Respond Power

Good Morning,
The customer enrolled in a variable rate plan.  The
rates on a variable rate plan are subject to change based on market conditions.
Unfortunately, the energy market performed very poorly this past winter due to
decreases in energy supply and...

increases in demand due to the cold weather. While
suppliers like [redacted]/Respond Power base the rate on a daily rolling
average and hedging, most utilities purchase energy in massive block and adjust
quarterly or semi-annually. Because of that, sometimes suppliers find
themselves with higher rates than utilities. Eventually trends reverse and
utilities are forced to adjust their rates to make up for losses due to
underpriced supply sold to customers during high markets. The account has now been cancelled.
Regards,

We would like to apologize for the trouble. The sales agreement was not processed and the customer will not switch to our supply
Thank you

Good Morning,
We are sorry the customer is dissatisfied with his experience.  According to the complaint, the
customer is unhappy with the recent rate being charged.  The customer has been corresponding with our customer service department and should continue to do....

 
The customer agreed to a variable
rate contract, meaning the rate would be determined by the energy market.
As has been widely reported, there
has been a spike in the wholesale energy market which was reflected on the most
recent bill. This is merely a reflection of the current energy market where a
shrinking supply of electricity is under the strain of massive demand due to
one of the coldest winters on record. We are referring customers to the
February **press release from the PUC regarding this issue. (Please see
attached)  In addition, this is not just happening in Pennsylvania. 
Please see this link relating to New York prices as well.
[redacted]
Finally, the account has been
canceled and it is now up to the utility to process the cancellation. 
We are truly sorry for your
experience.
Regards
 
In addition please see this informative article.
Why Have
Energy Bills Increased – Explaining Price Volatility
It has
been a record cold winter across much of the country, and many have been
expressing deep concern as to why energy bills have been so high. Regardless of
whether energy is purchased from a utility or a competitive energy supplier,
customers have seen electricity and natural gas prices spike in many parts of
the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.
Why did
prices rise?
Simply
put, the issues at hand are the cold weather, electric grid and natural gas
pipeline capacity, and the increasing use of natural gas not just for heating
purposes, but to create electricity.
There is
ample gas supply in the United States, especially given the boom in shale gas.
What customers are feeling are the results of a strained transportation and
infrastructure system that delivers electricity and gas. When demand is high
and capacity is constrained, costs increase.
This
winter’s “polar vortex” has increased the demand for both natural gas and
electricity, resulting in significant congestion in the natural gas pipelines
and on the electric grid (the highways of the energy system). Everyone relies
on these natural gas pipelines and the electric grid to get energy from where
it is produced to where it is used by the homeowner, the tenant, and the
business owner. Just like only so many cars can efficiently travel along a
highway, only so much natural gas and electricity can move through the natural
gas pipeline system and the electric grid.
Also,
while more and more people are using natural gas directly for heating purposes,
electricity generators are also increasingly using natural gas to produce
affordable power. In the short-term, this electricity generation is putting
further strain on the natural gas capacity in certain parts of the country. At
the same time there are also bottlenecks on some parts of the electric grid,
preventing electricity from getting from the generators to the consumers in an
efficient manner.
It’s
known from economics that constraints on supply (such as not being able to get
gas from where it is plentiful to where it is needed) cause prices to rise, and
this has occurred in the wholesale energy markets. The result? Competitive
energy suppliers and utilities alike are paying higher than normal prices when
purchasing from the wholesale market in order to provide energy to homeowners,
tenants, and business owners. This is causing everyone’s bills to rise.
As the
winter weather gradually improves and temperatures rise, the demand for energy
to heat homes and businesses will decrease, placing less pressure on the
nation’s electricity grid and allowing energy prices from suppliers and
utilities to normalize. However, winter weather may very likely be around for
some weeks to come. Despite the unusual weather, the gas and electric delivery
systems have proven to be highly reliable this winter. A number of new natural
gas pipelines and electricity transmission lines are planned or under
construction which should reduce the chances of a similar price spike in the
future.
In the
meantime, there are some things that can be done to help manage energy bills.
Conserve energy as much as possible. For example, make sure
doors and windows are well insulated, seal any air leaks, and lower the
water temperature setting to 120 degrees on the water heater.
Customers using a competitive supplier and who are on a
variable rate plan or whose fixed contracts have expired, should review
their contract to confirm the accuracy of the pricing and call their
supplier if they have any questions.
Customers interested in price stability can also investigate
fixed price options that many suppliers offer.
Customers in need of financial assistance should investigate
their state’s home heating assistance programs. In many states, a customer
can stay with a competitive supplier and still receive assistance paying
utility bills.
Customers should visit their
state’s “energy shopping” websites to compare offers from different suppliers.
For a list of shopping websites, visit [redacted]

