Gexa Energy

This ridiculous company hikes rates almost every month. A year ago when electricity was much more expensive, I was paying the avg. 0.12 - 0.14 cents per kilowatt hour. That was of course b/c I just joined and was on a month to month contract. It kept being raised until I finally canceled it when it reached 0.20 per kWh (which equates to about an extra $100), mind you, while electric and oil prices have dropped by about 75%. Not to mention, I get a late fee almost every month b/c you have esentially 2 days to mail in your payment once you receive it. You have to allow 5 business days for processing + 3 days for delivery, and you don't even have a normal 30 days to pay it. You have 19. What a joke of a company, complete thieves and they know, which is why it's next to impossible to get someone on the phone.

Gexa Energy is engaged in deceptive trade practices relating to it's rates. Customers are being overcharged by as much as double without their knowledge. Gexa Energy should be fined and/or forced to reimburse customers who are not under contract. Gexa willfully failed to inform their customers of better rates available. They claim that they state any rate increase on their monthly bills BUT they fail (withhold) to inform customers of a LOWER RATE available on the same bill! They do send out a annual notice, but it has nothing to do with rates throughout the year. This MUST stop -- it's price gouging and competely unacceptable for a company to get away with.

I have been price gouged by Gexa Energy. I received my most monthly recent electric bill from Gexa to the tune of $789.77 . I live in a 1600 square foot, 2 bedroom condo. Bear in mind that this bill does include $60.46 worth on disconnection and reconnection fees from the month before when I paid my bill online and paid what was showing as current charges. When I called about this they told me that I had underpid my bill by $.50. FIFTY Cents.? I asked how that could be possible since I paid online and paid what was showing as current charges. They received my payment over a week before dis-connecting my power. They said it was done becuase they had mailed a dis-connection notice and I underpaid by the fifty cents mentioned above. WHAT A SCAM! They did come and reconnect the power the same day, hence the $60.46 in the disconnect and reconnect charges.
Now to the $789.00 current bill. Take away the $60.46 charges and I'm looking at $729.31 in a one month electric bill. I called to check on why this was so very high. Prior two month bills were $477.00 and 471.00. and some change. When I called to find out why the bill was so high the representative told me that we would have to have the meter read at a charge to me of $6.00. I agreed since I couldn't imagine why the bill would have increased so much. At this time the representative told me that my contract had expired and my rate could go up. GO UP? To what, pray tell? Then she informed that she could lock me into a much lower rate if I agree to another 6 month or annual contract. i agreed to a new annual contract.

Now here is where it gets good. I was informed via email that the meter reading was corrrect and that the $789.77 bill was valid and needed to be paid right away. I then received another email from a rpresentative asking me to contact him to make payment arrangements on my now past due account. When I called him this is when I found out . The reason the bill was so high was because since my contact expired they raised my rate from 11 something to 13 something per kWh. Evidently I didn't notice that increase so they raised it again to 14 somthing per kWh. Again I didn't notice that increase. So now they're thinking...We got away with the phony fifty cent underpayment and disconnection scam and the rate hikes...Let's really go for the kill. They arbitrarily rased my rate to 21.3 kWh resulting in the $789.77 one month electric bill for a 1600 square foot condo. The service representative on the phone, Gerard went on to inform me that I could agree to a new contract and lower that rate. I informed him that I had done so when I had asked for the meter to be read a week to to 10 days prior. Although the lady I spoke to that day neglected to tell me that they had aleady raised my rate from 14 something per kWh to the 21.3 and that was why the bill was so high. I agreed to have the meter read and agreed to a nwe annual contract. What a sucker! I then asked for soem type of payment arrangement asking to pay this outrageous $789.77payment over a few months time. Gerard informed me that the lady I spoke before to to have the meter read was the one I had to make payment arrangements with. Now that they had issued a disconnection order for March 5th, there was really nothing he could do. I explained that I asked the lady I previously spoke to about that very thing, a payment plan in the event that the bill was correct, and she stated that we could not make the arrangements until we know if the bill was correct. Made sense to me at the time. So Gerard then graciously agreed to let me pay half the bill today 2/27/09 aand as long as the remaining balance was paid by March 5th before 2:00 they will not disconnect my power. Again I say...WHAT A SCAM. THEY ARE COMMITTING HIGHWAY ROBBERY AND HOLDING CUSTOMERS HOSTAGE. Thank you Gerard and Gexa. I don't know how you can sleep at night.

We were referred to Gexa by a friend who thought they were wonderful. When we signed up with them in June or July of 05 we asked for automatic bill deduction. We were told no problem, as for today August 06 so bills were late and we were even shut off a time or two.

