Spark Energy -- Profile Analysis

We are nearing the end of our first 12 months with Spark. The rates were good and we have had no issues with billing. The website is easy to navigate.

Very satisfied with my Spark experience. Transition from Reliant was
simple (they took care of everything...only spent 2 minutes of my time on
the transition) Very good rates with no "bait and switch"

I have had Spark for over 3 years and love them. Great rate, easy auto pay and courteous customer service. I am paying 9.9 pkwh!!!!
Spark kicks ass.

I used Spark Energy for 2 years, recently changing
to another provider for a lower cost. I have
regretted my decision. I received excellent
customer service and never had any problems with
Spark. I wish that I would have renewed my
contract with Spark.

I have has Spark Energy for two years with no complaints. Easy billing process and the best rates with no promotions or gimmicks. I would recommend Spark Energy to my friends. Easy renewal process and I used a promo code to save even more.

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.

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!

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.

Can't say i've had any problems with spark... my
bill is about 10% cheaper now that i've switched
after deregulation

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.

Solid way to save some money. Easy to sign up, no early termination fee.
Pretty good overall.

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'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.

Spark energy is a good electricity company!

Spark Energy is the best electricity company
I've ever worked with. I've been with the large
companies (Reliant & TXU), and the smaller
companies (Yep), and Spark Energy beats them
all. The big ones charge too much, and the
smaller ones don't have enough customer service
experience to help you when you need it, and
can still be more expensive too.

I'm probably saving $25 a month on my
electricity bill with Spark, which definitely
adds up! The customer service is local, and
they actually work for the company too, so
you're not talking to some outsourced company
that can't actually make decisions.

Their sign up process is a breeze, and you
can't beat their auto-pay so you don't miss a
payment (they even give you a discount for
using it too, instead of charging you).

They also have a referral program so that you
can get $25, and they can get $25 too. All in
all, you can't beat Spark Energy - I won't ever
go anywhere else!

I have had spark for 2 years. I noticed if I renew that I have to pay $8.99 a month when I use less than 1000 kw. This would be 9 months out of the year. Why should I be penalized when I don't hog electricity and keep my house freezing, etc. Not sure who to switch to since I had no problem with their billing or service.

I have been with Spark for over 5 years. Am guessing I have saved about $2000 comparing to other South texas providers. My mother saves over a hundred dollars a month on her electrical bill.

No issues for 2 years. They charged my credit card once a month and sent me email statements about my bill. The web site was also well done and provided me all of the information that I needed. I would continue using them but they no longer have the best price.

I have been with Spark Energy for a long time. I don't even know how long. But they have worked with me on billing and I have even had an single individual work with me via email several times over email. Always very responsive and very helpful.

I am currently comparing prices now that my contract is to expire with them on 10/13/11. I have noticed now that they are way down on the list on "Power to Choose" because they are higher than a significant amount of other copmanies. In the past they have always been consitently at the top because they had the lowest prices. I am disappointed that I will be leaving them. :( Who knows...I might regret it later and wish I had stayed with them.

I've had Spark a couple years over the past
several and I like them very well. Their plans
were easy to understand, competitively priced, and
they had competent customer service, not that I
needed much. Their website has improved since the
last time I used them and they got auto-billing
set up right away.

Been with Spark since about 2007. No horror
stories, no weird billing/meter issues. This
seems like it should be a given, but it's not
these days.

Competitive rates, also enjoy the credit card
auto pay - not everybody has that, you know.
If you simply read and understand the
difference between fixed and variable rate,
are a person of average intelligence, etc., you
should have no issues with Spark sign up and
service.

The one time i needed an email response for a
question, I got a satisfactory answer in a day
or 2. It seems they really cared.

Been a happy camper. My only concern is that I
think Spark's Residential service may be coming
to a close for my Zip code (website only
returns Commercial service hits now on my Zip).
Hence I may need to find another provider that
can give me *everything* Spark has given for
the past years. Hard to do...

