Spark Energy, L.P.

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.

To Whom This May Concern:
           
This is Spark Energy’s response to Revdex.com Complaint No: [redacted].
Thank you for bringing Ms. [redacted]’s concern to our attention and for allowing us to address it.
Ms. [redacted]’s complaint...

states she was visited by a door-to-door sales representative who claimed they were the area’s new service provider. The complaint states the sales rep informed Ms. [redacted] that because she was on an assistance program with her previous provider she would only pay $28 per month, but she actually received invoices for $34.99. The complaint also states that Ms. [redacted] requested to cancel her account, but was later provided with conflicting answers as to why the account was not cancelled upon her request. Ms. [redacted] feels deceived and would like to be reimbursed to what she was told she would have to pay.
Investigated Results:
·         On 8/1/2014, Michael [redacted], who works for third-party vendor Empower (EMS2), visited the residence of Ms. [redacted]. Ms. [redacted] authorized an enrollment into Spark’s Spark Carbon Neutral Safeguard 12 plan, a twelve (12) month fixed price contract at $34.99 per month without an early termination fee. Ms. [redacted] indicated that she was participating in the California Alternate Rates for Energy (“CARE”) program. The third-party verifier informed the customer that by enrolling with Spark she would no longer receive her CARE discount on the supply portion of her bill; Ms. [redacted] expressed her understanding of this information. The third-party verifier also advised the customer of the rate she was agreeing to, and informed her that by enrolling with Spark she would receive two (2) invoices: one from her local utility company for delivery services, and one from Spark for supply services. Ms. [redacted] expressed her understanding of this information as well. I have attached the TPV for further review.
·         On 8/5/2014, Spark mailed a Welcome Letter, which included the contract’s Terms of Service, to Ms. [redacted]’s residence. The Welcome Letter indicated the customer would be paying $34.99 per month for natural gas supply services. I have attached the Welcome Letter for further review.
·         On 9/18/2014, as determined by [redacted] Gas Company (“[redacted]”), the customer’s local utility company, Ms. [redacted]’s account with Spark became active, and it was scheduled to end on 9/18/2015.
·         On 10/27/2014, Ms. [redacted] called Spark to inquire about cancelling her account. The agent that assisted Ms. [redacted] advised her that the cancellation request had been submitted and the process would take 1-2 billing cycles depending on the confirmation date provided by [redacted].
·         On 12/29/2014, Ms. [redacted] called Spark to inquire about why she was still receiving invoices. The agent that assisted Ms. [redacted] informed her that the cancellation request was denied due to an outstanding balance. Ms. [redacted] made a payment to bring her account balance current, and the agent confirmed Ms. [redacted]’s cancellation request was submitted successfully.
·         On 12/30/2014, Spark received Ms. [redacted]’s complaint.
Outcome:
Ms. [redacted] authorized an enrollment into a fixed price plan at $34.99 per month. Spark mailed correspondence to Ms. [redacted]’s residence informing the customer of the terms and conditions of the enrollment. Due to an administrative oversight, Ms. [redacted]’s cancellation request was not successfully submitted on 10/27/2014. Spark has since successfully submitted a cancellation request for Ms. [redacted]’s account, and the account has been scheduled to terminate on 1/23/2015, as determined by [redacted].
Spark Energy did provide Ms. [redacted] with savings during the winter months compared to [redacted]’s rate of $1.691 per therm. In an attempt to make a good faith effort to resolve Ms. [redacted]’s concerns, Spark will re-rate the customer for the months that she did not save with Spark Energy.
Furthermore, we have communicated the customer’s complaint to our sales group to ensure that every representative is presenting Spark’s service correctly. We would also like to report that this incident is under review so that the appropriate action can be assessed to the sales agent responsible, as it is not our intent to enroll CARE customers.
Spark Energy sincerely apologizes for any inconvenience this may have caused and would like to ensure that we are continuously reinforcing our training and sales guidelines with all of our sales vendors on how to properly inform potential customers of our products and services. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you should have any further questions or concerns regarding this matter.
Best regards
Caleph H[redacted] | Office of the President
2105 CityWest Blvd, Ste 100 | Houston, TX 77042