My biggest complaint comes from the fact that they estimated our bill for a year then slapped us with a THREE THOUSAND DOLLAR PLUS bill for the make up. We called and at first their story was that TXU had estimated it for a year so they didn't know until their bill came in. So we called TXU and they said in their policy that they can't estimate a bill for more than six months. So we were lied to and almost disconnected because we did not have three thousand dollars to pay. We ended up having it broken up into four payments of almost a thousand dollars each month which is KILLING us as we have a new baby. To this day we have fighting them about late fees and such because we are doing payments instead of paying all that right away. We also still get disconnection notices and have to call about them each month. I have never had such a problem with ANY company. We had to skip a house payment over this.

I received the a bill at the highest rate for electricity from Gexa following Hurrican Ike that I have ever received. Worse still, natural gas prices have been coming down since June 2008 and are at a 5 year low when Gexa charged me their highest rate. I know why too - see www.gexa-gouges.com I am completely pissed off. How can a company become part of our community gouging customers like this? See www.gexa-gouges.com I have spent several days researching and I do not see any reason why Gexa is not subject to gouging laws like any other retail company. In particular, Gov Perry made it clear that gouging would not be tollerated in counties declaired disasters. I live in Harris county and got gouged by Gexa. My Nov bill last year about $445. This year, same company, just under $1000. I'm so mad I decided to make it my cause. See www.gexa-gouges.com

I've had enough. I'm fighting back. www.gexa-gouges.com

All I want is a business that does their job, charges a fair and competitive price, and does not have to be watch dogged to make sure they are not setting up and exploiting you.

I got gouged by them as well - over $0.21 per KWH last month when natural gas was at a 5 year low! I had a month to month plan expecting gas prices to drop (which they did big time) and electricity to follow. Gas did, Gexa Energy did not! There resoning - "You should have signed up for a fixed rate term contract". let's see... why would they be pushing me toward a fixed contract at a time when prices are freefalling? I'll bet it has something to do with future profits. Do you think? Last December my bill was $493. This year $1005 and last year I used MORE electricity!

They are perfectly willing to setup and exploit their customers. After many calls I've decided the only way to combat a predatory retail organization is through consumer activisim. I've documented my position at www.gexa-gouges.com

What a total Scam. Im on the rate to rate plan, and paying 100% more than their competitors. When i inquired for them to justify the rate increases i have received, they gave me the run around and referred me to their terms sheet. What a total scam. The executives of this company should be ashamed of themselves. Not sure how they can sleep at night ripping off consumers. FP&L bought them several yrs ago, i had better expectations of them.

GEXA ENERGY is a very poor company and the customer service staff are robots trained to repeat the same information. Unfortunately the main goal of Gexa is to bilch you out of as much as possible. After making an agreement for a payment plan a representative called to tell me it was all off and the plan should not have been made. What poor business practices. If you make a mistake you eat it. The first customer service rep. I talked too was not knowledgeable and left me on the line for an infinite number of minutes while I was waiting for a supervisor who never got on the line. I hung up. Called back got another rep. male this time nicer but still a robot.

Gexa was at fault but one can tell these drones sit in a booth with a computer screen repeating what they are programmed to say regardless of the situation. NO PERSONAL SERVICE AVAILABLE HERE!

Gexa comes on with an offer of low kilowatt hours but goes up immediately. BEWARE!

After being with Gexa 4 years I am actively seeking another company who at least has some real human beings on the other side of the phone. I do plan to report all details to the better Business Bureau as well as rhe Public Utilities Comission [protected].

I can't go into all the details of my dissatisfaction but GEXA IS A PUBLIC UTILITY NIGHTMARE! The business practices are so poor its incredible!

Gexa Corporate Office
20 Greenway Plaza, Suite 600
Houston, Texas 77046

I wonder if corporate really understands what their customers experience. I doubt it and I will see if they really care. I doubt it. Just another GREEDY CORPORATION like the MADoff's of the world.

Don't bother to call customer service. You'll see if you call they all repeat the same script.

It's a shame all these power companies and customers still are victims of a system that fails to monitor these utility crooks!

STAY AWAY FROM GEXA! You've been warned they are deathly!

Signed up with Gexa because they had a very low energy/electricity rate. After a few months of service the rate continued to soar for no reason. Natural Gas and oil prices (major factor in electricity pricing) are way down yet my energy price continues to rise. I am now at 21 cents a kilowatt hour a full 10 cents above a normal rate. I call and they say it is due to the hurrican? What I can change to any other company and pay almost half - so I did. Gexa is a rip off stay away from this company. Not only do they steal your money it takes FOREVER to get ahold of anyone at the company.