One Co. might have good rates but no credit
card auto pay. Another has cc auto pay but
consumer horror stories... and so it goes.

i have been with spark for the past year or more im very pleased with my service, ever since the 1 day i was able to compare to my 1st bill and was able to see the discuont so iv'e had them ever since

i have been with spark for the past year or more im very pleased with my service, ever since the 1 day i was able to compare to my 1st bill and was able to see the discuont so iv'e had them ever since

Have good website, billing, and email communication... and saved a lot of money compared to my previous provider. Never had any issues. Don't know what it's like to call them, because I've never had a need to do so. I'm going to try another provider for a lower rate now that my contract is up, but I'll return if my experience doesn't match up to Spark.

I've been with SPARK for 8 years. After our latest 1 year contract expired, our rate went from 8.9 cents per kilowatt to 12.69 cents per kilowatt in March. I experienced a $300 bill instead of a $205 bill which is a big difference. We were not aware of this rate change for three months because we were not notified. I called customer service in June and renewed it for another year at 9.1 cents per kilowatt. New customers get a $75 gift card and I asked for it. I was countered with a $25 credit. Also, they did send us an email on February 27 and we must have missed it or thought it was spam. When all is said and done, I am almost completely satisfied. The customer service rep did an excellent job on her end when I called. However, I suggest the following to SPARK ENERGY: 1) Post a customer's contract ending date and rate change on our online account because it is easy to do and can be automated. 2) Offer the same specials to your core customers (existing) for renewing as you would for a new customer.

I am starting on my 3rd year of service with Spark Energy. The service and rates I have received has been outstanding. I have dealt with their customer service department and it too, has been excellent. Their rates are extremely competitive and I appreciate the fact that when my contract expired they didn't raise my rates like other companies do. Thank You Spark Energy!

I've been with Spark Energy for 8 years and have been very satisfied. Not big on the auto pay, but I never missed a payment. Price is mid-range and I've had good experiences with customer service.

Have been using Spark's services for many years now and have always found them a good value, costing much less than Clearview and other power I have purchased in other locations. Rates go up now and again, but that's no surprise as long as rates are still lower than competing power suppliers. I have been so impressed with Spark's customer service over the past few years that I looked for somewhere to say thank you. Health issues have made it difficult to keep my bill paid on time far too often. No excuse for not paying on time, yet a reason for having difficulties. I always call feeling awful and somehow they make me feel better before I hangup! Kudos!

Switching to a lower rate was easy.

I went on line to find another delivery company for my electricity. Sparks was the cheapest so I enrolled for 6 months. Its ridiculous that my electrical use is cheaper than my delivery charge

I have spark energy 6 month ago but now Im ready to contract another 6 month, they have lot of good prices for electricity and good customer service?

I just spoke with BB in customer service and she was so helpful. My mother in law passed away recently and I was making sure her account continued to stay paid until the property was sold. BB walked me through all of the areas making sure that everything was updated including e-mail, phone notifications, etc. I probably would not have remembered to update all of the information. It was so helpful for her to prompt me on each of the areas. Thank you BB and thank you Spark Energy!

easy set up, good service, good prices

So far it has been good. Just waiting for first bill

Easy to work with

Best Electric company I have ever had any

Exceeded my expectations.

Ordering was easy, hand off to Spark was seamless. First bill was only 20 days, which was small enough to miss the rebate. So if you're switching you may want to time it to be closer to the beginning or end of the cycle.

So far my bill went down and I find the whole experience easier and more convenient than what I had before I can pay online and there are no fees. Love it.

We are nearing the end of our first 12 months with Spark. The rates were good and we have had no issues with billing. The website is easy to navigate.

Spark is fine, has a fully functioning website (ie account details, history etc.), accepts AX, had the lowest rate for a company I thought would remain in business, but when second contract with them came for renewal they where significantly higher than competition, so had to bail.

I have been with them for 2 years with no problems

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.

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.

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!

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.

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've had Spark Energy for the past few years, and have no complaints. I have no idea what their customer service is like because I never had a problem that required contacting them. IMHO, the best customer service is doing the job right the first time, so the customer doesn't need service.

Having said all that, I've decided to switch this year. When I first signed up for Spark, their prices were at the low end of the spectrum, but now they're in the middle of the pack. To add insult to injury, they offered to renew my contract at a "special reduced rate" higher than what they're offering new customers.

