign up for his company's product. At one point, he said that I'm arguing "because I am a woman." I wanted him out of my home. To be honest, he wore me down. I eventually signed up for his product (and gave someone on the phone my account #s) - and am upset and embarrassed that I did so. I should have called the police to get them out of our apartment building.Desired Settlement: I want to cancel what they FORCED me to sign up for. I am an educated person but am now legitimately afraid to call the business number I found online (and that the representative gave me), because I believe the entire company is a scam.

Business

Response:

The customer informed me that she had already contacted our Customer Service Department and that the representative who assisted her cancelled her account and provided a cancellation number. We will be investigate the name of the agent who closed this sale. He will be retrained and the incident will be noted on his record. Repeat offenses will result in immediate termination. It appears from the customer's complaint that the agent crossed professional boundaries and whether it was implied or overt, it is not our policy to sell through intimidation.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.That being said, I believe that - regardless of this one salesman's techniques, Mpower's business practices are the culprit - not this one employee. Sales people are sent into apt buildings specifically to solicit business. They knock on doors saying "Building Verification!" instead of "MPower Energy" - in order to disguise their purpose: making people switch to their product. I told the sales person that if I want to switch to their company, I should be able to do this on my own, without him here. "Can't I just call the # or do it on the internet?" He replied, No. I cannot because I need an employee ID to make the change. Looking back now, I believe he probably said that because he wanted commision for the sale or something. In any case - what kind of company doesn't allow someone to purchase their product on their own? I want to work with companies I trust. And at this point, Mpower energy is not one of those companies. The issue may be "resolved" (I canceled what I signed up for) but I still think this warning should be on the record for other customers who have "Building verification" knocks at their door.Sincerely,

Review: A man knocked on my door yesterday and claimed to be a representative from "the state". He said that he needed to review the electric bills of everyone in the building in order to confirm a new lower rate that was about to be instated. Not thinking to question this, I quickly showed him my bill and confirmed a few details (my address, phone#, etc..). He then had me confirm the information with someone over the phone. The person was very difficult to hear and hard to understand, but, thinking I was only confirming my information, I was not concerned. Indeed, throughout the process, whenever I became a little suspicious, the salesman repeatedly assured me that he worked for the state and this was not a big deal. He also claimed that [redacted] (which was my supplier of choice) was no longer in business (a claim that I've since proven false). As he was leaving, I asked for his card. He gave me a pamphlet, without his personal info unfortunately. This pamphlet was for MPower Energy company. It was only at this moment that I realized I had just been scammed into signing up for a new energy supplier. Not once in my entire conversation with the man did he ever say "MPower". This deceitful practice is completely unacceptable. I called the company several times today to try and immediately cancel. I left a message each time briefly detailing the fallacious circumstances under which I unwittingly became their customer and demanding an immediate cancellation. I have yet to hear back.Desired Settlement: I want my account with Mpower to be cancelled immediately without any penalties of any kind and I want my previous provider ([redacted]) to be restored.

Business

Response:

The account was dropped in the [redacted] and never went into service. The customer will not receive any charges from MPower Energy. While our policy is to give our customers the benefit of the doubt, we have no similar complaints to date against the agent who submitted the account. The account was enrolled with a TPV recording which the customer claims he could not understand, however, our script, which is recited by an unaffiliated party that does not stand to gain from the sale in any way, clearly states the name of the company multiple times and makes clear that the customer is electing to receive supply service by completing the process. It's lengthy, designed to prevent any misunderstanding or misrepresentation and difficult to mistake for a simple confirmation of customer contact information. Furthermore, if the agent's intent were fraud he would not have provided a pamphlet that identified the company as the customer legally has 3 days to cancel the agreement prior to enrollment. We believe this may have been a misunderstanding and given that no charges were issued, we have done everything in our power to rectify the situation.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.One final note regarding the phone recording of my agreement. What might not be audible on the recording is the agent standing beside me telling me what to say and assuring me that this is not what I think it is (namely, a competing company attempting to get my business). Also, having heard a bit of the audio myself while cancelling on the phone with MPower, I can quite audible be heard saying "what?" and asking the agent to repeat things many times. In one instance I completely misunderstood a question and answered with my birthday instead of saying "yes" in agreement. Furthermore, I was not given the MPower pamphlet until the agent was about to walk away. Only when I asked for his card as he was leaving did he give me the pamphlet. My gullibility in this scenario does not excuse the misleading practices. But I thank you for rectifying the situation with cancellation.