Revdex.com:
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] they should not be aloud to call people and tell they will give 10% off and give money for referrals and if knicks win so many games they will give 30% off that I never received. this is a scam to get people to switch and jack up the prices. ive spent my incometaxes on their bills and im still behind. I have filed a complaint with attorney general office and wrote to the president. I got ripped off by this company and will not see my money back, but in future something will be done about a new law
 
 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
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:

The
company’s explanations are unacceptable! According to their explanations, the
wholesale energy market is influent which means even if we didn’t switch to
their company our electric bills will be still so high. This is NOT TRUE!!! The
following link shows the rates of all the suppliers that are available to us: [redacted].
You can see that this company’s rate is the highest of all suppliers!!! This is
FRAUD!!! We just received another bill for period Feb **, 2014 to Mar **, 2014,
the rate this company charged is $0.249905 per KWH, which is not only the
HIGHEST PRICE among ALL available suppliers, but also is FIVE times higher than
the domestic service ($0.051 per KWH, which can be found on the left side of
the bill). Also you can find on the above link that our previous supplier [redacted]’s rate is only $0.0493 per KWH.
This company sent a Rep. to our door
and promised we could save money (many of our neighbors can prove we are telling
the truth, there were several representatives showed on our neighborhood to persuade
people to switch to their company at the same time), that’s the ONLY reason
that we switched to this company. Now we don’t expect to save money, but we
require this company to refund the amount (which is $301.95) that they
overcharged up to the most recent bill. We are not the only household that suffers
from the overcharge. This is actually happening to many of our neighborhood.
Note this is our last negotiation and we have all supporting materials. If they
not refund the required amount ($301.95) immediately, we will work with our neighborhood
in the community and jointly sue this company on local court to defend our
right! 
 
 
 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
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:
 
For I am pleased that the business has cancel my services, however I am now left with a much higher bill then what I should have been paying. it would be nice  if the business would pick up a portion of my bill since I did not authorize Respond Power to switch me. This is a scam. They fix the issue but the consumer is left with the bill. I have called respond Power and ask to provide me  with prove of me authorized them to switch me, to date I have not received anything from them.
Thank You,
[redacted]
 
 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

We are sorry the customer remains dissatisfied with our responses.
Regards,

Good Morning,
We are sorry the customer had a bad experience. The customer was previously enrolled in a variable rate plan with our company. Since making the complaint, the customer has enrolled in a fixed rate plan. 
Regards,

Revdex.com:
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]
I spoke with [redacted] and they said the transaction will be made at the end of the billing cycle unless there is another loop found to continue taking advantage of the client.
 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Good Morning,
We are sorry the customer was unhappy with her selection of our company. The customer enrolled in a variable rate plan with our company. The rates on variable plans fluctuate with the energy market. Unfortunately, the energy
market performed very poorly this...