After paying my electric bill online, apparently Gexa didn't receive my payment. However, instead of notifying me, they just turned OFF my electricity. I didn't find out that the payment wasn't received until I was in the dark! A notice was received the day after the due date, stating that payment was late, but nothing else was ever sent, so a month later, my lights were turned off. I had just made a new payment earlier that day, assuming that all was well! Now it's costing me money to get it back on, plus could take up to 48 Hours at that! Extremely upset is an understatement. What company turns off power with no notice? They even had my email. No email, no letter, no NOTHING!

Gexa Energy seems to lure customers in with substantially reduced rates but once the contract expires the rates jump substantially. Our area was devastated by Hurricane Ike and when our rates went up we assumed it was a one time adjustment because meter readers were unavailable for the month and so energy companies estimated usage from prior months. When it stayed high we finally took a closer look at the bill. Gexa jumped us up from paying around 14-17 cents per kilowatt hour to 21.03 cents. The fault was ours for not paying close enough attention but their ability to jump charges that high without informing customers is a shame.

Our advice: Watch your bills like a hawk and don’t be afraid to jump ship as soon as those rates start climbing higher than the competition.

One more complaint is with their service department – don’t expect to get a service representative that is knowledgeable or pleasant. Gexa does allow you to call in each month to negotiate a lower amount but of course, they don’t publicize that. If you use them on a fixed rate contract switch as soon as your contract has expired. Maybe the company will get the message and stop their bait and switch activities.

GEXA ENERGY ENGAGES IN UNETHICAL BILLING PRACTICES. They have increased my rates SIXTY TWO PERCENT in 3 months, right after promising me the lowest rate in the market! In addition, I have been charged unwarranted late fees repeately on my bills, all while my bills were paid timely.

The details: First, they promised a 13 cent per Kwh rate when I signed up. Their ads they give you the impression that they are the cheapest provider in the market. Of course I signed up in response to the ads. Once I did they proceded to increase my rate more than 62% in 3 quick months! My electric bill at my condo had never been higher than $300, ever... even earlier this year with another provider. Once I went with Gexa, I saw my rate increase to MORE THAN $8OO PER MONTH! For a condo! That's absolutely ABSURD.

Meanwhile, they set up their billing so that it's nearly impossible to pay on time if you pay by check. I never use auto pay services with any vendors because to do so is giving others the keys to your checking account or credit card. However, I pay all of my bills on time with a check. Most vendors give you 30 days from their billing date to pay and be considered timely. This is common business practice and is logical. Gexa's trick is that they only give you 17 DAYS from their statement date TO PAY! You don't have time to get them your check on time.

The key here is that it's from their STATEMENT DATE. The meter is running before the bill ever leaves their office, and they give you an unprecedently short period of time thereafter to pay. By the time they mail you your statement, you receive it at your mailbox, then you write a check to them, and then they finally receive it in the mail, there's a good chance that it's been slightly more than 17 days. Certainly it's been less than 30 days, so you're on time, paying before the next billing cycle closes. However, it's likely been a few more than 17 days so according to Gexa, you're late! You've paid 2 WEEKS BEFORE THE NEXT MONTH'S BILL is sent out, yet they hit you with a $35+ late fee, PLUS INTEREST.

This billing trick is especially effective if you have the audacity to go out of town on a business or pleasure trip for a few days and don't happen to get the Gexa bill the day it arrives in the mail.

TOTAL SCAM!

I called about my SIXTY TWO PERCENT RATE INCREASE and my UNETHICAL LATE CHARGES. Gexa staff said they would change me to a fixed rate plan (for a FEE), and they also said they would reverse only one late fee as, get this, ... "a courtesy"... but they wouldn't adjust the two others they put on my account.

I have switched providers. In the end, this company loses out because I was with my former provider for more than 11 years. GEXA RIPPED ME OFF FOR FOUR MONTHS, BUT THAT'S ALL THEY'RE GOING TO GET FROM ME.

I WOULD ADVISE YOU TO AVOID THIS COMPANY LIKE THE PLAGUE. THERE ARE OTHER PROVIDERS TO CHOOSE FROM!

GEXA raised my rate from .158 to .1904 in the usage month of October, 2008. I could find no other electric provider in Texas that raised their rates during this period, especially by over .03hr. When I called them and asked why, they said it was due to their wholesale cost. When I argued with them that no other company in Texas raised variable rates and in fact most lowered them, they said there was nothing they could do and under no circumstances would they adjust my bill. I also reminded them that Reliant's rate (which GEXA claims is the rate they try to beat) is currently at .116, but that made no difference to the supervisor I talked with. I have since switched my service, but still find this to be unfair and usurous treatment. What do we have other than the company's word that their wholesale cost went up enough during this period to warrant such an increase? I also noticed they dropped their variable rate plans in my area coincidentally with this unwarranted increase. My suspicion is this increase was their way of getting me to commit to a fixed rate. Why not just ask me to switch instead of using such underhanded tactics?