I put together a spreadsheet and ran the numbers, and I should save about $200 over the course of the year by switching to another provider

I have had spark for 2 years. I noticed if I renew that I have to pay $8.99 a month when I use less than 1000 kw. This would be 9 months out of the year. Why should I be penalized when I don't hog electricity and keep my house freezing, etc. Not sure who to switch to since I had no problem with their billing or service.

I had service from this company for about a
year and everything was good up until 2 months
ago. Since then, I have cancelled their service
and gone with another company. It started out
great with my bill being about $40 for my first
month (I'm in an apartment). I was paying about
9.8 cents per kwh, which is good. Well 2 months
ago they knocked the rate up to 14 cents per
kwh with no explanation when asked for one. The
following month they knocked it up further to
17.8 cents per kwh. After talking to someone on
the phone, it appears that I was on a variable
rate plan and if you are on that plan, your
rate can go up at any time for any reason at
all and they dont have to let you know it
either. I immediately cancelled them. Buyer
beware.

I have been with Spark since 2007. Flat rate, no minimum monthly fee. Then they started with the monthly $5.00 fee and I shopped around. Golly gee, everyone jumped on that bandwagon. Then they went to $8.99. That combined with the meter reading charge is around $13.00 of my current bill.

You have to watch your email VERY carefully to find a notification that your contract is set to expire.If you get one at all. Yes, I should put it on my calendar but I don't. Miss it and you automatically go to a variable month to month plan - and not one that is advertised on line - but to one that is like "You forgot to re-sign so we're charging you a 150% rate, Sucker" - and you don't realize it until you get that next bill that's already like 20 days into the NEXT cycle. Ouch.

I have found it very annoying that Spark will quote a better rate if you go into them blank. Better rates than what they offer you directly to continue service with them. This time around the rates are about 13% higher and they do NOT meet competitors prices or even try to offer an incentive to keep you. So guess what? I'm tired of shopping with my same company after 4+ years and am shopping others. I'm tired of doing this every few months. But it looks like I must because loyalty is no longer a factor in these greedy tards minds.

I have always been on their autopay plans and generally have no complaints about their service reps. Its all about the MONEY. Sound familiar, Spark? It works both ways.

I will change providers every 3 months if need be. There's plenty of 'em to go around.

I never ran into problems with this company. Cancellation went smoothly (I moved to a location where they did not service). I don't have any complaints.

Concur with earlier poster about the changes Spark has made. Have been a totally satisfied customer since 2007 using the totally paperless internet plan . They had reasonable rates and no additional fee if you didn't use "enough" electricity.

That has all changed - now rates are higher than other companies and they change a whopping $8.95 if you use less than 1000kw/month.

Can't see any reason to stay with just another greedy provider.

I signed a contract with Spark and was satisfied. They elected not to offer power in my area so we parted ways. I signed up with them because they were one of the last companies not to charge a monthly fee but they've joined in the collusion now. They even refunded a charge for the short time I was with them after the contract expired and the switch to someone else occurred.

I went on line to find another delivery company for my electricity. Sparks was the cheapest so I enrolled for 6 months. Its ridiculous that my electrical use is cheaper than my delivery charge

My fault, but didn't realize when the 2 month promotional rate expired they would charge considerably higher on the MTM than anything they had listed at PowerToChoose. Req'd paperless billing and autopay and the monthly email doesn't state usage and current rate, just net due and due date. I was neglectful and didn't sign on to the website to see my full statement w/the exorbitant rate.
Was generally happier w/GEXA and am now giving Kinetic a try.

I was a loyal customer with Spark for 5 plus years and my contract expired. Instead of charging my the month to month rate or any reason rate they charged me 5 cent above the going market rate.

I changed from reliant so I could lock in a lower rate. I have changed to all energy saving appliances, have solar screens, tinted windows, new shutters and blinds and my bills have never been higher. I complained once. They re-read my meter and my bill dropped over $500 the next month and then went right back up. I am not sure they even check the meters. It is the middle of winter and I don't use my air and my bill has not gone down at all! Can't wait to change.

My contract expired and they made no reasonable effort to inform me that my rate would go through the roof if I didn't renew. Despite receiving emailed statements from them every month, they never put it on their bills. The only way to find out was to log into THEIR website and download a pdf file where it was written in very small print. I was paying 11 cents per kilowatt hour, the day it expired they jacked it up to over 16 cents per kilowatt hour, almost doubling my electric bill. After calling customer service, they were unwilling to make any adjustment even if I renewed my contract... so good bye. Very unethical business practices and no loyalty to their customers. Will also be filing a BBB complaint.