past winter due to decreases in energy supply
and increases in demand due to the cold weather. While suppliers like [redacted]
[redacted]/Respond Power base the rate on a daily rolling average and hedging, most
utilities purchase energy in massive block and adjust quarterly or
semi-annually. Because of that, sometimes suppliers find themselves with higher
rates than utilities. Eventually trends reverse and utilities are forced to
adjust their rates to make up for losses due to underpriced supply sold to
customers during high markets.
The sales representatives of our independent partner vendors are strictly prohibited from guaranteeing savings. The account has been cancelled and should be processed by the utility within one to two billing cycles. 
Regards,

Good Morning,
We are the sorry the customer remains dissatisfied. The customer's enrollment in a variable rate plan was confirmed by a signed sales agreement. We have no record of the customer attempting to cancel prior to April. We encourage the customer to contact our customer service department if there are remaining questions.
Regards

Good Morning,
The customer enrolled in a variable rate contract, meaning the rates would be determined by the energy market.  Unfortunately, during this severe winter an already limited energy market saw a spike in demand.  This led to significantly higher rates.  The...

customer's account has already been cancelled.  
We are sorry the customer had trouble contacting our customer service department.  We have experienced a drastic increase in calls over the past several months.  We have taken steps to better handle the call volume and better serve our customers.
Regards,

Revdex.com:
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:
 
you have still not provided information to defend or justify why YOUR company needs to charge so much more than any another company.  Your contintuation to forward me copy & pasted pieces of articles speaking about our extreme weather, etc. and to deny that your company is charging more than double what any other variable rate is being charged with is unprofessional and unacceptable.  I do not need any further articles to read or websites to visit.  If what you are charging me is so in-line with the current issues, as mentioned in your copy & pasted pieces, then all variable rate customers would be experiencing similar charges.  This is not the case.  Once again, your company is no where close to the "average" variable rate for last month.  These issues that youare quoting are happening everywhere, which you stated and therefore have agreed with.  Therefore these issues would apply to all bills, not just your company.  Either provide REAL information, not links or information you are taking from other sites (plagarism, one could possibly say)or adjust my per watt charge to be more in line with what is REALLY happening currently in the market. 
 
 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Good Afternoon,
The customer has been interacting with our customer service department since posting this complaint and should continue to do so.
Regards,

Revdex.com:
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]
 The company is stating that since they saved me money, around $98; they are not going to issue a refund.  I do not accept this answer because, I am not only disputing the ridiculous up charge in March, where my rates went from $.08 to $.29; I am also disputing the fact they forged a signature and signed us up for a service we did not agree upon.  I have uploaded a scan of my fiance's signature; you can clearly see it's not the same on their copy of the contract and my copy has no signature.  
So I believe I am not asking for much when I only want some reasonable refund for the insane up charge in March. And not for the entire year. 
 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

We apologize for any inconvenience the customer is experiencing as a result of the unexpectedly high rates this past winter. The customer initially enrolled in a variable rate plan with our company via door-to-door sale on July **, 2013. The customer’s signed sales agreement is included for confirmation. The customer was never enrolled in a fixed rate plan. Because the customer was validly enrolled in a variable rate plan, no refund is due.

We again apologize for any inconvenience. Customer's records were kept in accordance with all applicable regulations. We refer the customer to the following link [redacted], and specifically section 111.7(b)(4). We again state that customer was enrolled for 28 cycles and upon searching for a phone call from the customer, none was found, other than the call from last week. 
Further, customer's daughter stated she was over the age of 18, authorized to make decisions on the account, and that her choice was voluntary. As such no refund will be issued.