To Whom This May Concern:
This is Spark Energy’s (“Spark”) response to Revdex.com Complaint #[redacted]
Thank you for bringing [redacted]’ concern to our attention and for allowing us to address it.
[redacted] has filed a complaint because he states that he has requested to not be contacted by Spark...

several times but he continues to get calls via the auto dialing system.
Spark would like to apologize for any inconvenience that Mr. [redacted] has experienced. As soon as we received his complaint a request was submitted to the Marketing Department to place him on Spark’s internal [redacted] list.
Spark’s Marketing Department confirmed that phone number [redacted] has been on the [redacted] list and they are following up with our vendors to ensure that they are not dialing out to Mr. [redacted].
Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.
Best regards,
Luis C[redacted]

To Whom This May Concern:
This is [redacted]’s response to Revdex.com Rejection No.
[redacted] has provided additional documents to
support her stance on the matter. She explains that the letter she received on
[redacted] informed her of her “fixed rate” coming to an end on [redacted].
Outcome:
[redacted] apologizes for any confusion that this letter
may have caused. Although [redacted] enrolled under the flex plan, she
received a letter stating that her fixed rate was going to expire. This
discrepancy has been escalated to our billing team for further review.  However, despite the verbiage on the renewal
notice that [redacted] received, the Welcome Letter sent on [redacted] set the
initial expectations for [redacted] in regards to her terms. In effort to
resolve this matter, [redacted] has agreed to re-rate [redacted] back to
the utility rate but will not process a re-rate utilizing the “introductory
rate” of .[redacted] per kWh, as the customer was enrolled on a variable rate product.
To confirm, the billing periods to be re-rated will be from
[redacted] and will be re-rated to the local utility rate.Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.Best Regards, [redacted] | Consumer Affairs Specialist[redacted]

To Whom It May Concern: This is Spark Energy’s (“Spark”) response to Revdex.com complaint no. [redacted] Thank you for bringing Peter [redacted]’s concern to our attention and for allowing us to address it. Mr. [redacted] has filed a complaint because he received a collections notice from Spark; however, he has...

paid all his bills through [redacted]. He was told by Peoples that Spark never requested payment. He was able to speak with a supervisor at Spark and was told that they would review his account for confirmation. He received a call the next day stating that if he did not pay the past due balance he would be referred to the collection agency. Investigated Results: ·         On 9/29/2015, Spark generated a charge for billing period 8/25/2016-9/24/2015 in the amount of $8.36. Total balance at this time was $47.65. ·         On 11/4/2015, Spark received a payment of $15.57. The balance at this time was $32.08. ·         On 4/22/2016, Mr. [redacted] submitted copies from [redacted] to show the balance due for Spark. Spark advised that a ticket would be submitted to review his supply charges. ·         On 5/5/2016, the Billing department applied the payment of $32.08 made by Mr. [redacted]. They confirmed the balance to be at $0.00 at this time by verifying the payment. Outcome: Spark apologizes for any inconvenience that this may have caused but believes that Mr. [redacted]’s concern has been resolved. After further review, Spark confirmed that all invoices were sent to the utility. However, the last payment received was on 11/4/2015 but it did not satisfy the supply charge balance. Spark depends on the payments received from the utility to satisfy any remaining balances but in cases like these a final notice is issued to notify the customer of the past due balance and requests payment in this instance. Mr. [redacted] will not be responsible for any further charges on the account and will not be referred to the collections agency. As a courtesy, Spark will issue a $25.00 Visa gift card for the inconvenience. Mr. [redacted] can expect to receive the gift card within 2-3 weeks via mail. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

To Whom This May Concern:
This is Spark Energy’s (“Spark”) response to Revdex.com Complaint #[redacted]
Thank you for bringing [redacted] concern to our attention and for allowing us to address it.
[redacted] has filed a complaint because she states that a Spark representative came to her...