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 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

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 !

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.

I had service from this company for about a
year and everything was good up until 2 months
ago. Since then, I have cancelled their service
and gone with another company. It started out
great with my bill being about $40 for my first
month (I'm in an apartment). I was paying about
9.8 cents per kwh, which is good. Well 2 months
ago they knocked the rate up to 14 cents per
kwh with no explanation when asked for one. The
following month they knocked it up further to
17.8 cents per kwh. After talking to someone on
the phone, it appears that I was on a variable
rate plan and if you are on that plan, your
rate can go up at any time for any reason at
all and they dont have to let you know it
either. I immediately cancelled them. Buyer
beware.

I have been with Spark since 2007. Flat rate, no minimum monthly fee. Then they started with the monthly $5.00 fee and I shopped around. Golly gee, everyone jumped on that bandwagon. Then they went to $8.99. That combined with the meter reading charge is around $13.00 of my current bill.

You have to watch your email VERY carefully to find a notification that your contract is set to expire.If you get one at all. Yes, I should put it on my calendar but I don't. Miss it and you automatically go to a variable month to month plan - and not one that is advertised on line - but to one that is like "You forgot to re-sign so we're charging you a 150% rate, Sucker" - and you don't realize it until you get that next bill that's already like 20 days into the NEXT cycle. Ouch.

I have found it very annoying that Spark will quote a better rate if you go into them blank. Better rates than what they offer you directly to continue service with them. This time around the rates are about 13% higher and they do NOT meet competitors prices or even try to offer an incentive to keep you. So guess what? I'm tired of shopping with my same company after 4+ years and am shopping others. I'm tired of doing this every few months. But it looks like I must because loyalty is no longer a factor in these greedy tards minds.

I have always been on their autopay plans and generally have no complaints about their service reps. Its all about the MONEY. Sound familiar, Spark? It works both ways.

I will change providers every 3 months if need be. There's plenty of 'em to go around.

Requesting that all my billing and communications be on line through e-mail, Spark alerted me to the expiration of my term fixed contract through snail mail and it went unnoticed until months later of them overcharging me by $50 per month.

i'm all about supporting new smaller businesses but i don't think data information is managed well here. i don't think i've had so many issues with a provider since i've been on my own.
issues since jul 2015, we are in dec 2015 as i type this out:
1. since i joined in july i was promised a 25 credit after 90 days and each time i call after this time frame, they say, i promise, the next invoice you will see it. this is with every rep i talk to. my neighbor who referred me can't get her 25 either. we still have not rec'd the credit.
2. 1st billing i got, there was a charge for underusage when clearly i was just switched over and had a shorter statement cycle - why would i be penalized? they waived it but for it to appear automatically tells me the customer setup/billing system sucks if they blanket apply to all statements regardless of when a new customer was switched over.
3. i've received messages from their IT system about how their system was down and/or there were billing errors
4. after point 2 above, i've received 2 additional statements with billing errors: one in conjunction with the above point 3 IT system issue (per rep) where they charged me a late fee when i'm on autopay? and another where they gave me a credit (not the 25) and then took it back.

save your time and money folks. they are too much of a hassle to deal with considering all the phone calls you have to make. i don't know where the issue is? the reps are nice enough and they put in the notes and all but it appears to be a system issue? i don't know. i'm tired of making notes about who i speak to and when and what they say. ridiculous.

The energy service provided were honestly not up to standards. Billing was confusing not to mention their non-existent Plans and Promotions.
The only professional aspect was their customer service, they were very understanding and acknowledging although that is no excuse for their other shortcomings.
Would not recommend as a first-choice but they aren't not the worse.

Despite agreed upon electricity pricing they charged me more than twice the agreed number. Multiple calls, every time a different person with a different story. Horrible!

These guys lost my deposit. I was told there would be a $300 deposit when I signed up so I paid it...A year later I moved and had service disconnected and according yo them I never paif a deposit but electricity was turned on anyway...please. The deposit was payed out of a direct deposit card that doesn't generate statements but I can access activities online. Luckily I still have the account and it shows sparks debit for the deposit but according to spark I must fax a statement.....I guess small claims court iy is.
.

