“ Spark Energy jacked-up my rate 53% after original 9 month term expired. Rate went from 9.5/kwh to 14.5/kwh plus Sparks added additional fees and charges. At time of expiration average 1 month terms were 10.3/kwh. I would have understood a slight increase to current month-to-month or variable rates, but Sparks didn't do that. I was billed at the 14.5/kwh plus extra fees for over 4 months until I recently changed to another supplier at 8.99/kwh + PUC tax, 12 month term, with NO ADDITIONAL Fees or Charges. I had no billing surprises with the new supplier.Shame on me for not seeing the end of term notice Spark Energy sent me. I feel Spark Energy took advantage of my mistake. Bottom line, Buyer Be Ware when dealing with Spark Energy. ”
“ Spark energy is a good electricity company! ”
“ I've had two separate contracts with Spark and find they deliver what they contract to. Never a bad billing, but you must deal online and by credit card, unless you have an occasional question via phone. Don't believe the price hype on how low they are without comparing. I quit them once and am about to do so again. ”
“ When I moved out of state, Spark would not honor our agreement and tried to charge a $200 termination fee. After 15 phone calls and 3 months wait, I got this fee removed. Months and months later, they still refuse to close my account. Is there any other reason for this then to try to charge me for something and hold my personal information? ”
“ THEY ARE PRETTY DECENT BUT CUSTOMER SERVICE SUXS !!! I WAS TRYNA GET IN TOUCH WITH SOMEONE AND NEVER GOT AN ANSWER JUST DANG MACHINES AND THAT MADE ME MAD ! ”
“ I have had a very good experience with Spark for several years, but noted that when my 12 month period was up (and they did notify me by email) that there was a new monthly service fee of $10 plus they had instituted the graded system. I have a pretty efficient house and rarely go over 1,000Kwh/mo. so will be penalized by higher rates/Kwh for trying to conserve energy. Too bad. Will have to look elsewhere. MR ”
“ I agree with previous post. Exact same thing happened to me. They did not notify me of contract about to expire - so I had 2 months of summer electricity bills to pay the automatic newly contracted rate that they just decided on. When I called to discuss, I was told that they "have no obligation to notify customers of contract expiration." DO NOT USE SPARK! ”
“ One thing I have liked about this company is that they value their customers. They provide a lower rate to their current customers. WOW what a concept. ”
“
I give them an A minus on order/billing/service. Thought i would be forever a loyal customer.
12 months later... now they have $8.99/month fee and rates are not competitive either. Had to find another company. ”
“
Solid way to save some money. Easy to sign up, no early termination fee.
Pretty good overall. ”
“ I came on here to look at reviews from real people about different energy companies. I have been with Spark for over a year. I've never had a problem with them, their service, or billing and they sent me a notice to renew my contract with them recently at an even better rate. I am moving into a new home and wanted to weigh all my options before going with Spark again. I would stay with them, but they have recently added a $8.99 monthly service charge if you don't use 1000kwh that month. I looked at last year's bill and I only go over that amount in the 2 hottest summer months. They said the other companies are charging this too, but I have yet to find it true. A few charge a $5 or $6 fee if you don't go over 500kwh, but not $9 for staying under 1000. I'm still on the fence because Spark does have good customer service and I've never had a problem until this little extra fee popped up. I don't think we should be punished for using LESS energy. ”
“
My complaint with Spark is that when my contract
expired, they didn't notify before or after so i
could renew at a favorable rate and therefore my
rate skyrocketed for several months before i
noticed. They should have notified me. Because of
this I will be leaving them after my next contract
expires. My wallet and my feelings were hurt. ”
“ I was a customer for 3 years and I renewed for another 3 years at 9.2 cents per kwh. But somehow they lost my renewal and started charging me 34 cents per kwh. I called and wrote them over and over and they told me I was screwed. They refused to give me a refund, so I found another company that is treating me like a human being now. ”
“
Can't say i've had any problems with spark... my
bill is about 10% cheaper now that i've switched
after deregulation ”
“
I switched to Spark and have begun my third contract. They are competitive but like many there pricing does not guarantee renewal. I will buy from another Company if it is 10% better.
Deregulation screwed consumers in Texas. ”
“ Although we have not had Spark Energy for the past 2 years because we switched provider with a lower rate. We were with them for 2 yrs. prior and never had a problem with receiving billing statements via mail at the time and the bill was paid via auto-pay. Switching to Spark Energy was not a problem either. We were very pleased with them when we parted. I would recommend Spark Energy, my son is still with them, and I referred him 4 years ago! Everyone, including businesses are prone to hardships in this economy. *A note to Spark Energy, there are way too many thumbs down for your company regarding customer service and billing departments. 1st impressions are everything. The "reception" I first receive when I call any office with a problem or question will define whether or not to continue doing business. Make the changes that are needed to give the customers the courtesy and professionalism that is expected and win back past customers and help to retain the one's you already have! ”
“ About to complete my second 12 mo. term with Spark. I'm on the avg. billing and email statements/charges have been like clockwork. However, online access to statements mysteriously stopped 6/10. I have however kept the download copy of the statement for my records. No bill for 12/10 has been sent by email either (charge to CC occurs the 8th of the following month). Phone contact was of no help and I've now sent an email inquiring as to my billing status. I'm tempted to change next month however ratings are better for this company than those other companies which I would consider. FYI, online information before signing up showed avg. billing availability. When I requested same I was told that it wasn't possible though contract terms said otherwise after three months. After pointing this out I was magically able to avg. bill. If this is a good company I don't know that I want to see a bad one. Never had issues with TXU, except for cost. ”
“
I'll have to admit that my bill has been a lot lower than with previous providers. However, these few dollars saved has not been worth it. My account was a pain from the start. They created duplicate accounts.
After a month of service, Spark charged me $175 for an early
termination fee. I did not cancel my power at all. It took them 1 month to refund the credit. This occurred again and it took another month to refund me the additional $175. They should not be canceling
someone's power without a formal confirmation.
Billing has been a huge pain. I have actual bills that show incorrect amounts, overcharging me. A rep had to call me to let me know.
The troubles don't stop. My gas just got cut off due to payment issues. Ironically, I just received an email confirmation the day before thanking me for my payment. I also checked my bank account and noticed that
Spark has taken money out. Hmmm. Payment issues?
If you try to call Customer Service after hours, you can't leave a voice
message. ”
“
I lived in a house and have used Sparks
for 1 year. The account set up was a bit
messed up at first, but I was able to
cancel the duplicated account eventually.
There has not been a problem as far as
billing is concerned. I have set up
automatic pay and so far my electricity
bill has been around $60 for winter, and
no more than $130 during summer. ”
“ Never had a problem with Spark for the past 3 years. Switch was easy. Billing/payments are automatic and easy to set-up. Never have needed to contact customer service. ”
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