Sincerely,

Review: On Thursday, February **, 2015, a sales representative from MPower Engergy LLC called my home from a number that stated: Unknown Name and showed a missing first digit: [redacted]. During the call I repeatedly requested to be removed from their call list and for them to not call me again. He stated that that was not possible; I responded that it's illegal to refuse the request (I stated this multiple times), but he continued onto why he was calling, which is to offer a 20% discount off of our bill and that he would continue to call until we took the offer. I asked why and he said it's because they care about their customers. Please note that we do not use MPower Energy LLC and they fraudulently claimed that we are a customer of theres, which is not the case. Again as I repeatedly requested to have my number be removed and he repeatedly denied, he would continue to cut me off with his sales pitch about how next month my electricity bill would be increasing if I didn't take the offer - a threat which is not the case since we don't even use them as a service. Eventually I hung up after stating one last time not be called by them again.

2 minutes later I receive a phone call from a private number. I picked up and a woman answered stating that she's the [redacted] at MPower. She stated her name is [redacted]. I asked her why she's calling me from a private number and she stated she's using a switchboard. I asked her why she was calling since I informed her that I told a previous associate that I requested to be on their no call list and to not be called. We had an argument and I warned her that it was illegal to call someone after they been asked to be removed from the call list. At the end of the conversation she threatened that she would call everyday from now on.

This is completely unethical and fraudulent. They need to be shut down. I will be filing a police report with the [redacted] police department tomorrow morning.Desired Settlement: To not be called ever again. For them not pass on my personal and contact information to others/third party vendors or any of their partnerships.

Business

Response:

We reached out to the customer and informed her that every measure would be taken to ensure that she not be contacted again in the future and that the respective agents be disciplined accordingly. MPower Energy has identified the agent in question. Although the sale was not carried out in accordance with our Code of Conduct and severe disciplinary action will nevertheless be taken, we were not able to find the exchanges the customer has reported. The call center has been notified that should any agent or [redacted] take it upon themselves to contact the customer again whether through our calling platform or outside of it, MPower Energy will terminate its relationship with them. When we spoke with the customer she was given the direct phone number for our Compliance Dept. in case of any questions or issues down the line. As per her request we also reached out to the occupants at the residence to keep them updated concerning the investigation. The number has been added to our DNC list and will no longer be contacted.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

Guy came to my door and after saying no a few times and getting repeatedly pressed, I figured I'll give the guy a shot and cancel later. I'd done that kind of job before, so I knew that it was terrible to hear no all day. Besides, the guy said it would save me money. No money was saved. The bill is about 17% more each month.

Review: This business has been harassing me for almost a year now. I've repeatedly asked them to stop calling me, even talking with supervisors about the issue but they refuse. They call frequently to ask why I am not using their services and try to pressure me into signing up for them. The first time I talked to them, they had come to my door advertising and signing customers up. I found out they lied to me, however, about their services and how their rates work. I tried to verify their info with coned which is how I realized they had lied to me.Desired Settlement: Stop harrassing me.

Business

Response:

The customer seems to have been dealing directly with the marketers until now. Although this does not excuse them from the requirement to report requests for addition to the [redacted], our Compliance Department has only become aware of this issue because of the complaint filed. Immediate action has been taken to stop the calls. The customer's information has been added to an internal [redacted] and [redacted] list which will stop all contact by our marketers.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

Review: A representative from MPower calls every day, rain or shine, even though I have filed complaints w/the Do Not Call Registry and I have pleaded with the company to remove me from their list.Desired Settlement: I want them to never call me again...

Business

Response:

MPower Energy's policies are in strict compliance with FTC and FCC telemarketing regulations. Our telemarketers are only permitted to call between the hours of 8am and 9pm and each marketing entity is only permitted to call each number up to three times per day. Cold calls to cellphones are prohibited. Our lists are scrubbed against state and federal DNC lists regularly in accordance with regulations and our leads are purchased from licensed vendors exclusively. Additionally, MPower Energy maintains an internal DNC list. Numbers on this list are immediately removed from lead lists provided to our in-house sales agents and these numbers are updated and accessible in real-time to all independent contractors. Calls to any number on our internal DNC list are punishable by steep fines and ultimately termination. Our agents are required to report requests for addition to the DNC list immediately and to instruct the potential customer to contact us directly regarding this request as well. In the case of verified failure to do so, agents are promptly terminated. As our calls are spot checked, there are times that we only become aware of an agent’s failure to report a request for addition to the DNC list after a complaint has been lodged. MPower Energy has allocated significant resources toward record retention and compliance including numerous Quality Assurance specialists whose sole responsibility is the close monitoring of sales and retention campaigns and who are usually able to locate the recording in question swiftly.