home to check if she was being billed correctly. She states that he told her she needed to change to Spark for a lower rate but she told him no but that a month later, her bill tripled because of Spark. She is requesting a charge off of all the supply charges for the last four months.
Investigative Results:
·         On 12/29/16, Michell Worsham authorized an enrollment to Spark through a third party vendor, Watts Marketing Services LLC. The account was enrolled in Spark’s Blue 12 plan, which includes a 12 month fixed rate of 55 cents/therm with a $4.95 Monthly Service Fee and a $50.00 Early Termination Fee (“ETF”).
·         On 12/30/16, Spark generated and mailed the Welcome Letter.
·         On 1/25/17, the service with Spark became active.
·         On 3/3/17, [redacted] called in to dispute the account. A request was made to investigate the enrollment.
o   Spark received Revdex.com Complaint #[redacted]
o   Spark submitted a cancellation request on the account and received a cancellation confirmation date of 3/22/17.
Outcome:
Spark would like to apologize for any inconvenience that Ms. Canaday may have experienced. After carefully reviewing the TPV, we would like to confirm that the person who authorized the service was Michell Worsham, not Sharon Canaday. We escalated this to our Marketing Department so that we may obtain a statement from the sales agent who processed the sale; however, the agent has been terminated by the Vendor. The enrollment was ultimately deemed invalid because it was not authorized by Ms. Canaday.
As it stands, the account will be terminating on 3/22/17 and the ETF has been waived. In an effort to resolve Ms. Canaday’s concerns, Spark will be processing a cost analysis from 1/25/17 – 3/22/17. If a credit is deemed as due, then the refund will be applied towards the billing balance and the remainder will be refunded to the customer.
Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.
Best regards,
Luis Cantu

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  At this point I'm exhausted with this matter and this company. I truly hope this is my last correspondence with them. Obviously, when I speak to Spark Energy I receive information that seems to be communicated differently to the Revdex.com. In short, on 05/27/2015 I called and left a message from [redacted] at Spark Energy. 2 days later on 05/29/2015 a female representative from this company called me and stated "I'm contacting you to inform you that since your contract ended on 03/17/2015 we put you on a month to month rate... Therefore, we had to do a "'re-rate" for you". "We adjusted your balance from $881.79 to $486.66 and you can continue with the payment arrangement we previously set you up for". Okay, I feel some relief hearing this. However, Im confused about this entire contract situation because I was never informed that I had one. Next, my question to her was what contract was this placed in and why hadn't anyone spoken to me about this? In addition, I asked  "how would I know about this "'re-rate"? She replied " you wouldn't, that's why I'm telling you about it now". (Listen to the recorded conversation)Lastly, today 06/4/2015. I contact the deliver of my natural gas charges - [redacted]. She informed me of my balance to them and then indicated that I owe Spark Energy $299.22. from my April- billing cycle.  I contact Spark Energy directly after to ensure these are my final charges since 05/28/2015 is my termination date from this company. The male representative says " you have a $0.00 balance and we have credited you $304.88 due to this previous matter". I asked him several times are you sure. "Yes, currently it indicates there has been a credit and I can set that up to be sent to you right now". "It takes up to 30 days to receive it". (?????Why hasn't anyone from Spark Energy contacted me between 05/29 and 06/04?)At any rate, I asked him about the charges of $299.22 from my April billing cycle on my May bill. He indicated " take care of your delivery charge to [redacted] and allow a time for Spark to communicate with [redacted] about that $299.22 that should be adjusted off your bill.If this in fact is valid.... please ensure I have my credit sent to me, please ensure my account is closed with Spark Energy, please send me a statement indicating I have a $0.00 balance and please contact [redacted] A.S.A.P so that they can adjust that $299.22 off my [redacted] bill... 
Regards,
[redacted]

To Whom This May Concern:
This is Spark Energy’s (“Spark”) response to Revdex.com Complaint No. [redacted].
Thank you for bringing [redacted]’s concern to our attention and for allowing us to address it.
[redacted] has filed a complaint because she states that Spark has been charging her for gas...

services that she has already paid to [redacted]. She goes on to state that [redacted] has reimbursed Spark in full for the gas services that she received.
Spark would like to apologize for any inconvenience that the customer may have experienced. Please be advised that Spark has confirmed with the billing department that the balance of $64.62 due is accurate and has not yet been received. Ms. [redacted] previously had a credit of $82.50 at the end of March’s billing cycle. A new bill then generated for 3/26/2016-4/14/2016 for $147.12 - $82.50(credit) = $64.62 (balance due).
Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.
Best regards,
April [redacted]

