Screwed by StarTex Power…
You guys have to see this. Our electric bill was almost $400 this month…up from $110 last month…what changed? We just got sucker-punched by the power company…thats what. Apparently the *contract* we were in expired, and without warning we were put on month-to-month at the beginning of summer.
Who is the evil power company to blame? Some little company called StarTex. Power companies giving discounts only to people that obligate themselves to stay with them for extended period without insuring that the same rate will be available to them after the contract are JUST PLAIN THIEVES!.
THIS IS TEXAS…WE ARE NOT HURTING FOR ELECTRICITY.
..yet why are we paying for the overuse as if we were in California or New England?!
Sorry I am totally PO’ed about this…Jim and I aren’t made of money and he’s not prepared to live in at a higher cost of living. We’re living in a shit-poor apartment and now we’re paying electric like we live in a 3000sq ft house.
Utter bu^&%$^&$&!!!!!
The one thing that REALLY got me is the company’s motto/tagline…
Rates and Service that are truly electrifying.
From: LaTasha Jacobs [mailto:ljacobs@startexpower.com] Sent: Monday, June 30, 2008 12:25 PM
Good Afternoon,
Thank you for contacting StarTex Power, after reviewing your account the readings look accurate. One difference between last month and this month is that there where 853 more KWH’s used. Another difference in your billing is that your contract for 10.3 cents per KWH expired, therefore you where switched over to the month to month plan. The month to month plan is a variable market rate and is higher than most of our contract plan. I have listed below the rates that we currently have in your area:
Contract Rate
Month to Month 17.40 ¢
Annual 15.80 ¢
24 Months 15.10 ¢
36 Months 14.90 ¢If you would like one of the rates listed please contact customer service at 1-866-917-8271 so that a customer service representative can assist you with renewing your rate. If there is anything else that we can assist you with please let us know.
Rates and Service that are truly electrifying.
Yes, same story here. for the month of July, 2008, StarTex charged me 19.9 cent per kwh. They are thieves. I will tell everyone I know not to use their service.
Thanks for the warning. So can anyone here recommend an electric provider better than TXU?
Green Mountain Energy…they are great and the the more people use them the more likely we can move away from carbon power.
http://www.greenmountainenergy.com/
Startex Power and several other electric companies have been under some heat for high variable electric rates in the summer. Amigo Energy, Dynowatt, and National Power Company all had a bit of a media fiasco as their customers complained quite loudly about how high they raised their variable electric rates.
Sorry to disagree with Tony, but Green Mountain just did the same damn thing to me. They won’t work with me at all and their customer service reps (including management) are heartless and greedy. I do believe in using renewable energy, but PLEASE pick a different company. I had been with them for like 5 years… no loyalty to the customer AT ALL!!
Yep Same story here But with Gexa…. 19.89 month ot Month. And get this for September the month of the hurricane here in Houston, they estimated the bill. All months previous to that 400… the estamate was for 900.00!!!! “YOu’re on a variable plan, also known as Month to month” Is there no end? SO they give you a cheaper plan for 6 months hoping that you forget to renew your plan and then BAm 19 cents again per month… Robery
Welcome to the world of deregulated electric rates folks. Every electric provider in Texas does the same thing when your contract term expires: they switch you to what’s called “the market rate”. In my case it was Cirro Energy that sent me the bill for the month following the last month of my contract. The legislature is in session this coming year and I think electric mcompany’s should be required to send a separate letter 60 days prior to the expiration of a residential customer’s contract and a notice with the bill in the 2nd to last month of the contract notifying the customer when the contract will expire and what they have to do to either renew with that company and at what rates and advise the customer that they should shop around and compare the company’s rates with other company’s rates in effect at the time.
I was happy to have locked in 12.1 Cents per KWH for two years. Unfortunately, electric companies cannot lock the rates indefinately. At the end of the term I do have to shop new rates.
Gexa went up also, from 9.35 cents per KWh, in April 2008, to 19.87 cents per KWh in December 2008.
The awful thing is that they also went from 2959 to 7958, the readings for those times. I live in a small duplex and have not changed my lifestyle in a year. Oh wait a minute, I worked for about 8 months, so no one was home until about 4 pm everyday. How can they get away with going up on the readings….those are not variable, as far as I know – are they?