Likewise, not only would I not recommend GEXA, I will make it known anywhere I can that this is not a company to do business with.

I signed up with Gexa in January 2008 at a rate of 9.2cents/kWh (variable) . In the last few months it has reached 21.3cents/kWh more than a 100% increase, that is ridiculous. In summer when the rates went up it was understandable . but from mid-august the rates have been coming down (eg : - http://www.electricitybid.com/electricity/index.php/2008/11/03/texas-electricity-price-trend-november-2008/ ), and other provider have come down from approximately 20c/kWh to normal approx 13cents/kWh, but with Gexa even the October bill is at 21.3cents/kWh . Isn't it long enough time for the energy commodity prices to be reflected on the users ? When I raised a complaint with Gexa all they said that only thing they can do is record "unhappy" against my customer id.

I stay in a 1 bedroom apartment, do not switch on A/C or Heater. The only electric appliance used in my house is the electric stove for cooking (not even oven is used), refridgerator and washer/dryer (once a week) and with this frugal usage I end up paying about 100$ a month while competitive providers (Startex Power, Champion etc) costs less than half the amount.

Please do not use Gexa even if their current rate shows up low on a variable rate. It just keeps going up without reflecting anything of the market. And worst part is now at this high end I have one more billing cycle to complete before I can switch providers. So I essentially end up paying about 200$ extra for Gexa and again installation and all intial charges for the new provider. If your usage of electricity is more (I don't think it is possible to live with any lesser usage than what I currently do) the difference in your case would be much larger.

Gexa sucks . Be warned. I would say go through the different plans of various providers and compare them and see trends over a period before making a decision about your provider. This site is useful - http://www.electricitybid.com/counties/harris.html (for houston)

I have had Gexa for the past 2 years. My bills have always bounced between $135 and $190 every month. Not bad. For whatever reason, the last 2 months have been over $330! ! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? We haven't needed to use the AC since before the hurricane! When I called, I got no answers... oh, and were you aware that they don't have supervisors? yeah, thats what I was told before I was abruptly hung up on! I am paying almost $0.20 per kWh...

Can't wait to change my service provider! Anyone have any suggestions?

I think GEXA is robbing its customers. On May 15, 2008, GEXA rate applied for my account was 12.11 cents/kWk (for 240 kWh). Now Sept 18, 2008 this month, 4 months later, GEXA raised my rate up to 19.01/kWh (for 410 kWh). An increase of 80 % charge!

GEXA is a highway robber!

Gexa is the worst utility company, ever, a total scam. You cannot access their website to monitor your account or see how many kilowatt hours you have used from month to month. You can only find out the amount you owe, and they make it easy to pay of course. Their rate increases are crazy; I live in 900 sq ft. apt. in three month they rose from $85 (peak mid summer)one month, to $187 next, to $255 the third month(June, July, Aug. ) DO NOT AUTO PAY! I was raised in a home where my dad worked for an electric company, I know how to turn down the thermostat. I live alone, in an apartment that is surrounded by apartments that give it insulation, I turn it up to 83 when at work and 78 when at home and I am not home that much as I travel a lot... No matte how hard you try, you can not reach Gexa by phone. BUYER BEWARE! TEXAS NEEDS TO RE REGULATE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMPANIES!

First, please, please, please do not switch to Gexa Energy! Yes, they may appear to have some of the lowest rates. But I assure you, they will double their rates, and charge you excessive fees. Google Gexa Energy and you'll see that it is a common practice for Gexa to scam their customers. Here's my complaints:

In July, my fiancé switched our service with Gexa to a new house. He paid extra to have the expedited service, as we were moving with short notice. Upon moving into our new house, our electricity was never connected. My fiancé called several times over the course of two long and hot days. Each time, he sat on hold for a minimum of 45 minutes, and every representative told him something different. Our electricity was finally connected, and after speaking with a Gexa supervisor, we were told that we would not be charged for the expedited connection fee.

In August, I received the first bill from Gexa, and of course, we were charged for the expedited connection fee. I immediately called customer service, and waited on hold for nearly 40 minutes. The representative said that we were indeed entitled to a credit. He said he was resubmitting the bill, and we would receive an “out of cycle” bill with the credit. He told us not to pay our bill until we received this out of cycle bill within 5 days.