Review: MPower energy calls me several times a week asking for my [redacted] account number because they want to supply my gas too. Every time they call I tell them I'm not interested but they still continue to call.Desired Settlement: I would like for Mpower energy to stop contacting me.

Business

Response:

While it is against our policies to continue calling any leads that have requested not to be contacted, we have numerous different telemarketers representing MPower and if the agent fails to report the request to us, there is always the possibility that another agent may attempt to contact the customer again. Once the number is added to our internal DNC list, MPower monitors the calls closely for infractions and these are punishable by steep fines and termination. The customer's number has now been added and going forward, he should not be contacted by an MPower representative again.

Review: I received a [redacted] bill for $414.85 on August [redacted], and upon viewing my bill closer, saw that I was enrolled with a third party supplier (MPower), and that the price per kilowatt of the service I had been signed up for was raising drastically each month. On the date of the activation with MPower, I was in Greece, and therefore could not possibly have authorized this activation. When this was explained to me, the first customer service person I spoke with stated they would cancel my service (which they did) and request a refund for me from [redacted] for the amounts I had been paying with MPower in previous months. I called [redacted] to see if this refund had gone through and they told me MPower never called them, only notified them of cancelling the service. When I called MPower again, I was told by a different customer service representative that they would do a re-calculation and give me a refund for the difference between their charges for the months I was with them, and what [redacted] would have charged. I was pleased with this. About a week or so later I received a voicemail from MPower saying that they looked further into it and because I had agreed to the "Power-Move Program" when I signed up for a [redacted] account, that I was automatically placed with MPower in May, even though I had been with [redacted] since November, and there was no notification that I would be starting with a third party provider. MPower changed their decision to refund me the difference, and instead offered me a courtesy refund of $20, even though twice I had been told I would receive the refund, without any indication that any further research need be conducted in my case. I turned down the $20 in hopes that my case can be solved properly.Desired Settlement: I would like for MPower to honor their initial statement of refunding me the difference between what they charged me from May-the end of August and what [redacted] would have charged me. I was told that they did in fact charge me more than what [redacted] would have, and would like MPower to honor their initial verbal agreements to this refund.

Business

Response:

We apologize for the delay in responding to this complaint. We were unable to access our complaints for some time, a fact which we made known to the Revdex.com numerous times. We were only just recently made aware that this complaint had been filed against us.

In this case, the mistake committed was that the CSR who originally assisted [redacted] with her complaint failed to check the manner in which the account had been enrolled prior to promising her a refund. Had she done so she would have told [redacted] the same thing the second CSR later told her. When a customer signs up by Powermove the customer must go directly through [redacted]. Mpower has no hand in the matter. An electronic file is sent to MPower from [redacted] informing them that the customer has been enrolled only. Even the pricing is automatically set at 7% below [redacted]'s rate. Mpower does not determine pricing for customers enrolled through Powermove for the first two months. It is therefore impossible to claim that Mpower slammed this customer. It may be that she was in Greece at the time but someone with access to her information had to have enrolled her. Many times it happens that customers accuse MPower of slamming only to find that a family member, friend or house guest took the liberty of enrolling the account. Mpower takes the necessary and possible steps to verify the identity of the account holder but for our customers' protection we do not collect sensitive information of any kind. The customer may verify this information and the fact that her account was enrolled through Powermove with [redacted].

For this reason, the customer is not entitled to a refund. However, if the promise of a refund was made, our policy is always to honor our promises to our customers. Therefore a credit will be issued to the account. The credit will be sent by wire directly to [redacted] and will post withing 2-3 weeks. The amount to be refunded will be any difference in the customer's favor between Mpower's and [redacted]'s rates for the corresponding billing periods.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

I can't respond to it on the website because it is no longer listed as a valid complaint listed. I reject their response because I have not seen the credit. If they can obtain some proof that a credit was sent and for what amount, then I can take it up with [redacted] if need be.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

Hello,

I would like to re-open my case against MPower, complaint #[redacted]. They have stated they would send con edison a credit of $110.46 by June [redacted] 2014. I just received word from con edison that no credits have been sent to them from MPower. This was supposed to be done in March and it is still not. Please re-open my case against them.

Sincerely,

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

$85.98 was refunded to the account on 7/*/2014. The remaining $24.48 is being credited today, 7/**/14.