This is such a travisty, and I don’t know how they are allowed to get away with the deceit. I’m a retired telephone employee and I just want to know…….where is the PUC, they certainly were around in the early days.
Hello my name is Nelson, check this out you will just love it, well me and my wife and 2 year old daughter just moved out here to texas and bought our first brand new home with a brand new meter right. We chose direct energy as our electrical provider because our title company recomended them to us. Well everything was okay our first bill was around 100.00 to 125.00 a month then we changed all the light bulbs, kept the lights and ac of majority of the time ohh by the way we both work 8-10 hours a day so nobodys at home. The bill went down to 60-80 a month for 5 months straight I really thought we were doing a great job, but then all of a sudden BAM BAM recieved a bill for $499.95 what the f???? disputed it with both direct energy and centerpoint even had them re read the meter but they said all is normal that my kwh increased, shit increased when i would like to know and that my previous bills where only estimates from centerpoint but on direct enery it read ACTUAL READING. DIRECT ENERGY WAS NOT WILLING TO COPORATE OR HELP IN ANY WAY, ALL THEY SAID WAS CAN I SET YOU UP ON A PAYMENT PLAN BROKEN DOWN IN 3 MONTHS. AINT THAT A B?????? 02-01-2009
I’m currently shopping for a lower electric rate because my plan on Reliant will run out next month. I have to say, we have been very satisfied with the service from Reliant and they DO send a letter to tell you when your plan will run out. That gives you time to switch BEFORE you get hit with the higher rate of the month to month plan.
Does anyone know if the service from Startex Power is outsourced to India or if it is local? I really want to pick a company I can actually speak English with if I have a problem. 3/10/2009
Hello Lisa,
Immediately following the StarTex incident I went with reliant month-to-month until I was finished shopping (two months). I didn’t opt for the cheapest entirely, I opted for Green Mountain…trying to do my part etc. Their service was exceptional, their customer service was decidedly inside the US, and I haven’t had a complaint regarding my usage yet. I am likely to be working from home all month so we’ll see what the bill is and I will post here 😉
I prefer the idea of only funding green power initiatives. The rate right now is $0.142 and the cheapest by far in my area is $.129, so I don’t mind the difference…as long as it isn’t $.215 etc. StarTex got us with our pants down and I guarantee it won’t happen to me again 😉
Here’s a link for ya 😉
http://www.greenmountainenergy.com/texas/products_rates.shtml
-Tony
Okay, now you know to renew your plan. So, shop around for the best possible plan and get it. StarTex is no different than any other provider, and rates were ridiculously high a few months ago. Prices are better now. I can renew for about .12/kwh with StarTex for 2 years, so I think I’ll do that. I’ve had StarTex for 8 months and they’ve been fine.
There have been many many followups to this post.
I just wanted to say that since moving to Green Mountain, my electric bill stopped being billed on “guesstimates” and was insanely low over the winter, and even though we’re almost cresting the 90’s already the bill hasn’t topped $100. I manage my power usage pretty well, but the renewal contract GM gave me was awesome and well below the other local advertised rates.
-T
Thanks for the warning. StarTex was one of the companies I am investigating in my move AWAY from Green Mountain Energy. They did the same thing. I was switched to month to month with Green Mountain. I called in and they said I deserved a rate change but it would take 2 months for the new rates to kick in…. this was in July 09…. yeah that is terrible news in Texas. So I was given a 1 year contract at a great rate. Apparently the guy entered it as 6 months. I just called again and again it will take 2 months for the new rates to kick in… this time Almost June in Texas. I’m going to have new rates tomorrow with another company.
Screwed by Startex as well. 2010 April electric bill 78.00, 2011 April electric bill 238.00. Called and asked what was going on since we have the same rate from 2010. I requested my meter be checked because my wife and I knew something was wrong. They informed me if they found nothing wrong that they would charge me some fee for basically wasting their time to check my meter. Well I never heard anything back for a couple of weeks, I logged on one day and there it was. A 158.00 credit on my account. No one called or emailed me or even let me know they had been at my house. What I did find out was that they were doing they “guesstimation” billing and had added 1000 KWH. My contract ends on August 11th. I can’t wait to go anywhere else.