We've been with Spark from the beginning and we have had numerous problems. For the first few years it was always administrative related...wrong address, wrong billing amount, etc. Now our problem is our contract expired the end of December and we did not renew on time. So they took our rate from 6.5cents to 16.9cents. When I called to renew for 24 months and complain about the bill, they refused to make a reasonable adjustment. They offered a $75 credit on a $565 bill. We cancelled our service.

This company treats returning customers terribly. After a year, they switch you to a high variable rate with a monthly charge if you do not sign on for another year. And, if you decide to sign, they will not refun the overcharge for the month you did not realize they had switched your rate. Plus, if you ask to speak to a supervisor, they fill out a request and tell you to expect a call in 24-48 hours. Not pleasant.

After being a loyal customer for years, my bills increased dramatically. Months later I learned that my contract had expired and they had switched me to a higher rate. I never received anything from Spark notifying me that the contract expired. I went from approx $60 a month to $200. I spoke to a supervisor who explained it was my responsibility to log in to their website and look for notifications about the contract expiring. I asked how I would know They sent me two emails a month - I am disappointed they couldn't be bother to email me that my contract was expiring. I aksed to renew the contract retroactively and was told it was not an option. I aksed for the name of someone higher to whom I could write a letter and was told that was not an option; I could only write to the anonymous email account. I feel misled and cheated.

I am not even sure how I've got this $660 for the month of Feb. I live in 1-bed room apartment and I was told that I used 3500kWh. Even though my heater was set to 65deg. And given my water heater's power rating is 5100kWh/year, something was wrong on my meter.

I explained my situation, but the customer reps. kept saying "No, you used that much of electricity, and you will have to pay for it".
Sure. I did have those people re-read the meter and even re-check the meter, but they kept saying the same thing.

I see another guy complaining about the same thing as I am. I guess they are just busy charging the customer for the electricy they haven't even used. I would recommend you to check the daily usage everyday if you are going to use this company.

After claiming at least a 5% savings compared to PG&E, charges for gas about the same for first 6 mos. Next 6 mos. Spark began charging about 50% MORE than PG&E (without notice). What a rip-off!

Very unethical company.

Spark has no phone number to call, and only answers email within 48 hours (they got to me early - 47 hours 52 minutes).

Online info consists of bills only - no contract info, no expiration of term data, etc.

Beware letting your contract expire because they put you on an exorbitantly-priced variable rate plan (50% higher per kwh).

Wow how quickly we forget. Well I was one of the Spark Energy good customers a couple a years ago that was dropped and assigned to the Provider of Last Resort without notice when they went "bankrupt" just in the Houston market. Now that the rates are low they are back but what happens when the rates go back up will they drop their customers again?

My account with Spark Energy was set up wrong from the beginning. Throughout the 4 weeks it took to get it straight, I received a bill showing a past due amount and a late fee that I disputed. Before I could get the corrected bill, I started getting harrassing phone calls both on my home phone and on my cell phone - 8 to 10 per day - regarding the past due amount. Explaining the circumstances of the account to the callers did no good. Even with the account paid in full, I still received hourly phone calls for two days after the payment was made. I have two other Spark accounts that I will now cancel. This was the worst experience I have had in years with an electrical provider.

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.

We originally had a contract with the infamous
Abacus. Abacus was so badly managed that they
thankfully folded, selling our contract to
Spark.

Spark IS better than Abacus, I'll give it that.
However, we're obviously being overcharged -
10.1c/kwh isn't terrible, until our 630sqft
apartment somehow started using up over 900kwh
per month - implying an average power draw of
over a kilowatt! Including while we're
sleeping, and AT WORK. Of course, conveniently
for Spark, this sudden spike in energy usage
began exactly when they started billing us.

Now we're trying to switch providers, and
they're being very reluctant about giving up
our deposit. My wife paid the deposit
originally to Abacus almost two years ago, and
Spark acknowledges that it was transferred to
them with our contract. However, they have no
record of it - WE HAVE TO PROVIDE PROOF THAT WE
PAID A DEPOSIT BEFORE THEY WILL RETURN IT.
Maybe they should hire an accountant to keep
track of that. Or maybe buy a copy of Excel.