To Whom This May Concern: This is Spark Energy’s (“Spark”) response to Revdex.com Complaint #[redacted]. Thank you for bringing [redacted]’s concern to our attention and for allowing us to address it. [redacted] has filed a complaint because she states that her rate went up on her bill without any...

notice. She also states that she was billed twice for the month of November. Investigative Results: ·         On 8/2/16, the customer self-enrolled via Spark’s website. They authorized an enrollment to Spark’s Online Special 3, which offers a 3 month fixed rate of 4.99 cents/kWh with no monthly service fee and no early termination fee. ·         On 8/4/16, Spark generated and mailed a Welcome Letter. (Letter attached) ·         On 8/8/16, the service with Spark became effective. ·         On 9/14/16, Spark generated and mailed a Contract Expiration Notice. (Letter attached) ·         On 10/7/16, Spark called and left a voicemail at 2:22 pm CST on (215)-256-4262 as a friendly reminder that the contract was expiring and that we have renewal rates available. ·         On 11/8/16, due to no response from the customer, the account defaulted to a variable rate. ·         On 1/4/17, Mrs. [redacted] called in regards to her rate. Spark made her aware of when the contract expired and what rates are available for renewal and offered a $75.00 gift card to renew. Mrs. [redacted] stated that she had already requested to switch so no changes were made to the account. ·         On 1/10/17, the service with Spark became inactive. o   Spark received Revdex.com Complaint #[redacted]. Outcome: Spark would like to apologize for any inconvenience that Mrs. [redacted] has experienced. After careful review of the account, we would like to re-confirm that a notice was sent to the customer on 9/14/16 notifying them that the contract would be expiring on 11/8/16 and a phone call was made on 10/7/16 in an effort to renew the account as well.Additionally, Spark reviewed the invoice for November and would like to confirm that because the contract expired in November, 1030.5 kWh were billed at her contracted rate and 343.5 kWh were billed at the variable rate. The customer was not double billed. As it stands, the account has terminated as of 1/10/17. Due to proper notification of the contract expiration, we have deemed that the account does not warrant any adjustments. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.  Best regards,Luis C[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  Thank you.

To Whom This May Concern:
This is Spark Energy's ("Spark") response to Revdex.com Complaint
No[redacted]
Thank you for bringing [redacted]'s concern to our attention
and for allowing us to address it
[redacted] has filed a complaint because she was approached
by a Spark
representative in October and felt that the representative was
answering the questions for herShe requested to have a copy of the paperwork
but the representative refused to provide it to herShe immediately called
Spark to cancel her enrollment and was given a confirmation numberMs[redacted]
called back in a week to ensure her account was terminated and was told that
her account was indeed cancelled. She
recently received a Spark billHer name was misspelled, her account number had
been changed, and she owed for two months of serviceShe contacted Spark about
the issue and was told that the early termination fee would be waived but still
received a bill with the early termination fee included
Investigated
Results:
·
On 10/31/2014, Ms[redacted] authorized the switch to
Spark with Isaiah W[redacted]; an agent associated with the third party vendor, IMG
Ms[redacted] enrolled in Spark's Blue plan which offers a fixed rate of per
therm for months with a $monthly fee and a $early termination
fee
o
That same day, she called in to cancel her
enrollment
·
On 11/03/2014, Spark issued the Welcome Letter
·
On 12/10/2014, Spark services became active
·
On 02/13/2015, Ms[redacted] sent Spark an email
disputing her enrollment
·
On 02/17/2015, Spark submitted a request to have
the early termination fee waived and advised Ms[redacted] that a cancellation
request has been submitted on her account
·
On 02/19/2015, Spark submitted a request to have
Ms[redacted]'s account re-rated back to the utility rate for billing periods
12/10/2014-03/12/
o
Spark sent Ms[redacted] an email informing her of
the cost analysis being processed on her account
·
On 02/20/2015, the utility confirmed the
termination date of 03/12/
·
On 02/28/2015, Spark sent Ms[redacted] an email
confirming that the early termination fee was waived and to disregard the
notice containing such fee
Outcome:
Ms[redacted] authorized an enrollment into a twelve (12) month
Spark fixed rate contract, but called the same day to rescind the enrollment;
unfortunately, the enrollment was still processedTherefore, Spark will
re-rate Ms[redacted]'s account to the amount she would have paid had she been
charged for supply services by SDGE for billing periods 12/10/2014-03/12/
If a refund is due, Spark will issue a check and send it to Ms[redacted]'s mailing
address
Spark Energy has submitted the above information to the
third party vendor and will obtain a statement from the agent involved in the
saleSpark energy would like to assure Ms[redacted] that this is not how we train
our representatives nor do we condone this type of behaviorAgain, Spark
Energy apologizes for any inconvenience that this may have caused
Spark apologizes for any inconvenience that this may have
causedPlease don't hesitate to contact me should you have any additional
questions or concerns
Best regards,Hector P[redacted] | Consumer Affairs Specialist

