Verde Energy USA Inc.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted]I consider this case closed, but please please please research Verde Energy USA.  They have very deceptive communication and assertions, and I'm sure there are lots of other customers who are unnecessarily spending more on their electric bills because they are not reading the fine print of the their electric bills.  Here's the summary:1. Verde Energy USA cold calls electric consumers, promising lower rates because of "deregulation" and competition2. In the fine print, consumer agrees to a fixed rate period of around a year, after which they enter a variable rate period, which means Verde Energy can raise (or lower) rates, at will3. In my case, I was sent a letter from Verde Energy proudly proclaiming their switch from "brown" to "green" energy.  Nowhere in this letter do they say green energy is almost double the price of brown energy.  I was automatically switched to the green energy supply, costing me on average $100 more per month on my electric bill.  Unbelievable.  I'm obviously upset with myself for not reading the electric bill more closely, but also upset because I paid a premium for a commodity that I did not want.Verde Energy USA should absolutely not have an A+ rating.  They may be a good "green" energy company in other respects, but they are terrible at providing competitive energy supply rates, and have deceptive methods of getting consumers to switch to Verde Energy.In this case, deregulation is worse for consumers. 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

This account was enrolled in a monthly variable rate offer which can change with market conditions.  The account left service with Verde at the end of the last billing cycle which was on 2/14/14.  Verde does not have any cancellation fees of any type.
As a goodwill gesture...

we will issue a billing refund check of $65.86 which takes the last bill (862 KWH of usage) down to a rate of $0.1049/KWH.

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

Dear [redacted], This email is in response to the complaint you filed with the Revdex.com. Verde Energy apologizes for having called your number and for any inconvenience this has caused.  For your reference, Verde utilizes a third party service provider to comply with all Federal...

and state telemarketing DNC regulations. All phone lists are scrubbed against the Federal DNC list and any state DNC list every 30 days. We also maintain an internal DNC list which contains the phone number of any person who asks to not be called again. I am the point person for contacting all of our telemarketing groups. I have added your phone number to all of our Do Not Contact lists as well as personally requested that your phone number be added to DNC lists for our subsidiaries. I have also shared your feedback with the manager of our telemarketing group.Thank you for your patience in this matter and we wish you health and happiness in the new year,Karen M[redacted] Customer Support |Verde Energy USA[redacted] | Norwalk, CT 06851Tell us why here...

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Please read email message history

Today at 2:04 PM
Hello [redacted];
This is not a final refund check this was a credit for double billing.  I am totally blown away by the total lack of customer service.  .  Please have [redacted] contact me asap.  I will wait to hear back today.  II will not accept anything less than the $568.00 overbilling I am due.  If not, I will submit another complaint to the Revdex.com.  I am totally appalled that your company thinks they can overcharge customers without their approval!!  I am getting ready to call my attorney.
Thank you
[redacted]
Hide message history
On Thursday, September 25, 2014 1:39 PM, [redacted]> wrote:
[redacted], 
 
My apologies.  We had your account crossed with another.  Your account closed on 9/19/2014 and we sent a final refund check of $232.72 which has cleared our bank.  Our customer service center has no record of your call in April.  [redacted] from our corporate office did call you on September 16th and left a message relaying all of this information.  [redacted] will respond to your Revdex.com inquiry, but no further refunds will be processed.
 
Regards,
On Thu, Sep 25, 2014 at 12:39 PM, [redacted]> wrote:
Hello:  Please show me a copy of the cancelled check for 25.00.  I do not recall cashing this check.  I did call in April and canceled your services.  YOU did NOT have my permission to keep billing me at a variable rate.   According to [redacted] records,  this over billing amounts to $568.00.   (from March to present).   Please show me a contract where I agreed to be billed at a variable rate.  This is totally unacceptable.  I wonder how many people you have overbilled with out there knowledge. 
Thank you for the refund of $107.00 but this is totally unacceptable.  I would like to have the amount of $568.00 credited to my account.
Thank you
[redacted]
On Thursday, September 25, 2014 12:21 PM, T[redacted] <[redacted]> wrote:
Ms. [redacted],
I received your recent inquiry.  I researched our records and saw that you called in February but did not request that your service be cancelled.  You were offered a $25 cash bonus on the call and you cashed the check which was sent to you at that time.
I also saw that [redacted] helped you with a billing issue several weeks ago and we have submitted a request to the utility to leave service with Verde.  Even though you have cancelled, as a good will gesture we will send you a check for $107.17 to lower the effective rate on your August and July bills to the [redacted] rate of $0.1025/KWH.  You will receive this check in approximately 2 weeks.
Regards,
[redacted]
Verde Energy USA
 
