Direct Energy is one of the largest providers of energy and energy-related services in North America. With customers in all 50 states, 10 Canadian provinces, and Washington, D.C. Direct Energy has also shown to be a progressive company, developing new plans, products and technology that deliver consumer insights and resources to help them save money. The Nest Learning Thermostat, Plenti and their personalized Online Account Manager are all tools that Direct Energy puts in the hands of their customers to use less energy. They're also very progressive, with active social communities on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest that help them stay in contact with their customers.
“
This company is the worst service provider I have ever experienced. People should stay away from this company. ”
— Zack
July 29th, 2020
Hi Zack, we would like to extend to you our most sincere apologies regarding your recent experience with us. We would love to investigate this further and find the best solution for your case. Please engage with our Live Chat agent from www.directenergy.com It will be a pleasure to help you, and we look forward to hearing from you! Emma / Digital Care
Billing and Account Management
Customer Service
How likely are you to recommend
Order Experience
Price, Plans and Promotions
(1 / 5)
I hope I have not been scammed.
(1 / 5)
“
Do you have salesman to come to sign you up. Because last evening a young man came with no ID, but and I pad with direct energy logo on it and I signed up after I got a call and answered questions to confer that I was the person on the bill. I was not on my Ps and Qs. Please tell me I was not scammed? ”
— Regenia J Dunnings
July 22nd, 2020
Hi Regenia, we take all concerns raised about our sales practices very seriously and require that all our vendors ensure every agent is compliant with our policies and requests made by the owner of the home that they are visiting. Furthermore, each representative is required to clearly identify themselves as being with Direct Energy and not the local utility, both verbally and by wearing the appropriate badging and uniform. We do not tolerate aggressive or forceful behavior from our employees. The Door-to-Door sales agents are employed by vendors that we partner with. If the Vendor training is the opposite of our training, we certainly need to know so that we can investigate their actions and take proper action. If possible, please provide the Agent Name, Employee ID, or physical description of the representative that came to your door. Also, if you would like, we can add your address to our internal Do Not Knock list to prevent any future solicitation.
Please feel free to contact us at 1-888-305-3828, Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. CST and Saturday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. CST, or engage with our Live Chat agent from www.directenergy.com It will be a pleasure to help you, and we look forward to hearing from you! - Emma / Digital Care
Billing and Account Management
Customer Service
How likely are you to recommend
Order Experience
Price, Plans and Promotions
(1 / 5)
Pissed parent
(1 / 5)
“
To start off my story , my son going back to Tarleton for the 2020 fall. Since he's living off campus, I was getting prices on electricity rates , my first call was Direct electricity, all I wanted to know how much a kilowatt was and plans, well let me tell you the young man that answer was so rude and obnoxious , Well not to argue. I calmy hang up. Scratched them off my list, ever since they been trying to contact me. Sorry direct energy were taking are business somewhere else. College parents do your research on electricity company, TXU energy was our choice. There customer service was beyond exceptional, answered all my questions with out any attitude. ”
— Dad
July 22nd, 2020
Good afternoon, Dad. We are truly sorry to hear that the experience you had with our Customer Care Team was anything less than outstanding. We always strive to provide excellent customer experience and apologize if we missed the mark. We totally hate to know that we have lost you as a part of our family. If you ever have further questions please do not hesitate to connect with our Facebook or Twitter team, or you can also contact us by phone or through a Live Chat agent. We hope to see you as a member of the Direct Energy family again in the future. Best wishes to you and your family! - Camila / Digital Care
Billing and Account Management
Customer Service
How likely are you to recommend
Order Experience
Price, Plans and Promotions
(1 / 5)
HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE
(1 / 5)
“
Using this energy company was a complete NIGHTMARE. Buyer beware.. They were charging me $300 a month and I live in an apartment. If you pay your bill the day it is due, they will not post the payment for 2 days causing you to the go past due so they can tack on fees and shut your electricity off even tho you've paid and then charge a reconnection fee. Customer service was a nightmare and will not work worth you and speaking with a supervisor was a joke. I could not wait to get out from under Direct Energy and have since been using another company that I am completely happy with. Direct Energy should be shut down for bad business practices... ”
— Rusty
June 15th, 2020
Hi Rusty, we want to start off by sincerely apologizing for your negative experience with our company. If there is anything we can do to assist with this claim, or any outstanding questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. We have a Live Chat portal https://www.hwahomewarranty.com/ and Social Media team https://www.facebook.com/HWAHomeWarranty available Monday through Friday from 8:00 am 5:00 pm CST available to help! We look forward to hearing from you and getting your claim to a resolved status. Thank you and have a great day! Emma / HWA Digital Care