The out of cycle bill never came. A few weeks later, my fiancé received an automated message on his phone from Gexa. I called customer service, and was told that the request to resubmit our bill was denied, and thus our payment was late. We would not receive our credit for the expedited service that was in fact not expedited. On top of that, we were now responsible for a late fee. I asked to speak to a supervisor, and so I sat on hold for 35 minutes. Finally, the representative came back on and told me that he could not get a hold of the supervisor my fiancé originally spoke to. I said I didn’t care, and that I simply wanted to speak to any supervisor. He said that wasn’t possible because only this particular supervisor had access to our account information. Obviously he was lying because he had just accessed my account information.

I hung up, and called back in an attempt to speak to a competent person. Needless to say, it was the same thing all over again, and I was connected to a representative who couldn’t connect me to a supervisor. This representative (James) did, however, connect me to Ashley at the Escalations Department. Ashley said she was resubmitting the bill so that we wouldn’t be charged for the connection fee. Ashley assured me that the request would not be denied this time, and she gave me her “direct number” [protected]). Two days later, my fiancé received yet another message from Gexa saying that our service was going to be disconnected in 24 hours. I immediately called Ashley, only to find out that the “direct number” was simply the automated employee directory.

So once again, I sat on hold. Nothing was accomplished. I have to pay for an expedited connection fee that wasn’t connected on time, as well as a late fee for a bill I was told not to pay. Furthermore, I have a feeling that I will not have electricity tomorrow. And to top it off, my bill from July-August was 14kWh, and my August-September bill skyrocketed to 19.54kWh.

My complaint was long, but hopefully it will persuade someone out there NOT to use Gexa Energy!

I was on hold (Monday 2:00 pm) for 41:07 min wait time for Cust Serv just to be told «I can't help you- goodbye!" Lousy company - high prices - no customer service - GEXA wants you to pay for services they do NOT provide. Call them and all you get is voice mail jail - NO CUSTOMER SERVICE - customer care representative equals "kiss off stupid"

This company is unwilling to respond to any customer issues other than them collecting money. They will not speak to customer and have a voice mail system that routes you to one dead end after another.

Bad company - make another choice - any company is better than GEXA.

Gexa Energy is a horrible electric company. I have been with them for over a year and I have had to argue with them constantly about my bills the entire time. It started with switching my service from one apartment to another. I received a bill at my new apartment 4 months after moving out of my old apartment stating that I owed $150 from my last apartment. I called their customer service and spoke with a representative who told me that my last bill was paid in full and I did have anything that was past due. 2 months later I get another bill stating that my electricity service would be disconnected for past due payments. I spent 2 hours on the phone with a representative that was rude, condescending and unwilling to research my conversation with the representative that told me I had paid my last apartment in full. I asked to speak with a supervisor and was told that one was not available. I advised the representative that I would wait. That person put me on hold for about 10 minutes and said that there were no supervisors there and all he could do was forward me to an escalation que. I was told that a supervisor would call me back in 24 to 48 hours. I argued that there had to be someone there to talk to me right now and was told "Yeah, but they won't talk to you, you just have to wait". I finally received a call from a supervisor the next day and had to recount my whole situation because the previous representative hadn't bothered to enter any notes into the system. I advised the supervisor that I was told that I didn't owe anything on my past bill per one of their representatives. Apparently that rep didn't enter any notes either of her advising me that I didn't owe anything. After spending another hour on the phone with the supervisor she finally agreed to go back and listen to the taped conversation of the calls. 2 days later I get a call back from her advising that I was told by their representative that I didn't owe anything and all that the supervisor offered to me was a payment deferment plan. I was told when they deferment payments were due. I paid each one on time except for the last which I made up the next month. 3 months later I am now being told that I never paid my deferments on time and they don't have the notes showing what I had been told by the supervisor. The representative that I talked to today just said "oh, it looks like they just didn't bill you for it" After arguing with her for an hour, I got no resolution. She kept repeating when my bills were due and never directly answered my questions.
Their billing practices are so confusing and shady, they are criminal. They are so ridiculously confusing that everytime I call in, it takes a representative at least 20 - 30 minutes to decipher them..and they work there! How are they allowed to just randomly add charges to a bill that they say I owe from 6 months prior and then not be able to explain to me why. Every representative I speak to tells me something different and there is no accountability for the things that they tell their customers. How is this company allowed to do business this way. There should be some kind of class action lawsuit against this company for their shady and illegal billing practices.

I will tell everyone I know to stay away from Gexa Energy because if their own employees can't figure out their billing, how is a regular customer supposed to decipher them?