--
[redacted]Customer Account Manager
Verde Energy USA
[redacted]
Reply, Reply All or Forward | More
 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  I have not received a text or a call from the company today and I thank you.  
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Spoke to customer at length on the phone and also emailed this reply:Dear [redacted],This email is in reply to the complaint you filed with the Revdex.com. Per our phone conversation from earlier today, in March of 2013, all [redacted] customers were switched to Verde Energy USA. This happened because [redacted]...

sold their customer list to Verde Energy and we began to provide you with electricity instead of [redacted]. You were notified by U.S. Mail in a letter from [redacted] explaining the change. I have attached a copy of that letter, along with your original [redacted] enrollment form. Your official service start date was 04/18/2013, and any electricity you used after that date was purchased for you by Verde Energy USA. You will see us listed as your provider starting with your bill dated around 05/18/2013.Attached please also find a copy of the letter and Terms of Service that was sent to you via first class mail in December. Verde Energy supplies 100% green energy and our prices are comparable to other 100% green energy providers.Verde Energy is not required to offer any refunds on the variable rate pricing and we do so only as a courtesy. Our policy for cancelled customers is to refund the most recent billing cycle to the fixed rate. As I explained in our telephone conversation, I have calculated a larger refund than originally promised. I calculated a refund for the difference in rate from the variable you were charged, to the fixed rate at that time. I used you FIVE highest bills to do this:391.00KH @ $0.1877 (6/19/2014-7/18/2014)07/21/201406/19/201407/18/2014$73.37266.00KH @ $0.2099 (12/17/2014-1/16/2015)01/20/201512/17/201401/16/2015$55.83369.00KH @ $0.1799 (6/18/2015-7/18/2015)07/21/201506/18/201507/18/2015$66.38445.00KH @ $0.1799 (7/19/2015-8/17/2015)08/18/201507/19/201508/17/2015$80.06396.00KH @ $0.1799 (8/18/2015-9/16/2015)09/17/201508/18/201509/16/2015$71.24Calculated using the fixed rate of .1149 (just so you are aware, our CURRENT fixed rate is .1649/kwh) the refund check is for $132.36.I am issuing you an additional $25 check for the rebate that was offered in the Dec. 2013 mailing, even though you did not take advantage of that rebate at that time.You should receive these two checks in the mail within 15 business days.Your account with Verde Energy has been dropped and the last day you were with us was 10/15/15. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reply to this email.Karen M[redacted]Customer Support |Verde Energy USA[redacted]

copy of email sent on 2/10/15:Dear [redacted]This email is in response to your call to our customer service center. I have looked up your account and see that your fixed rate was for 6 months, as stated on your terms of service, your fixed rate will switch to the variable rate once the fixed...

rate term expires. After receiving the fixed rate for 7 months (one extra month) your fixed rate expired on 11/20/14. At this time, Verde is not required to contact ** customers when their rate is about to expire. I have processed a $322.96 refund for the difference in rate to our new .1299/kwh fixed rate on your most recent bill. You should get that check within 15 business days.I am sorry we could not lower your rate, once your account is put into cancellation, your utility will not allow us to make any further adjustments to your rate. We will send you a refund check for your most recent bill, and will process another refund when you receive your final bill. Please reply to this email when you receive your next bill and I will be happy to refund you the difference to our fixed rate of .1299/kwh.If you have any additional questions/concerns, please don't hesitate to reply to this email.