Billing and Account Management
Customer Service
How likely are you to recommend
Order Experience
Price, Plans and Promotions
(1 / 5)
A complete waste of time
(1 / 5)
“
This was one of the most frustrating experiences I have ever had in regards to dealing with a utilities provider. It began when I tried to sign a 4 month contract for electricity from their website. The website could not process the order and I was given a phone call from a representative shortly afterwards. I had a very hard time understanding the rep. Just before the last confirmation to complete the order was given, I asked if the contract I was signing was the 4 month contract. It turns out the rep. was trying to get me to sign a 15 month contract, even though I never stated that I needed electricity for 15 months. The rep. ASSUMED I would be okay with signing a 15 month contract when I initially signed for a 4 month contract. After trying to explain that I only needed 4 months of electricity because, that's how long I was going to be leasing my new apartment, the rep. continued to attempt to convince me the 15 month plan would be better. I ended the phone call, letting her know that I would try the website again. Later I signed up for month to month electricity from their website, but was never given an email confirmation. I called that Monday asking why I was not given an email confirmation and was told that it was because I had signed up for the plan on the weekend and that it would take a couple of days for the email with my account information to be sent out. I was also given confirmation that the order for the electricity was approved and that the electricity would be installed on the required date. ( I needed the electricity installed a very particular date because the apartment complex I was moving into required the electricity to be installed before I could move in. The day before I planned on moving into my new apartment, I gave Direct Energy another call to make sure that the electricity was going to be installed so that I could move into my apartment. I was given complete confirmation from a customer service representative that the electricity was approved to be installed on the requested date and I was also given my account number. I later tried to sign in to my account with my account number, only to find the account number was for a completely different person. I called back and was told by the same rep. that gave me the account number that I was not going to have an account with the company because I was on the month to month plan. This was fine as long as the electricity was going to be installed on the requested date. The day of move in, I called Direct Energy asking for the email confirmation with the confirmed date and address for the installation and was told that my order HAD NEVER BEEN PROCESSED. After having 2 confirmations that the electricity was going to be installed, I was being told that it was never installed. They suggested that I try to order electricity from their website again so that they could install the electricity that same day, but when I went went through the order process on their website, it could not process the order as before. It was then that I decided to go with Champion Energy and was able to have electricity scheduled to be installed that very day within minutes. In conclusion, it was a very stressful and frustrating experience dealing with Direct Energy and I hope I never go through it again. ”
— Anonymous
May 16th, 2020
Good afternoon. We are terribly sorry for the situation you had to go through. We would love to have the opportunity to take a deeper look into this and to further escalate the issue if needed. Please, we ask that you connect with our Facebook or Twitter team or you can also reach us by phone or through our Live Chat department, we will do our best to give the follow-up needed and to find the reason why this happened. We look forward to hearing from you soon. - Camila / Digital Care
Billing and Account Management
Customer Service
How likely are you to recommend
Order Experience
Price, Plans and Promotions
(1 / 5)
Don't choose this worse company
(1 / 5)
“
The worse company ever!!!!! I called them, let them know I want to have my contract starts next month with them , I told the agent like 5 times !!!!!!! What they did? They just started the same Day I called. It left me with the cancellation fee with my own provider. I called back DE! Guess what? It went on answering coz they do not have 24/7 customer service. Then I called my own provider and make my new contract with them and let them know how stupid is DE. The other day, I only wanted to give them another chance so I direct DE here on FB and let them know do not sent me any sort of welcome package. They told me disregard it please. And guess what happened yesterday, they sent me a bill Can't believe they are this much mess ”
— Worse company
March 26th, 2020
Good afternoon, Mona.Jam1988. We regret that your request for service was not actioned as you intended. We were able to reach out to our Social Media group to verify that this situation was escalated and taken care of via that channel. We apologize for the additional steps you had to take in order for this matter to be rectified. If there are still any outstanding questions or concerns that we may answer for you, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our Social Media channel is always available for support as well as our Live Chat team https://www.directenergy.com/. Thank you. - Megan / Digital Care
Billing and Account Management
Customer Service
How likely are you to recommend
Order Experience
Price, Plans and Promotions
(1 / 5)
Rip off
(1 / 5)
“
I have been stupid to be with them for so many years. When I realized that my electric bills have been charge triple, I call to cancel but I still have to wait for 2 more billing cycles. Stay away. ”
