Deposit Reviews

“  I switched to Source in April 2013. I was thrilled at the lower rate. Everything was fine until I got my first bill, which was due more than a week earlier than what I thought I had set up. I'm disabled. I do not receive my income until the 5th of the month. When I called them about it, they said they only give a 14 day time period to pay the bill. They never said that to me when I was signing up and discussing that I needed my billing due date to be the 5th of each month. It took a lot of haggling to get my original agreement implemented, and then they acted like they had really done me a big favor. So, that lasted from May to August billings, and when I go to pay my bill on the 5th, I discover I have a late fee for being past due.... because they have suddenly upped my due date to the 3rd of the month, without any notice. Then suddenly after 21 years of disability under the State of Texas, the state changes disability providers, and gives all of us on disability a 14 day notice of the change, and that our checks for the month of September will not be direct deposited, and will be reduced by as much as 75% of our disability income for the month. So I call all my creditors and are able to make arrangements with all of them for a delayed payment until the next month without any late payment fees or disconnections... all except Source. I have 21 major health problems and one of them is fatal. Source to this moment has refused to grant me an extension to my next due date, Oct. 3. They are at this moment cutting my electricity off as of September 22, 2013. I am a 63 year old woman who lives alone. This act of non-humanity in extenuating circumstance beyond my control is nothing short of evil. For a brand new company, their lack of simple humanness is incredulous. I will be changing back to Reliant, my former electric company of many years come April 2014 when my contract is up. With "customer service" like this, who needs it? You'd think a new company would have much better business savvy to not only attract customers with better rates, but actually be a top notch company in customer service to retain them. Basic law of life, if they don't treat you in a compassionate manner in business, they don't need your business. They will not be getting mine back. I have candles. What little food I have will ruin. At least I'll still be able to take hot baths... my water heater is gas... and my gas company told me on the first call and explanation of my predicament, "no problem, and we'll waiver a late fee". You could learn something from this Source. Otherwise, word will get around quickly about how lousy a company you are, low rates or not. ”

“  Luis knocked on my door, and asked to speak with an adult. I was not in the mood for sales people. I have to say I made him wait in the Hot Texas Sun for a good 10 minutes. When I stepped outside, Luis first identified himself as being a representative of Entrust Energy. He then told me that many companies overcharge for electricity, and he would like to see if his company could save me any money on my electric bill. My surly response was something along the lines of what are your kilowatt rates? He told me that he would like to compare the rates his company can offer me with what I am currently paying, and then asked if I had an electric bill he could use to show me. I told him I would have to look. I went back into my air conditioned house and, after about 10 minutes, I went back outside and told him that I did not have a copy of a bill that he could look at. He then asked me if I knew what my current rates were. I told him yes, but did not tell him what I was currently paying. He then pulled out a paper and explained that he could give me a certain kilowatt rate. This was based on a certain amount of useage, was a two year fixed rate, the contract would include a 300 dollar early termination fee if I chose to leave before the contractual agreement date. He then explained that the TOD rate would be billed at the TOD rate with no up charge from entrust. He explained that if taxes went up or down that would affect my bill as well as a couple of other things like that. He also showed me rates that were based on lower amounts of useage. I asked if I had a power outage or anything like that who would I contact...entrust or tnp? We discussed that in some detail because some things would go through entrust and others through tnp. He also told me that I would be given an emergency number to call if anything happened outside of normal business hours. I then asked him how much of a deposit I would have to pay. He asked if my service had been disconnected for nonpayment in the last 6 months. I said no, but my credit score is not the best. He said that he could not tell me about the deposit. He would have to call the office, they would need to verify certain information (which he also explained), and then they would ask for my permission to run a credit check. He said he believed it was a utility credit check. He then told me that it would take about 5 to 10 minutes, and if Entrust wanted me to pay a deposit just to tell the lady I wasn't interested. He said if you are already with one electric company, and you are basically satisfied, and another wanted you to pay a large deposit then they weren't really saving you money. He did tell me that he had already visited with some other people in the area, and a few of them were told they would have to pay a deposit. I said I am not interested in any type of deposits. He then told me again that he had no way of knowing himself if a deposit would be required, but if I was willing to let him make that call we could find out. I said go ahead, but I don't expect much. TXU had been by not that long ago and had wanted a huge deposit. He made the call. The young lady called me on my phone to verify my number. She had me verify some information, and ran the check. She told me that I qualified for NO deposit. She explained that if I agreed to switch to entrust, they could email me the full contract, my rights, etc. She also asked if I understood that I could cancel my request within three federal business days with no penalties. I agreed. Luis then gave me some paperwork that contained his personal cell phone number in case I had any questions or concerns that he could help me with or that he could at least get me to the right person to help me. He told me that there was also a referral program that could save me a little more on my bill if I knew of anyone else that I thought they could help save money. This was very well presented and not pushy at all. It came across as just more information that he wanted me to be aware of. He did not go into detail about it, but did tell me it would be in the papers that they emailed to me. He then told me that he had no way of knowing if we would qualify or not, but there was another program that works with all electric companies in Texas that I could look into and apply for if I wanted. He gave me the information to contact them at my discretion. I write this review because I have seen many reviews on here that talked about the salesman trying to "police" the area, trying to trick people into switching companies without realizing what they were doing, and basically just trying to fleece people. My salesman's name was Luis. He was met by a surly skeptic. He was hot, made to wait in the hot sun and get hotter, he was honest, and explained in detail what his company had to offer. He could not compare bill to bill, or apples to apples as we say around here, because I did not provide him with my current information. He never disrespected any other electric company. He very simply and clearly explained what his company could do for me. If he did not know the answer to a question I had, he told me so. Then offered to make a phone call and find out for me. He offered to wait if I wanted to research his company and read online reviews. He left my home with a cold drink and a sale. ”

“  What I dont understand is why when your plan expires they jack up the rate per kWh. Every provider Ive had does it including Ambit. What about customer loyalty? Doesnt matter - its all about hail to the ol mighty dollar. Was an Ambit customer for 2+years and paid late a few times because the bill was so high I couldnt afford it. They charge enormous late fees and will disconnect your service at the drop of a hat then demand the bill + deposit of $400 or greater. I had to pay over $600 to get it reconnected. They turned it off during the summer here in Texas and I have children in my home. I dont think that deregulation should mean deregulating completely. The fees they charge usurious and she be banned. I dont think I save any more money now then I did when TXU was the only provider. I think the whole electricity industry is running a racket. ”