Responded via email 6/12/15:
rgb(250, 250, 250);">Dear [redacted]
This email is in response to the complaint you filed with the Revdex.com. I have looked up your account and see that a new check was mailed out directly from the bank on 6/11/15. The check is being mailed to:
fname
[redacted]
lname
[redacted]
email
[redacted]
address
[redacted]
state
[redacted] **
zip
[redacted]
Please allow 10 business days for the check to find its way to your mailbox. I apologize for any inconvenience.
[redacted]
Customer Support | Verde Energy USA
[redacted]

We sent the customer the following email today:Mr. [redacted],We received your recent inquiry.Your
account was enrolled in a monthly variable rate offer.  For reference,
your initial rate held steady for almost 3 years.  For reference,
customers on a variable rate plan always have the...

option of switching to
a fixed rate plan at any point in time.Your account has
been cancelled per your request.  We reviewed your recent usage and will
send you a billing adjustment check for $161.36 which lowers the
effective rate on your Sept-Nov bills to our current fixed rate of
$0.1099/KWH.  You will receive this check within 2 weeks.Regards,Verde Energy Customer Support

Dear [redacted]This email is in response to the rejection of our response to the Revdex.com. Verde Energy is unable to provide you with free electricity, the best we can do is to issue you refunds/rebates to make the cost of your stay with Verde Energy equal to the cost if you just stayed with [redacted]. The DELIVERY costs from [redacted] would always have been there, so that is not eligible to be included into your request for refunds. Please see my notes IN RED below:ELECTRIC:[redacted]        drop: 3/16/16Total 3 billing cycles:321.00KH @ $0.1649 (12/16/2015-1/15/2016) $52.93379.00KH @ $0.1649 (1/16/2016-2/16/2016) $62.50360.00KH @ $0.1499 (2/17/2016-3/16/2016) $53.96Total of $169.39 in Verde charges. [redacted] price to compare: .1213/kwh Total charges would have been $128.58 if you were with just [redacted]Difference of $40.81Sent $75 rebate: This check was sent, please cash this check before June.Sent $5.69 refund: You are stating you never received this check, is that still true?GAS:[redacted]            drop: 4/15/16Total 3 billing cycles:138.01TD @ $0.6840 (1/16/2016-2/16/2016) $94.4083.23TD @ $0.4990 (2/17/2016-3/16/2016) $41.5367.36TD @ $0.4990 (3/17/2016-4/15/2016) $33.61Total of $169.54 in Verde charges.[redacted] price to compare: .151/therm & .401/therm  Total charges would have been $81.23 if you were with just [redacted]Difference of $88.31Sent $25 rebate: I see this check has been cashed.Sent $25.53 refund: This check was sent, please cash this check before June.Final tally:Total Gas & Electric charges from Verde: $338.93Total Gas & Electric charges if only using [redacted]: $209.81Difference between what Verde charged and what the charges would have been if you were just with [redacted]: $129.12Total Rebates/Refunds: $131.22Please cash the checks that you have received from Verde Energy. Let me know which of the checks you have never received and I will have them reissued.Karen M[redacted]Customer Support |Verde Energy USA[redacted]