— Thanh Nguyen
March 1st, 2020
Hello Thanh. We regret to have lost you as our customer. With us acting as a third party supplier for your energy service, we work with your utility company to close the supply service account. We do not have control over your utility company's billing and follow in accordance to their timelines for transitions. Unfortunately, Direct Energy does not have the opportunity to close accounts ourselves, so we are unable to speed the process of closure along. To determine whether this cancellation could be expedited, we recommend connecting with your utility company directly to see if they can action your request. Thank you for your understanding and patience. We wish you the best. - Eleanor / Digital Care
Billing and Account Management
Customer Service
How likely are you to recommend
Order Experience
Price, Plans and Promotions
(1 / 5)
Thieves
(1 / 5)
“
Direct Energy is charging me $.93/ccf. Since realizing this I've set my account to cancel. Of course, in their favor, it takes 1 to 2 billing cycles to actually cancel. In the meantime they have declined to reduce my rate from this astronomical charge. The rate of my new supplier is $.21/ccf. Lesson learned. Never switch to these crooks! ”
— Seth
February 28th, 2020
Hi Seth. We regret to see that our service agreement ended on a negative note. With us acting as a third party supplier for your energy service, we work with your utility company to close supply service accounts. We do not have control over your utility company's billing and must follow in accordance to their timelines for activations/disconnections. Unfortunately, Direct Energy does not have the opportunity to close accounts ourselves, so we are unable to speed the process of closure along. To determine whether this cancellation could be expedited, we recommend connecting with your utility company directly to see if they can action your request. Thank you for your patience and understanding. We wish you and your family the best. - Megan / Digital Care
Billing and Account Management
Customer Service
How likely are you to recommend
Order Experience
Price, Plans and Promotions
(1 / 5)
beware of price gouging!
(1 / 5)
“
My gas rate DOUBLED from January to February. I called to ask why and they said that my fixed rate plan ended and I was on a variable rate. Also, they would not do anything about it because I decided to switch to another supplier. I can understand a rate increase, but doubling the rate is clearly an attempt to gouge money from me because I decided to change suppliers. Criminal. ”
— ccb
February 27th, 2020
Good afternoon. I apologize for any miscommunication regarding our attempts to offer support at the time of this interaction. Unfortunately, as we are a third party supplier, we do not have the ability to interject into the utility company's billing system. For active customers, we have more flexibility to work with them as we can contribute to some portion of the bill. That being said, we wish there was more we could have done for you and your family when you needed the support the most. If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us through our Live Chat portal: https://www.directenergy.com/. We wish you and yours the best. - Megan / Digital Care
Billing and Account Management
Customer Service
How likely are you to recommend
Order Experience
Price, Plans and Promotions
(1 / 5)
No sign of them on my bill yet
(1 / 5)
“
No sign of them on my bill yet ”
— No sign
February 21st, 2020
Good afternoon. We are just as eager to become your new supplier! As we are working as a third party supplier with your current utility company, we are on their timeline of when our services are able to officially begin. Typically, this transition can take 1 - 2 billing cycles. If there is anything we can do to assist with your DE account, or any outstanding questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. We have a Live Chat portal that is open Monday through Friday from 8:00am - 5:00pm CST through our website: https://www.directenergy.com/. Have a great day. - Megan / Digital Care
Billing and Account Management
Customer Service
How likely are you to recommend
Order Experience
Price, Plans and Promotions
(1 / 5)
Fraudulent billing
(1 / 5)
“
I was a direct energy customer for about 2 years, in which i closed my account in great standing not owing any balances. I wanted to use direct energy again for my electric provider, so i reached out to them. Of course the did the total new customer setup with running your SSN, for a soft credit check. The customer service rep, set me up with service gave me the same account number that i previously had and told me when me service would be active. A few days after i received a call that i owed more money. So with all this said, STAY AWAY FROM DIRECT ENERGY. Customer service is rude and unaware of correct information. They tried to hold me accountable for a bill that i paid in full. ”
— Real writer
February 11th, 2020
Hi Real Writer. Given the situation you described, we can imagine how frustrating it was going through this situation of coming back into our services. There certainly appears to have been a break down in communication regarding the closure of your initial account. We are happy to take a deeper look into this for you to determine where this break was and offer some clarity. Please reach out to our Digital team through our Live Chat portal: https://www.directenergy.com/ to continue with opening this investigation. Thank you. - Eleanor / Digital Care
Billing and Account Management
Customer Service
How likely are you to recommend
Order Experience
Price, Plans and Promotions
(1 / 5)
Rip off
(1 / 5)
“