To Whom This May Concern:
This is Spark Energy’s response to Revdex.com Rebuttal No. [redacted] has reviewed Spark Energy’s response to
complaint no. [redacted] and has determined that the response does not resolve
her complaint. She states that she mailed and faxed the notice of cancellation
to Spark Energy on 01/26/2014.
Outcome:
Spark Energy conducted a search and was not able to locate
Ms. [redacted]’s notice of cancellation fax. After further review of the notice of cancellation copy Ms. [redacted]’s
provided, Spark Energy has determined that the notice is
not valid due to missing account credentials. Ms. [redacted] did not include an
account nor did she include the verification code. Although Spark Energy did
not find records of the notice, the account details would have been essential
in successfully cancelling Ms. [redacted]’s enrollment.
Spark Energy would like to confirm that Ms. [redacted] is
responsible for all charges accrued on her gas supply account while active.
Please let me know if you have any further questions. Best Regard, [redacted] |Consumer Affairs Specialist[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  
[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
Regards,
First: Per first inital complaint in March 2015, we have been bounced back and forth from both Spark Energy & [redacted]. Neither want to take professional nor adult responsibility for false meter readings. Point-blank the meter reader took false information and supplied that false information about an empty household of [redacted]. Second: Corrective actions on Spark Energy's side needs to be finalized for a new invoice indicating a corrective balance of "$0.00" electrical current usage for [redacted] and sent immediantly to the client, [redacted] Third: Failed Proof of Aproval & [redacted] False Claims Act ([redacted].) ... presented, a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval. Out-Come: You, Spark Energy will supply a new invoice with corrective balance for a non-usage household at [redacted]. Let me explain so you can better understand, send a zero amount invoice to [redacted] for [redacted]. A rep as of 4/22/2015 @ 10:00AM spoke with my wife and I verbally indicating the current balance at Spark Energy is Zero $0.00, and no payment is due. So with that said, you should send us an invoice showing this exact claim. Does that make sense? Thank you in Advance.

To Whom This May Concert:
This is Spark Energy’s (“Spark”) response to Revdex.com Complaint
No. [redacted]
Thank you for bringing [redacted] concern to our
attention and for allowing us to address it.
Mr. [redacted] has filed a complaint because he feels that the
Spark agents misled him at the...

time of enrollment. They stated that he would
save 50% off of his bills. Furthermore, he did not know that he would be
receiving two invoices for gas services. He contacted Spark to cancel his
service since he thought it was fraud. However, now he is receiving a bill for
a $100.00 early termination fee in addition to the current bill.
Investigated
Results:
·        
On 10/01/2014, [redacted] authorized the
switch to Spark with [redacted]; an agent associated with the third party
vendor [redacted] Sales. Mr. [redacted] enrolled in Spark’s Carbon Neutral plan which
offers a fixed rate of .75 per therm for 12 months with a $4.95 monthly fee and
a $100.00 early termination fee. The TPV is attached for your review.
·        
On 10/07/2014, Spark issued the Welcome Letter.
(Letter Attached)
·        
On 01/17/2014, Spark services became active.
·        
On 02/13/2015, Mr. [redacted] called in to cancel
his account with Spark and advised of the early termination fee.
·        
On 02/17/2015, the utility confirmed the
termination date of 03/23/2015.
Investigated
Results:
Spark apologizes for any inconvenience that this may have
caused but believes that the TPV completed on 10/01/2014 by Mr. [redacted] validates the enrollment. Furthermore, the verifier in the TPV specifically
states the following:
·        
“You will be on the dual billing program and
will receive one bill from [redacted] for gas transportation services and another
bill from Spark Energy for the gas commodity charges.”
·        
“Did the agent pressure or influence you during
the completion of this verification call?” (Mr. [redacted] answered “No”)
In efforts to resolve the customer’s concern, Spark will waive the
early termination fee of $100.00 but Mr. [redacted] will be responsible for all
usage charges on the account.
Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.Best Regards,  [redacted] | Consumer Affairs Specialist