Spoke to customer at length on the phone and also emailed this reply:
break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">Dear [redacted],
This email is in reply to the complaint you filed with the Revdex.com. Per our phone conversation from earlier today, in March of 2013, all [redacted] customers were switched to Verde Energy USA. This happened because [redacted] sold their customer list to Verde Energy and we began to provide you with electricity instead of [redacted]. You were notified by U.S. Mail in a letter from [redacted] explaining the change. I have attached a copy of that letter, along with your original [redacted] enrollment form. Your official service start date was 04/18/2013, and any electricity you used after that date was purchased for you by Verde Energy USA. You will see us listed as your provider starting with your bill dated around 05/18/2013.
Attached please also find a copy of the letter and Terms of Service that was sent to you via first class mail in December. Verde Energy supplies 100% green energy and our prices are comparable to other 100% green energy providers.
Verde Energy is not required to offer any refunds on the variable rate pricing and we do so only as a courtesy. Our policy for cancelled customers is to refund the most recent billing cycle to the fixed rate. As I explained in our telephone conversation, I have calculated a larger refund than originally promised. I calculated a refund for the difference in rate from the variable you were charged, to the fixed rate at that time. I used you FIVE highest bills to do this:
391.00KH @ $0.1877 (6/19/2014-7/18/2014)
07/21/2014
06/19/2014
07/18/2014
$73.37
266.00KH @ $0.2099 (12/17/2014-1/16/2015)
01/20/2015
12/17/2014
01/16/2015
$55.83
369.00KH @ $0.1799 (6/18/2015-7/18/2015)
07/21/2015
06/18/2015
07/18/2015
$66.38
445.00KH @ $0.1799 (7/19/2015-8/17/2015)
08/18/2015
07/19/2015
08/17/2015
$80.06
396.00KH @ $0.1799 (8/18/2015-9/16/2015)
09/17/2015
08/18/2015
09/16/2015
$71.24
Calculated using the fixed rate of .1149 (just so you are aware, our CURRENT fixed rate is .1649/kwh) the refund check is for $132.36.I am issuing you an additional $25 check for the rebate that was offered in the Dec. 2013 mailing, even though you did not take advantage of that rebate at that time.
You should receive these two checks in the mail within 15 business days.
Your account with Verde Energy has been dropped and the last day you were with us was 10/15/15. 
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reply to this email.
Karen M[redacted]
Customer Support |Verde Energy USA
[redacted]

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

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:I'm still waiting to see if Verde will commit to their end of the resolution.Presently have not received any form of discount 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

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

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  
I appreciate and commend the business for their quick response and willingness to resolve the matter.  
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  [redacted] lied to me and said Verde decided the drop-date. Verde provided documentation showing [redacted] dictated it. They were very helpful with the situation.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Feb. 13, 2014
Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Verde has not addressed the problem. We already know from my original letter to them that I cancelled service the reason was I did not get a response from them until 9 days later and it was "after" I cancelled my service due to no response from the company, therefore, feeling I no longer trusted the company. Plus I was not informed of any increases nor was I told that I was changed to a variable rate. As I explained in my first correspondence. I expect the company to reimburse me for the overcharges. My last correspondence from them was on Feb. 3, 2013 stating the rate was .0990 and there was no mention that it was a variable rate. I can fax you that correspondence, if you would like, please supply me with a fax number. They are not addressing my request.
Sincerely,
Betty Wizeman

replied via email 3/18/15
text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; -ms-word-break: normal; -ms-word-wrap: break-word; widows: 1; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">Dear [redacted]
 
This email is in response to the complaint you filed with the Revdex.com. Thank you for your patience in waiting for my reply. We have adjusted your account to the current fixed rate of .1049/kwh. That rate is fixed for 6 months. Your rate will automatically switch to our variable rate at the end of that 6-month period. You will need to contact us again if you want to avoid switching back to the variable rate.
It sometimes takes the utility two billing cycles to adjust your rate, so please contact us again if your rate is not .1049/kwh on your next bill.
I am sending you a refund check for the difference in rate from the variable you were charged on your last three bills, to the fixed rate. You should get your $594.82 check in the mail within 15 business days. I apologize for any inconvenience.
Thank you for being a Verde customer!
 
[redacted]
Customer Support | Verde Energy USA
[redacted]

replied via email 2/19/15:Dear [redacted],This email is in response to your call to our customer service center and your complaint filed with the Revdex.com. I have looked up the history of your account and have found the following: When you enrolled with Verde Energy USA, you enrolled in 2010 at a...

VARIABLE rate. You called to switch to a 6-MONTH FIXED rate on March 22, 2014. At that time, you were switched to a 6-month fixed rate, as explained to you in your Terms of Service, that rate would be fixed for 6 months, and then switch back to variable if we didn't hear from you. At that time, we issued you a $64.34 refund and an additional $25 rebate.We are processing a $96.73 refund for the difference in rate from your most recent billing cycle. Verde Energy is not required to offer any refunds on the variable rate pricing and we do so only as a courtesy. You should receive that check in the mail within 10-15 business days.I have also put in a Verde cancellation request to your utility. We have lowered your rate to our current fixed offer of $0.1149 for any remaining billing cycles with us. If you have any questions/concerns please don’t hesitate to reply to this e-mail.[redacted]Customer Support | Verde Energy USA[redacted]