We are sorry the customer feels that our company has done something wrong.  We are not refunding for the commodity that was provided, but we have looked into our independent marketers to ensure they follow proper guidelines.
Cancellation fees are only charged to customers who cancel a fixed rate.
Please see the below article to learn about the recent market fluctuation.
Why Have
Energy Bills Increased – Explaining Price Volatility
It has
been a record cold winter across much of the country, and many have been
expressing deep concern as to why energy bills have been so high. Regardless of
whether energy is purchased from a utility or a competitive energy supplier,
customers have seen electricity and natural gas prices spike in many parts of
the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.
Why did
prices rise?
Simply
put, the issues at hand are the cold weather, electric grid and natural gas
pipeline capacity, and the increasing use of natural gas not just for heating
purposes, but to create electricity.
There is
ample gas supply in the United States, especially given the boom in shale gas.
What customers are feeling are the results of a strained transportation and
infrastructure system that delivers electricity and gas. When demand is high
and capacity is constrained, costs increase.
This
winter’s “polar vortex” has increased the demand for both natural gas and
electricity, resulting in significant congestion in the natural gas pipelines
and on the electric grid (the highways of the energy system). Everyone relies
on these natural gas pipelines and the electric grid to get energy from where
it is produced to where it is used by the homeowner, the tenant, and the
business owner. Just like only so many cars can efficiently travel along a
highway, only so much natural gas and electricity can move through the natural
gas pipeline system and the electric grid.
Also,
while more and more people are using natural gas directly for heating purposes,
electricity generators are also increasingly using natural gas to produce
affordable power. In the short-term, this electricity generation is putting
further strain on the natural gas capacity in certain parts of the country. At
the same time there are also bottlenecks on some parts of the electric grid,
preventing electricity from getting from the generators to the consumers in an
efficient manner.
It’s
known from economics that constraints on supply (such as not being able to get
gas from where it is plentiful to where it is needed) cause prices to rise, and
this has occurred in the wholesale energy markets. The result? Competitive
energy suppliers and utilities alike are paying higher than normal prices when
purchasing from the wholesale market in order to provide energy to homeowners,
tenants, and business owners. This is causing everyone’s bills to rise.
As the
winter weather gradually improves and temperatures rise, the demand for energy
to heat homes and businesses will decrease, placing less pressure on the
nation’s electricity grid and allowing energy prices from suppliers and
utilities to normalize. However, winter weather may very likely be around for
some weeks to come. Despite the unusual weather, the gas and electric delivery
systems have proven to be highly reliable this winter. A number of new natural
gas pipelines and electricity transmission lines are planned or under
construction which should reduce the chances of a similar price spike in the
future.
In the
meantime, there are some things that can be done to help manage energy bills.
Conserve energy as much as possible. For example, make sure
doors and windows are well insulated, seal any air leaks, and lower the
water temperature setting to 120 degrees on the water heater.
Customers using a competitive supplier and who are on a
variable rate plan or whose fixed contracts have expired, should review
their contract to confirm the accuracy of the pricing and call their
supplier if they have any questions.
Customers interested in price stability can also investigate
fixed price options that many suppliers offer.
Customers in need of financial assistance should investigate
their state’s home heating assistance programs. In many states, a customer
can stay with a competitive supplier and still receive assistance paying
utility bills.
Customers should visit their
state’s “energy shopping” websites to compare offers from different suppliers.
For a list of shopping websites, visit [redacted]

Good Afternoon,
We are sorry the customer remains dissatisfied. We believe our last answer was responsive to the customer's concerns. We encourage the customer to contact our customer service department if he has remaining questions.
Regards,

Revdex.com:
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]
We spoke with [redacted] they were the ones that figured out that Respond Power was overcharging us by almost 300%. Respond power didn't say what they were charging per kilowatt on our bill  they put a percentage in as "commodity fee" After the man at [redacted] did the math he estimated they were charging us 35 cents a kilowatt as opposed to [redacted]'s 8 cents. The man at [redacted] had my husband reach out to Respond Power to see if they would at least negotiate this rate. The man my husband spoke to would not allow him to speak to a [redacted], give his name, nor negotiate any rate. When my husband told him he would be hearing from our lawyer the man told him to "go and spend more money on a lawyer" . What kind of company would say that to a paying customer? This company is nothing but a fraud. Even the man at [redacted] said it's unethical what they are doing to us but since they are the billing company [redacted] cannot change the amount owed.
 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]