Review: Mpower energy called excessively (in excess of 100 times) to sell us their gas delivery services. We finally agreed to switch to Mpower as they promised significant savings (greater than 50% lower) vs our current energy provider national grid. In fact, they then overcharged us by 50 percent more than our current provider would have charged for the same period. On our jan [redacted] Bill to be specific, Mpower charged $0.82 per therm vs $0.52 that national grid would have charged (verified with national grid). This charge was therefore $456 (556 therm usage) from Mpower vs $289 which would have been from our existing provider. Mpower just called again tonight trying to convince me that this was a default rate because we cancelled (completely untrue as this bill was dec [redacted]jan **, while we cancelled their service in February due to the bait and switch). This company is a boiler room type marketing entity that made a promise of a heavily discounted rate and then proceeded to overcharge us dramatically.Desired Settlement: National grid representatives advised that their billing rates were $.50 and $0.52 cents per therm over the period we used Mpower. At a minimum, Mpower should credit us for the overcharge even if they don't honor the promised significant discount to our current provider cost promise.

Business

Response:

All customers signed up through our telemarketers are required to complete third party verification. Though misrepresentation of any kind is expressly forbidden and grounds for immediate dismissal, our TPV script protects customers against the possibility of any marketer's false claims with a statement that no warranties, guarantees or any other claims not expressly stated in the printed terms and conditions will be honored by MPower Energy. Needless to say, 50% savings are not mentioned anywhere on our enrollment forms, terms and conditions, website or anywhere else for that matter. Our agents are permitted to reference average historical savings percentages provided that they specify that they are average historical numbers. Guaranteeing any savings is against our code of conduct. We have requested the recording of the sale from the marketer and if such claims were made, the agent will be terminated. The customer signed up for a variable rate plan which is subject to market price fluctuation. Because energy is resold based on the rate of purchase and because Mpower purchases differently from National Grid there will be months that Mpower charges more than the incumbent utility. Our agents are required to specify that average savings are achieved after a full 12 month term in service. Regardless, our customer's satisfaction is important to us and we would be happy to credit the customer for the rate difference as requested.

Review: I received several letters from [redacted], my current gas and electric supplier that my electric and gas is being changed to MPower when I NEVER requested a change nor speak with MPower for such a change.Letter from [redacted] dated Feb. **, 2015 stated that effective 3/**/15 electric supply and gas supply effective 4/**/15 will be changed to MPower. [redacted] was notified on 2/**/15 at 1017am, the day I received this letter and [redacted], [redacted] staff corrected their account and cancelled the change, with a confirmation letter sent to me confirming the cancellation. A letter dated Feb **, 2015 was received on March *, 2015 from [redacted] notifying me that MPower was taking over as my electric supplier effective 3/**/15 and gas supplier effective 4/**/15. No request was ever made again by me for this change. MPower was called at ###-###-#### on March *, 2015 at 510pm and I notified MPower staff [redacted] that I did not make any request for this change. [redacted] said that my POD is what they have on file but has a different name and phone number of a person requesting the change., somebody name [redacted]? and a phone number thats not mine. [redacted] said he will investigate and check their recording and call me back. I received a return call from [redacted] the next day March *, 2015 around 3pm. [redacted] stated that my POD number has my address and that they have corrected the error and [redacted] stated that , you will not have to pay MPower for the mistake. Letter dated March *, 2015 received from [redacted] confirmed the cancellation.I received a letter on March **, 2015 Saturday from [redacted] dated March *, 2015 notifying me again that MPower is taking over as my electric supplier effective 4/**/15. I called [redacted] and notified them again that I did not make this request, so [redacted] cancelled the change but I was told by [redacted] that I will have to pay MPower one months bill . Since it was a weekend, I was not able to contact MPower because their office hours are Mon- Friday only. I called MPower on Monday March **, 2015 at 1012am and was told that [redacted] will call you back in 30 min since hes familiar with your case , in which no return call was received. I called again at 1115am, same female staff said that [redacted] will call in 5 min, but no return call was received. At both times, work # extension was given, and cell phone number during the 1st call was given. At 1**8pm, I called MPower and asked to speak with their supervisor, at this time I was connected to [redacted]. He stated to me, I was just talking to my supervisor. Its already in the system that MPower has cancelled service. MPower has not started service. If you get a bill just call us and will fix it.Today, March **, 2015, I received a call from MPower staff [redacted] with the message on my work voice mail stating that , [redacted] already had started MPower as your electric supplier. We will give you the lowest rate than [redacted]. I called [redacted] back and questioned the discrepancy with what I was told on March **, 2015 and the message left in my voice mail today. I asked him regarding the conversation that transpired on March **, 2015 when he told me that if I get billed by MPower to just call MPower and will fix it , since I never requested a change in my electric supplier. Same assurance was given to me on March *, 2015 by same staff [redacted] that , you will not have to pay MPower. But at this call I was told that I have to pay MPower. I never requested a change in my electric or gas supplier. If this utility company made an error and made this change, why am I the consumer getting the hit or have to pay the price for their mistake? THIS IS A SCAM.Desired Settlement: As a customer , I should not be penalized by paying a bill from a utility company supplier that I had not requested to provide service to me.