They were fine until the contract was up. Decided not to renew when I realized customer service was in South America. When I got my last bill with them they put the energy charge way up. It increase about one third. ”
— Cynthia Adams
February 3rd, 2020
Hi Cynthia. We can understand your concern with the final invoice that was priced based on a non-contract rate. Our system will automatically transition accounts that have expired contracts to non-contract pricing to ensure there is no interruption of service. Under our variable rate pricing, the rate we set each month is based on the company evaluation of market conditions. Market conditions the company may consider include: the prevailing price of electricity on the market, costs involved in moving the electricity from the producer to the utility, our total acquisition costs for the electricity, and the prevailing rates offered by the utility and other competitors. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your closed DE account, please do not hesitate to reach out to us through Social Media https://www.facebook.com/directenergy/ or Live Chat https://www.directenergy.com/. We hope you have a great day and stay safe out there. - Eleanor / Digital Care
Billing and Account Management
Customer Service
How likely are you to recommend
Order Experience
Price, Plans and Promotions
(1 / 5)
Scam Artists and illegal trade practices
(1 / 5)
“
I am a former direct energy rep. I used to work for a company called Trust Energy in Calgary . I was told by the trainer and supervisor, Robin and Matt to hide the truth from the customers . I was asked to to fake the electricity and gas price to elderly people and newly landed immigrants as they are not aware of the energy market . The price is not fixed and it will go up in two months. They lock you in a contract and you if you wish to opt out later it's costs to you $4000 to get out of the contract and eventually messing up your credit.I quit the job because I couldn't lie to the customers anymore.
Avoid this company like plague. They lock you on a contract at a higher price. They provide you free electricity and gas for two months and then triple the price for the next five years.
Wish I never worked here as this company has a bad name and the trainers and supervisors asked me to lie and hide the truth. ”
— Scam Artists and illegal trade practices
October 30th, 2019
Hello. I apologize for any miscommunication, but we are not affiliated with Trust Energy. At this time we would recommend you connecting directly with this company to address these present concerns and allow them the opportunity to conduct an internal investigation. Thank you. - Eleanor / Digital Care
Billing and Account Management
Customer Service
How likely are you to recommend
Order Experience
Price, Plans and Promotions
(1 / 5)
Terrible customer service
(1 / 5)
“
The reps hang up in your face. I mean it's like it's a practice for this company. It is crazy. All of them have created a habit of just hanging up in your face. ”
— Mesha
October 8th, 2019
Good afternoon, Mesha. It is very disappointing to hear that your call was disconnected, as that is certainly not the way we train our teams to conduct business. Please accept our sincere apologies, as well. If you would prefer to connect with a Live Chat agent, you can certainly do that by visiting our website at www.directenergy.com. Thank you for providing this feedback, Mesha, and we look forward to our next opportunity to serve you. Have a great weekend!
Billing and Account Management
Customer Service
How likely are you to recommend
Order Experience
Price, Plans and Promotions
(1 / 5)
Do not use this company!
(1 / 5)
“
Over 30 minutes hold time to speak with customer service and they do not offer recommendations for issue resolution! On line bill pay account is always locked and unable to process or submit payment! ”
— Disappointed customer!
September 27th, 2019
We are sorry to hear that your experience was less than outstanding. Keep in mind if you have trouble getting through on the phone, you can connect with one of our Live Chat agents from our website at www.directenergy.com. Thank you for the feedback regarding the website; if your account is locked out, we can certainly assist with getting that resolved for you. Thank you for the review, and we hope you enjoy your holiday season!
Billing and Account Management
Customer Service
How likely are you to recommend
Order Experience
Price, Plans and Promotions
(1 / 5)
Grifters
(1 / 5)
“
In the month of August I was gone from the 7th to the 25th, received a bill for $108. and some change, my previous bill for the entire month was $111. and some change. When I left I turned off the air conditioner, not even a fan was on. So how do I end up with a bill that high. Told the csr that I was not home when I noticed the high usage and I wasn't home. I will not recommend this company to anyone. If I could give this company zero stars that would be my rating. Csr's are sometimes hard to understand, poor English. To ensure that I will not have to pay for early termination fee, I'm moving to an all bills paid apartment. People be ware of these people. ”
— Janice Williams
September 14th, 2019
Hello, Janice. We are sorry to see that your experience thus far has been less than outstanding, and that it has caused you frustration. We agree that the scenario you described in the review doesn't really add up, and we would like to take a closer look with you and see if we can get things resolved. We were unable to locate your account with the limited amount of information provided in the review; if you would like to have us take another look at the account, please engage with one of our Live Chat agents via www.directenergy.com, Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. CST. Or, if you prefer, email us directly at dedigitalcare@directenergy.com. Thank you, Janice, and we hope to hear from you!