To Whom This May Concern:
This is Spark Energy’s response to Revdex.com Complaint No.
[redacted]
Thank you for bringing [redacted]’s concern to our
attention and for allowing us to address it.
[redacted] has filed a complaint because she was billed
for three months of service after...

her cancellation request. She received her
termination confirmation documents on 02/04/2014 and was advised that she would
be switching back to her utility company. However, she was charged again by
Spark Energy in October 2014. After speaking with multiple representatives at
Spark Energy, she was told that they would not give her a credit for the
additional months and that they could only terminate the account.
Investigated
Results:
·        
On 04/06/2011, Ms. [redacted] authorized the switch
to Spark Energy with James Jones; an agent who is with the third party vendor,
UMA. Ms. [redacted] enrolled in Spark Energy’s Immediate Savings plan which offers
up to an 8% savings over the published utility rate for the first two months followed
by a competitive variable rate thereafter. The TPV is attached for your review.
·        
On 05/20/2011, Spark Energy services became
active.
·        
On 01/26/2012, Ms. [redacted] called in to cancel
her account with Spark Energy. The agent was able to retain the customer by
offering a fixed rate with no early termination fees. Ms. [redacted] agreed to
continue her services with Spark Energy.
·        
On 09/19/2013, Spark Energy received a market
transaction from the utility company requesting to cancel the Spark Energy
services on 09/18/2013.
·        
On 09/30/2013, an enrollment was processed for
address [redacted] The enrollment was for Spark Energy’s Standard plan
which offers a fixed rate of .0625 for 12 months with a $4.95 monthly fee and
no early termination fee.  (No TPV or signed
contract is available at this time)
·        
On 10/22/2013, Spark Energy issued the Welcome
Letter. (Letter Attached)
·        
On 09/17/2014, Spark Energy services became
active as determined by the utility company.
·        
The following bills were generated:
o  
10/19/2014- $18.47
o  
11/19/2014- $24.59
o  
12/18/2014- $29.72
·        
On 11/26/2014, a Spark Energy Collections agent
reached out to Ms. [redacted] due to a past due balance on the account. Ms. [redacted]
requested to have her Spark energy account terminated at this time.  The collections agent submitted a cancellation
request to the utility company.
·        
On 11/27/2014, Spark Energy received a response
from the utility company that confirmed the termination date of 12/17/2014.
Outcome:
Spark Energy apologizes for any inconvenience that this may
have caused. Unfortunately, Spark Energy was unable to locate the TPV/Contract
for the enrollment processed on 09/30/2014. Therefore, in efforts to resolve
the customer’s concern, Spark Energy has processed a cost analysis that
compares the utility rate versus the Spark Energy rate for billing periods
09/18/2014-12/17/2014. The cost analysis determined that a refund in the amount
of $23.73 is owed to Ms. [redacted]. Spark Energy will send Ms. [redacted] a check in
the amount of $23.73 to her mailing address: [redacted]
Please let me know if you have any further questions.Best Regards, Hector [redacted] | Consumer Affairs Specialist[redacted]@sparkenergy.com

To Whom This May Concern: This is Spark Energy’s (“Spark”) response to Revdex.com Complaint No. [redacted]. Thank you for bringing [redacted]’s concern to our attention and for allowing us to address it. [redacted] has filed a complaint with the Revdex.com because she states she paid $1400 for...