Business

Response:

It is possible that there was a misunderstanding regarding the requirement to pay the bill. MPower Energy will indeed honor it's promise that the charges would be adjusted if any were applied to the account. The reason why the customer was told that the charges might appear is the same reason why the bill must be paid. Only [redacted] is able to physically start or disconnect service. Likewise, [redacted] bills the customer directly. MPower Energy requests enrollment/ or cancellation on behalf of a customer and relays the charges to [redacted], however we do not have the ability to disconnect service ourselves or retract charges. Often times a customer requests cancellation past the window in which the service order may be stopped and billing for that period goes through. In such cases, [redacted] will not disconnect until the next billing cycle and will issue charges for the current one. At that point MPower Energy can credit the customer's account for the amount paid. There is no process by which MPower Energy may retract the charges. If the charges are not paid to [redacted], the utility may choose to disconnect the service and MPower Energy will be unable to stop the disconnection. For this reason, the customer is being urged to pay the bill. The payment will go through [redacted], not MPower Energy, and MPower Energy will then issue a refund for the full amount which will go directly to the account. We apologize for any misunderstanding in this matter.

Consumer

Response:

For the record in reference to MPower's response, - [redacted] and not [redacted] is my utility company.- At last correspondence, I was told charges will appear but no offer of a credit was presented even after I reminded staff that he offered credit on previous correspondence.- If MPower will honor its promise that charges will be adjusted and a refund will be issued to my [redacted] account, then I find that acceptable. I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have made my response above, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Sincerely,

Review: I've been receiving up to 2 calls a day from this company, in which they've been trying to have me switch to them as my gas provider. In spite of asking them to stop calling me several times, I continued to receive phone calls. The representatives making the calls would argue with me about receiving calls, going so far as to say that I'll continue receiving calls until I agree to make the switch. I also received quite a few calls in which I was hung up on as soon as I picked up the phone -- that only started happening *AFTER* I asked to no longer receive phone calls.

I've called up the company cancelling them as my energy provider. I'm being charged $40 for the privilege of having them respect my request to stop harassing me.Desired Settlement: Most importantly, they need to stop harassing their customers. The Revdex.com already has many complaints filed against MPower, many of them of the exact same nature: that the company repeatedly calls their customers with no sign of respecting the customer's request to stop receiving phone calls. There are other websites that are filled with complaints against the company as well. This has been going on for years, and nothing is being done about it.

Ideally, I would like to NOT be charged the $40 early termination fee given that my motivation to cancel is to stop receiving harassing phone calls several times a day!

Business

Response:

MPower Energy's policies are in strict compliance with FTC and FCC telemarketing regulations. Our telemarketers are only permitted to call between the hours of 8am and 9pm and each marketing entity is only permitted to call each number up to three times per day. Cold calls to cellphones are prohibited. Our lists are scrubbed against state and federal DNC lists regularly in accordance with regulations and our leads are purchased from licensed vendors exclusively. Additionally, MPower Energy maintains an internal DNC list. Numbers on this list are immediately removed from lead lists provided to our in-house sales agents and these numbers are updated and accessible in real-time to all independent contractors. Calls to any number on our internal DNC list are punishable by steep fines and ultimately termination. Our agents are required to report requests for addition to the DNC list immediately and to instruct the potential customer to contact us directly regarding this request as well. In the case of verified failure to do so, agents are promptly terminated. As our calls are spot checked, there are times that we only become aware of an agent’s failure to report a request for addition to the DNC list after a complaint has been lodged. Without specific information from the customer filing the complaint it may be difficult to pinpoint the responsible agent. That being said, MPower Energy has allocated significant resources toward record retention and compliance including numerous Quality Assurance specialists whose sole responsibility is the close monitoring of sales and retention campaigns and who are usually able to locate the recording in question swiftly. It should be noted however, that there is a requisite amount of time to ensure that all marketers are aware of the customer's addition to the list and though in most cases the calls will stop immediately, the changes could take up to 31 days to take effect.

It appears that our agents failed to report the request to not be called again and they will be held responsible for not advising the customer to contact MPower directly.The account had now been added to our internal DNC list and the customer will not be contacted again once the change goes into effect. The account has also been dropped and termination fee waived.