Constellation - Company Information

“  As many have noted, this company will sneakily jack up your rates if
you're not paying attention. They'll lure you in with a low introductory
rate, induce you to autopay your bills, then double your rate immediately
at the end of your term and hope it takes you a while to notice.
Exceptionally sketchy business model. I've used several providers and this
company is by far the worst. ”

“  I had been with StarTex for several years and was happy with them until I received my bill yesterday. My variable rate excluding TDU surcharged increased 46%, from $.0879 to $.1286, from the June 2012 to July 2012 bill. I don't see how "market fluctuations" could account for such a huge increase. I checked their 12 month contract rate and StarTex is not offering competitive rates like they used to. Their current 12 month rate is $.108 kwh. For comparison I just signed a 12 month contract with Cirro for $.09 per kwh. Both quoted rates include fixed charges and are based on 1,000 kwh of usage. On the Power to Choose website about 70% of the competing 12 month plans are cheaper than StarTex. If your renewal is coming up with StarTex it is definitely time to shop. ”

“  In Dec. of 2011 I signed a 3 yr. contract expecting to be operating my business for another 10 yrs.Unfortunetly, my parents in Vietnam (my homeland) have been sick and decided to sell my businessand move back home. The new owners and I have signed a Bill of Sale with no transferable debts,contracts, liabilities, etc. They have other cleaners and have the same REP they have had for over 20 yrs. and will not transfer the contract with StarTex, Because of that I will have to pay thousands of $7,000 in penalties. I am shocked, disheartened, because it will cost me to make this move and I cannotafford that kind of cost. I asked the new owner to consider transferring,but his rate with his preferred REP is .001 less. I cant blame them. Ive been told to file a complaint with PUC. Can anybody else help me? Should I hire and attorney? At this point the cost of an attorney may be less, if you can believe it. I;ve told my story over and over and everyone tells me that it cannot be. But, the new owner does not have to enroll new move in with StarTex, not necessarily good for me. Please help me!! ”

“  Beware of this company, I have been with them for five years, and I re-uped for 12 months each time. This last time they "lost" my sign up sheet, and when I noticed they were charging me .145 per klw vs .087 which is what they should have been charging me, they refused to do anything about it, except offer me twenty dollars off, if I would sign up again, no thanks, I moved on to Champion, who is by far the highest rated electrical co by JD Power, and this site as well. The best part is an even lower rate than this crooked co would offer me (.084) and don't bother with your phony offer to contact me from Startex which I see with ever complaint here, after three phone calls to even reach a supervisor, at Startex, I don't won't any more. ”

“  They changed their billing system without notifying their customers. Exceedingly long hold times and no response to emails. Double billing, unexplained charges/credits, uninformed customer service reps, increased rates. Stay away folks. ”

“  We've had StarTex for a couple of years now. We pay our bill on time.

Went on vacation, and Mrs paid the bill before we left. Get home, no power. Apparently she sent $119 and the bill was for $190. 10 days late with a "past due balance" and they see fit to turn out our power. Lost everything in the fridge and freezer because of it.

Customer service was not very sympathetic, and treat Mrs like we're some sort of trouble case. Now we have "reconnect fees" on top of our bill and lost groceries.

Helpful customer service my ass. What kind of company shuts off power that quickly, and with such a trivial reason? ”

“  BAD-BAD-BAD
I was told when I renewed my contract that there will b no monthly charge even if I didn't use the minimum monthly KW, but they did charge me $9.95 & after I requested to investigate what the rep told me on the ph, they said that I agreed to that, but when I told them to let me listen to the recorded conversation, they said no! They also didn't want to give me the address to their legal dept so I can send them a letter from my Atty.
DO NOT SIGN UP WITH THIS CO!!!
BAD-BAD-BAD ”

“  Have a commercial building in McAllen Texas. I had ordered STARTEX to stop service due to a new tenant coming into the building. Low and behold STARTEX failed to stop service and tenant ran up a bill under my name. Then had a bill collector hounding me for the bill and was extremely rude and offensive. Having to clear up a problem created by STARTEX that should have been avoided by them. Definitely would not recommend and will never consider them due to bad service, ignoring my requests, and extremely rude unprofessional behavior. ”

“  When I first signed on with them my bill was never more than 115. Now my bill is never less than 135. I've been having family tragedies and have been in and out of the city for the past 2 mths. The bill completely slipped my mind. So I figured it would roll over to the next and I would just pay it all one lump sum like most companies. HELL NO two weeks later I'm back in town and come home to no lights. They give you no lee way. I have 3yr old twin daughters this was an outrage for me and them. I call. And ask them can they reconnect and I could pay it the next morning when I get paid and the response I got was unfortunately our system is automatic and we can not restore power until the balance is paid in full and even then there is a reconnect fee. Miss me with the bs startex there is always a way. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. THEY DO NOT CARE FOR THE CUSTOMER. I'm switching to txu. I'd. Rather pay more and be service satisfied than deal with this scrappy company ”