the electric bill and was not informed that her contract had expired. Spark would like to apologize for any inconvenience that the customer may have experienced. However, we were not able to locate a payment for $1400, as alleged by Ms. [redacted]. Should Ms. [redacted], provide proof of a payment for $1400, we will be happy to revisit her complaint. Attached you will find the payment ledger fr Ms. [redacted]. In regards to not being provided with any prior notice, we’d like to confirm that on 10/9/2016, Spark generated and mailed the Contract Expiration Notice via US mail to the address on file. However, due to no response from Ms. [redacted] and based on the terms agreed upon; the Spark service defaulted to a variable month-to-month rate on 11/23/2016. Because of this, the customer’s account is not due any credits or adjustments. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns. Best regards, Martha [redacted]

To Whom This May Concern:
This is Spark Energy’s (“Spark”) response to Revdex.com Complaint No. [redacted].
Thank you for bringing [redacted]’s concern to our attention and for allowing us to address it.
[redacted] has filed a complaint because he states that the Door -to-Door salesman never mentioned...

anything about signing up and paying for services. The customer says the salesman only stated that he was the subsidy of [redacted] and only there to verify that he did not receive a rate change. Mr. [redacted] states that everything was done by the salesman on his personal phone.
Investigative Results:
·         On 4/5/2017, Alicia [redacted] authorized the enrollment to Spark via the electronic enrollment application with Felix Gutierrez, an agent with third party vendor Energy Group Consultants for the Blue 12 plan. This plan offers a 12 month fixed rate at 74.90 cents/therm with a $4.95 Monthly Service Fee (“MSF”) and a $100 Early Termination Fee (“ETF”). (Authorization with signature Attached)
o   On this same day, Spark generated and sent the Welcome Letter. (Letter Attached)
·         On 4/6/2017, Spark received Revdex.com Complaint No. [redacted].
·         On 4/10/2017, once the enrollment was accepted Spark submitted a cancellation request due to the complaint received.
·         On 4/11/2017, Spark received an inbound response from the utility that the pending enrollment was cancelled.
Outcome:
Spark would like to apologize for any inconvenience that the customer may have experienced. To reconfirm, Mr. [redacted] states that the Spark agent misrepresented himself to be a subsidy of [redacted] and that the sales agent was only there to prevent a rate change. Mr. [redacted] goes on to state that the sales agent completed everything on the customer’s personal phone. We would like to provide some clarity on how the electronic enrollment works. Please note that prior to receiving a list of qualifying statements to authorize the service; the customer reads the Consumer Rights and consents to receiving a TPV via text. Once they do then the attached document, which is a snap shot of the Sales Verification Page, is sent to the customer via a link to the Web TPV verification screen to complete the verification.  This process, which can only be accomplished via the customer’s phone and IP address, requires the customer to click on each one of the verifications for the Terms & Conditions. As you may be able to see on the Sales Verification Page, the SMS text message was sent to [redacted], which happens to be the same telephone number listed on Mr. [redacted]’s complaint. The selection of “NO” by the customer during this process will cancel the order. Additionally the customer and the sales gent must provide a signature for the completion of the authorized enrollment. (See signatures on attachment provided)
As it stands, the pending enrollment to Spark is cancelled and will not become effective. Mr. [redacted] will not be billed by Spark or be assessed any cancellation fees. Lastly, Spark takes any customer’s complaint very seriously. For this reason, we have submitted Mr. [redacted]’s concerns to the Marketing Department in an attempt to obtain a statement from the agent associated with this case as well as take any disciplinary action deemed necessary. We would like to confirm that this is not how we train our sales agents nor do we condone this type of behavior.
Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.
Best regards,
 
April [redacted]

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  
 











10/9/2015






Complaint

[redacted]I received a letter stating I have a balance with them, when all of my utility bills while using their services have been paid in full. I have asked them to send me an itemized bill for me to review with the bills from the utility companies for me to compare to make sure and they have not...

done so. They want me to just send them payment from a letter with no reference to what was not paid, or they will submit to a collection agency and the credit bureaus. I don't have a problem paying the bill if I receive an itemized bill, to make sure it is truly what I owe and not something I have already paid and they are owed the funds by [redacted] or [redacted]. I have a problem as a consumer paying from a letter without proper itemized documentation. As I would like to get this matter cleared up, they are not very helpful with providing the information I am requesting, which I don't believe is out of line or something they should not be providing.