This is one of many Houston Retail Electric Providers (REP) that impose a minimum usage fee on homeowners. If you use 1000 kilowatt's or less per month you must pay this fee of $8.99 ($107.00 year). In a time when we all should be seeking to conserve energy this company is encouraging users to use more electric to avoid this fee. This fee amounts to, a fine for conserving energy.

Billing is the worst ever, they cant get it right, send you an email stating one thing and do another, NOT just once every other month. Sent all their customers today a disconnect notice that was an ERROR I cant wait till my contact is up and I can run away from here.

Prior to moving to Texas, I set up a six month
account with auto draft for reduced fixed
rates. When the contract expired, I signed a
new for a similar rate plan. Given the bill was
on auto draft and I'd yet to have a problem, I
didn't check the price per kilowatt hour after
the first new bill.
Recently, when I did, I noticed I'd been billed
nearly TRIPLE what the agreed upon rate was for
four months in a row. They were unwilling to
work with me on their error, given said bills
were already paid.
Service is being switched to a different
provider tomorrow morning.
I will go off the grid before I use them again.

I had to go to another provider (there are many other better options)since Spark has unreasonable surcharges for new customers. All I was doing was changing the name on the account. I lived in the house for 3 years, but still had to set it up as a new service under my name so they wanted to slap on the $8.99 monthly service fee if I don't use 1000kwh per month. Then when I tried to get their customer service to help change the cancellation request my wife sent in, I was told to 'hope' that the electricity is not turned off because the request takes 3 days to process. They didn't really even try to help, they just told me that things coundn't be done. This is what happens when a company is making too much money to care.

Signed up with them - rates increased from what I was paying utility.....called to cancel and got big run around.......had to call three times to get it done...NEVER AGAIN ! !

These folks have very deceptive marketing. Watch your backs or you will be burned like I got burned. I signed up for a 12-month fixed rate plan. After a year it converts to a variable rate plan. No big deal, right? WRONG!! Their variable plan is now at .87 per term, about double that of the competition! What is even more interesting is that once I learned this I called them and pretended to be a new customer. When I asked about the price of the variable plan I was told .535 (still high, but not outrageous). When I told them I was an existing customer paying .87 the rep said he made a mistake on the quote. BALONEY! They got caught and now they're trying to cover their tracks. Those customers ending their 12 month guarantee should give Spark their 30 day notice and run away. This company hopes you will do nothing, and get socked. There are lots of reputable companies out there ... this is not one of them.

Since I received the email from Spark saying that it is time to renew my contract, I made a huge mistake by switching over to StarTex without realizing that my contract with Spark does not end until 4 days later. They charged me $250 for early termination. I called and emailed them several time but they just refuse to do anything to help minimizing this cost. StarTex even offered to help me by allowing me to come back to Spark without charging the early termination fee. Again Spark refused that offer as well. I have been a great customer by doing several referral for them for 6 years and this is the way that they treated their customers. I will not be the only customer that they lose.

Spark has completely messed up our account. First, our account was inproperly terminted by mistake (somone else gave a wrong address). Our power ended up getting cut off and Spark charged us a $250 termination charge when we never terminated. Then when the incorrect switch got switched back to them, they did not reactivate our old account and started charging us double our contracted rate. We have spent hours on the phone with these people trying got get it straight. They say everything will be OK, but it just keeps getting messed up.

When I cancelled-becasue renewing with them would have been higher than anyone else- they overcharged me on the rate, overcharged me on a monthly fee-because it kicked in because I cancelled. Thier customer service plays stupid and really slow-took 30 minutes to get one answer. Disconnected from conversation three times. They offered no promotions and quoted me one rate and charged another.- would do nothing to correct.

When I cancelled-becasue renewing with them would have been higher than anyone else- they overcharged me on the rate, overcharged me on a monthly fee-because it kicked in because I cancelled. Thier customer service plays stupid and really slow-took 30 minutes to get one answer. Disconnected from conversation three times. They offered no promotions and quoted me one rate and charged another.- would do nothing to correct.