Billing and Account Management
Customer Service
How likely are you to recommend
Order Experience
Price, Plans and Promotions
(1 / 5)
Solicitation
(1 / 5)
“
I had a representative stop by my house today wanted me to change my gas and electric plans to direct energy I asked for more information and contact info upon doing this the solicitor became angry and stormed off and told me to enjoy my variable rates great business model direct energy send solicitors out around dinner time and have them tell off possible customers ”
— Matt
September 12th, 2019
Hi Matt, and thank you for letting us know about the experience you had today. This is clearly not the behavior we would expect from our door to door personnel, or any other employee, for that matter. We are sorry that you were treated disrespectfully, and appreciate you taking to alert us to the situation. Thank you, Matt, and have a great night.
Billing and Account Management
Customer Service
How likely are you to recommend
Order Experience
Price, Plans and Promotions
(1 / 5)
0- HORRIBLE SERVICE & COMPANY
(1 / 5)
“
0- HORRIBLE!!!! STAY AWAY, they are a RIP OFF and they LIE!!!would give it a 0 but can't it just let me give it a 1 My bill is so high and no one is at home from 7am -6pm and supposedly my day time usage and free night time are almost the same that's bull can't understand that my thermostat is set @ 82 while no one is at home and @78 after 6pm while at home There costs for kWH are not true. Barley switch and the bill scared me off wish I hadn't switch with them thinking they had a good deal, NOT!!!! Called customer service and they just wanna switch you plans ”
— Martaarechiga60@gmail.com
September 11th, 2019
Good afternoon. We hate to hear that your bill was higher than you had anticipated, and can certainly understand the frustration that goes along with the situation. Our intention is always to operate in a truthful and transparent manner, so we take any suggestion of lying or misleading our customers very seriously. We were not able to locate your account based on the limited information connected to the review, so we would ask for you to contact us directly with your information. We are happy to look into this with you and see if we can clear up any outstanding questions or concerns. We would also like to review the account and your usage, to ensure that you are on the plan that best suits your needs. Please contact our Customer Service Department toll free at 1-866-348-4193, Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. CST and Saturday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. CST. You may also engage with one of our Live Chat agents via www.directenergy.com if you prefer. Chat agents are available Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. CST. Thank you, and we look forward to hearing from you.
Billing and Account Management
Customer Service
How likely are you to recommend
Order Experience
Price, Plans and Promotions
(1 / 5)
False advertisement
(1 / 5)
“
The free nights are not free. Do not fall for this at all. My bill has never been over $250 and now its over $400. I asked to why and I was told it was because the free nights are double the amount of what a regular price is. The direct energy agent was the one that did the figuring and could not explain why it was different and would not adjust it or let me speak to a supervisor. ”
— Keith
July 27th, 2019
Hi Keith,
We certainly would like to apologize for any confusion regarding your rate plan. With your current rate plan, your daily free usage period is 9pm to 859am CST and you are charged for usage from 9am to 859pm CST. Regarding your monthly invoice, you receive a charge for the total usage as well as receive a credit for the free usage period. Here is a link to assist with reducing your electricity usage: https://www.directenergy.com/learning-center/energy-efficiency Should you wish to discuss alternative rate plans with a lower energy charge, please feel free to reach out to us by phone or live chat.
Billing and Account Management
Customer Service
How likely are you to recommend
Order Experience
Price, Plans and Promotions
(1 / 5)
Took over foe Bounce
(1 / 5)
“
Horrible C S unit. Couldnt answer any questions about the transfer they initiated due to buy out! Chat service is slow and poor. Basic account questions couldnt be answered. ”
— AO
July 23rd, 2019
We sincerely apologize for the experience, and we want to make sure that all your concerns are addressed. If you have further questions, please let us know by sending them to dedigitalcare@directenergy.com with your full name, service address and account number. We look forward to hearing from you!