Desired Resolution
I canceled my service with Spark Energy for both of my utility services ([redacted]- GAS) via email on February 11, 2015, with Olivia [redacted] | Customer Care AssociateIf they can provide the itemized bill and allow me time to review and validate the bill to be accurate, I...

will pay the bill. If they can't do so, I would like them to credit the account what they say I owe and send me something in writing that this has been resolved and the account is at azero balance





Consumer Business Dialog

To Whom This May Concern: This is Spark Energy’s (“Spark”) response to Revdex.com Complaint No. [redacted]. Thank you for bringing [redacted] concern to our attention and for allowing us to address it. [redacted] has filed a complaint because he states that Spark markets in a deceptive way by offering...

contracts with a low introductory rate and then switches to predatory pricing after the contract term with no notice. The customer states he cancelled Spark and months later he received an invoice for a $31 without explanation that was rejected by [redacted].  Mr. [redacted] states he is now being threatened with Collections. Investigative Results: ·         On 7/12/2014, [redacted] authorized the enrollment to Spark with [redacted], an agent with third party vendor [redacted] for the Spark Advantage 12 plan. This plan offers a 12 month fixed rate at 57.5 cents/therm with a $4.95 Monthly Service Fee (“MSF”) and a $50 Early Termination Fee (“ETF”). (TPV Attached) ·         On 7/15/2014, Spark generated and sent the Welcome letter. (Letter Attached) ·         On 8/5/2014, the Spark Service became effective. ·         On 10/9/2015, Spark generated an invoice for billing period 9/4/2015-10/6/2015 in the amount of $31.08. However, the charge rejected and was not included in the bill. ·         On 12/17/2015, [redacted] contacted Spark about a high bill and was advised that and invoice was excluded. The customer understood. o   On this same day, Mr. [redacted] contacted Spark to cancel. The agent submitted the drop request. ·         On 12/18/2015, Spark received a response from the utility with an effective termination date of January 6, 2016 as solely determined by the utility. ·         On 6/5/2015, Spark generated and sent the Contract Expiration Notice. (Letter Attached) ·         On 8/4/2015, Due to no response from the customer the Spark service defaulted to a variable month to month rate per the terms agreed upon. ·         On 1/7/2016, the Spark service terminated. ·         On 3/19/2016, [redacted] requested more information on the current generated invoice to be sent to him via mail. ·         On 3/21/2016, Spark generated and sent Mr. [redacted] the invoice summary. (Letter Attached) ·         On 7/22/2016, Spark sent a final bill notice to the customer requesting the remaining balance of $31.08. ·         On 7/27/2016, Spark received Revdex.com Complaint No [redacted]. Outcome: Spark would like to apologize for any inconvenience that the customer may have experienced but believes that Mr. [redacted] has been properly charged based on the terms agreed upon.  To re-confirm, Mr. [redacted] states that Spark offers a low introductory rate that switches to predatory pricing without notice.  Please note that prior to Mr. [redacted] contract expiring Spark proactively sent a Contract Expiration Notice on June 5, 2015 via mail. Due to no response from the customer the contract defaulted to a variable month to month rate on August 4, 2015 per the terms agreed upon. Additionally, Mr. [redacted] makes mention that he received a bill for $31.08 after he cancelled the Spark service. However, our records indicate that [redacted] contacted Spark on December 17, 2015 about the billing prior to cancelling and was advised that an invoice was excluded and rebilled. The customer accepted and then requested to cancel the Spark service whereas the agent submitted the cancellation request.  Mr. [redacted] later contacted Spark again on March 19, 2016 about the billing where he requested and was sent an invoice summary via mail that outlined the $31.08 balance owed from the billing cycle of 9/4/2015- 10/6/2015. As it stands, the Spark service terminated on January 7, 2016, as solely determined by the utility. Unfortunately, the customer is not due any credit adjustments and is responsible for the billing due. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns. Best regards,April [redacted]