Never had a problem until my credit card expired. Spark did not notify and sent a collection letter. I tried to set up new credit card for direct pay but was informed they don't except credit cards for direct pay anymore. I asked them to send statements so I could pay the old way and they did start sending statements but each one has "DO NOT PAY" "FOR YOUR RECORDS ONLY" and "Payment will be drafted on the due date" printed all over the return portion of the statement. Very confusing !!

I've moved on to a company that will accept automatic credit card payments.

I rarely write reviews and usually only give positive feedback, but I decided to just write a review as opposed to taking more time to mess with the late charge this company tacked on my bill. I paid my August electric bill the way I always do through my bank's bill pay online on the 2nd of the month. The bank sent the payment in on the 4th of the month. On the bank site it said the bill was delivered on the 11th and it was due on the 12th. Last week I received a letter saying the payment was late. I called and disputed this and the person said I would have to wait for my bill to see if there was a late charge, which seemed ridiculous since I had gotten a letter from them about it.

When I recieved the bill of course, they had a $12.44 late charge. I called again and in order to speak to an operator I stayed on the line like the recording said. I was disconnected after two minutes. I repeated this and the same thing happened. The third time I called I chose the 'set up a new account' button and someone answered on the first ring. It was the billing department. I told her the situation and after checking she said I would have to contact my bank so they could send all the documentation, and that was after I had established a year's record of paying my bills on time. This is the first time a company has ever done that. With a great credit history and a record of paying my bills on time, a reputable company, even a credit card company, has always forgiven an occasional error. Both operators were very efficient, cordial and cold as they explained the situation but refused to drop the late fee charge.

In the meantime I had already changed my service to a company with a much better customer service record with a much more competitive price and I will be saving money. I will never use this company again.

So, instead of using my time to contact my bank and go through all the riggamarow of fixing this mistake, I will pay them their twelve extra dollars and use this time to inform others of the practices of this company. In the long run, if people avoid this company, Spark will certainly have received their twelve dollars, but hopefully lose future customers because they put profits ahead of customer service.

They were charging me almost double the normal rate per unit. Scam!

Following a change of Banks I called to change my new bank debit information. They insisted I must fill out a form and fax or email it back to them. They sent two formsw with no indication which was correct. I chose one printed it , filled it out , scanned the completed signed form, and emailed it back. Today I get another email stating they required a voided check on the new bank before they make the change. My checks arent due for two weeks and my billing date is 12 days away. The email had 6 additional attachments, which I have not opened ??? The other companies just took my new info by phone and made the change. Really Stupid!!!!

I have been a supposed customer for 5 years and I was gullible enough to believe in them as a company by giving my automated billing information. All they had to do was supply a competitive rate and automatically take their money. However........ Spark quietly and efficiently but according to their business strategy and "fine print" increase your unit cost by as much as 25%. They are complete crooks! I hope to break from them as soon as possible.

I have been a Spark Customer for over 5 years. Due to auto draft I have never been late on a payment. The three times in my tenure with Spark that I have had to call them for assistance however, has left me just mystified at how lazy and uncaring they are for their customers. You absolutely will be just another number and they will not have any concern over how they feel you are treated by their employees.

They were a bad experience. I'm am asking others to find a better provider in electric. The reviews I read are true. Spark energy is horrible.

We have been working with various people on their team to clear up billing issues which have not been corrected over the last two months. Their custom service supervisor Adam will give you his "direct phone number" and will never call you back. He will make false promises for changes to your account that won't happen. You will sit on hold for hours and get nothing done when you someone.

Signed up for a higher rate plan that promised no low use fee. This was a lie and a scam. Now paying higher rate and same low use fee.

If I could give every rating a 0, I really would. Someone representing Spark Energy came to my door to talk my dad into switching over to their service. He promised my father they'd discount his monthly bill for signing up with them and that it's guaranteed it'll be cheaper than the cost of his previous utilities service. We were infuriated to see our first bill of the month... Not only was it much more expensive monthly, but we were charged $100 for a cancellation fee on top of the bill due for that month? Are you serious? Customer service also sucks. The call representatives sound so smug and miserable, and I've been placed on hold for at least 20 minutes on end for each time I've made a call to them. REALLY do not recommend!! Sign up with The Gas Company or something else!