“  I had trouble with receiving my bills throughout by contract with this company. They sent me my last month bill but not my final bill, never sent me any notice of owing them money and then turned me over to a collection company for $43.50. Never, Never,Never do business with this company! You will regret it in the end. ”

“  After several years service and my contract ending, ST sent me a offer for renewed service. After filing the new service request I was under the impression of getting a new contract. After checking my last bill, I noticed my rate ($0.133) was not moved to the newer rate..!
What's the point of wasting the energy to contract for an additional period of time? So much for customer service. Bye, Bye Star Tex, you have a problem and I choose not to continue your service. ”

“  Avoid these guys at all cost. Downhill since
acquired! ”

“  THE CONTRACT EXPIRED. THE RATE JUMPED FROM 8.5 TO 14.4 KWH. A PRICE THAT WAS NOT CONSISTENT WITH ANY OTHER RATES -- DEFINITELY A RIPOFF ! I OVERLOOKED THE EXPIRATION OF THE CONTRACT DUE TO A DEATH IN THE FAMILY AND NEVER GOT A NOTICE FROM STARTEX. I EXPLAINED THE SITUATION WITH THE SUPERVISOR. THE SUPERVISOR/COMPANY WOULD NOT GIVE ME A BREAK. ”

“  I've been with Startex for a few years, and I have learned that they lack the competence to process 2 invoices (for 2 accounts I have) that I mailed them in their own envelope. They cashed the check but refused to apply the money to my accounts. Then they threatened to cut off my service if I didn't pay the amount due (of which the money had already been received, accepted and cashed!). I had to give them a credit card over the phone to stop my power from being cut off. I sent then a copy of the front and back of the cancelled check along with emails AND THEY STILL DIDN'T ALLOCATE THE FUNDS TO MY ACCOUNT PROPERLY.Customer service is a joke as these folks dont even know how StarTex does the billing, how they apply funds received and then they tell me the computer allocates the money a certain way when its received. Well, if that's the case, why the heck do they have a line below the amount due on the invoice where we the customer are asked to fill in how we want the check allocated ??????? This alone is mis-representation and another scam to squeeze WRONGFUL late charges out of you. Anyone out there know of a good lawyer to sue this company? I'm confident in a suit we can get their records of 1,000's of people they do this to all the time to add as additional plaintiffs. ”

“  I renewed with StarTex after my original contract ended and received a confirmation that my order was received. Three months later I figured out that my renewal had NOT gone through in spite of the confirmation I had received and that StarTex had been charging me much higher non contract rates. I had been overcharged several hundred dollars! It was an act of congress to get a refund! I will never do business with them again.
”

“  After the switch, this company is worth a flip! ”

“  Star Tex Piwer has claimed good customer service in the past. Now I would say that is in the past. They have over charged me. Representative's are rude and unhelpful. Forget about speaking to management. Be prepared to be labeled if you have problems with them. Labeled unfairly financially and with service. ”

“  I have been with your business for years and I recently talked to your representative before April 10th for locking in low rates. Your rep said it would be 8.6 per kwH. She told me I could not lock in this rate. My contract will end May 24th, 2013. I am only able to lock in the rates after April 10th. She also told me the rates go up and down. It sounds like I have to call in every day to find low rates. I called again after April 10th and the rep told me it is now 8.9. Four days ago I called again and now it is 9.3. They transferred me to another department and they would give me it at 9.0. I said I have to think about it. Sounds like I can never get it back at 8.6 when I first called in. Your rates looks like it always goes up, never down. I think this is a game trap. I don't appreciate your customer service. I spent a lot of time calling in and it's not going low just high. ”

“  After 6 years with Startex I to stopped getting bills after changing my contract. I spoke with customer unservice 6 times no help. They promised they would not send a past due or turn off my service and now they are doing both. I'm running as far as I can. If they try to hit me with a termination fee I will pay it the same way they send there bills, never. Stick it where the sun don't shine Startex. ”

“  I always had difficulty paying my bills due to lack of accessibility. My account was not accessible online to allow me to pay my bill more efficiently, despite my attempts to get this resolved, but it never was. The automated payment system would not recognize my account either, therefore I resorted to having to "hold for the next available customer service specialist" for at least half an hour "due to extremely high call volumes" to make my payments with a customer service representative each month. This was such a terrible experience! "At StarTex Power, customer service is our number one priority." ?? I would highly NOT recommend this company. ”