I signed up for Spark Energy when I bought my town home in Houston. I signed up for their 6 month plan. The agent was professional and courteous. I was very impressed. And, the rate was great. Upon expiration of my 6 month contract, the rates shot up! When I tried to renew on line, the product offerings were confusing. After calling an agent, I was able to lock in a 12 month rate which was slightly better than the online promotions. Slightly. I was set up with Auto Pay, so I was upset when I received two cancellation notices within days of each other. When I called, they had apparently updated their billing system and wiped out my Auto Pay information. I had my last statement from the month earlier that clearly said, "DO NOT PAY"...I re-entered Auto Pay information after learning of THEIR error. The following day, I get another cancellation notice!! When I called collections, Traci, hung up on me after I told her that I was getting cancellation notices because of their system update. POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE and BILLING!

Call 2 different times and after a wait of approx. 45 minutes I disconnected. Tried to call the Houston office which was the same as cutomer service. Switching providers!

I signed up with them but the very next day I send in a cancellation letter that they gave me and this was in June 24, 2014 and now it's May 11,2015 and I am still getting billed that I owe but in there computers it shows that I canceled. Now they are threatening to send it to collections, how are they gonna do that when I cancelled a long time ago!!!! Phone calls don't stop!!!!

After 8 years with Spark I noticed my rate had increased (Quadrupled). I called to discuss the issue and was told someone would call me in 24-48 hours, that didn't happen. So I had to call them back and after going through the very lengthily verification process of who I am, we finally discussed my issue. Apparently my contact had lapsed and they allegedly sent me a renewal notice, though I never received one. After 8 years of service they could not do anything about the increase in the billing rate unless I signed up for another 1 year term, which is not possible because the home is for sale which I explained. This was also mentioned when I added my new home with Spark, they just don't care, so I will now switch both homes to another provider.

Hopefully I can find a company that actually rewards loyalty, though from the reviews I have read I think that might be doubtful.

After my contract expired Spark rate for month-to-month stated to me was at 8.6c / KwH. Thus, I after being customer for 3 years, I relied on their statements, trusting their business. Due to traveling, I took a month and a half before reviewing Plans and planning to renew contract with Spark. Spark, however, switched me to Renewable plan without asking nor notifying me, and rate went to 18.9 c / KwH! My two bills doubled, and they did the switch in June and July when my consumption is the highest, costing mew few hundred $.
Spark did not bother to remind me to renew contract or review my rates. Being customer for 3 years, paying my bills with by withdrawal from my checking (was never late), did not mean anything to Spark. They were just charging me hoping I will not check rates for few months, so they can rip me off!
After I complained, they called me from office of the president, but did not want to adjust charges nor explain how price per kwh doubles when gas prices are at historic low, and no changes to regulations! The explanation is that plan is just 19 c/ kwh! Spark did not care about keeping my business nor considering any resolution to my complaint. I agreed that month-to-month is pricier, but within the reason. But doubling rate with no changes in the market environment! No excuse!! I will never, ever use Spark and will tell all my friends and colleagues about their malpractice. Be warned!
PS Yes, there is a way to warn people. Reliant forecasts customers bills trending per latest consumption and sends alert emails warning customers of potential high bills (so you can adjust your consumption timely, if you want). I explained this to Spark, but they did not care about this service.

We switched over to them in Sept of 2014 for a 5.2 cent rate. I did not receive a bill the next month, called, they said they were having a problem with their billing/invoice system; I asked for an estimate, they said could not give an estimate. I paid $200 to the account anyway. THIS WENT ON OF A NUMBER OF MONTHS, and I kept paying $200 a month, BUT EVENTUALLY I GOT A GROSS BILL FOR ALMOST $1000 (YES, A THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!). Luckily, I had been paying something every month, otherwise I would have been screwed. THEY CALL CONSTANTLY. I have had them call over missed / nonpayment of a $13 late fee. Their customer service call center reps are incompetent and do not know what they are doing, obviously due to high turnover caused by low pay. WE ARE DEFINITELY NOT GOING TO RENEW WITH THEM.
DO NOT USE THIS PROVIDER !!!! SHOP FOR ANOTHER !!! TELL EVERYONE!! RATING THEM
ON A SCALE OF ONE 1 TO FIVE 5, I WOULD GIVE THEM A MINUS (NEGATIVE) -1.