Our Analysis of Spark Energy

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.

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.

I have been with Spark for over 5 years. Our usage is usually under 100Kwts and Spark was charging us more to use LESS power. They would not offer us a lower price contract. Why should we be penalized to use less electricity...see ya Spark!

Spark Energy continues to utilize a third party marketing plan that is misleading consumers, they encourage consumers to unwillingly sign agreements by stating that they are attempting to lower their current rate for gas services.

Spark promises savings but can't deliver!

We were long time customers of Spark Energy for a number of years and never experienced any problems until recently. Our rental home became vacant earlier this year and while we made some minor repairs, we decided to go back to Spark Energy for a 6 month contract at 6 cents per kWh. Things were great, bills were low until the contract expired in July. Being close to putting the house on the market, we didn't want to get stuck with a cancellation cost so we decided to go on month to month (variable rate). Boy o Boy was that a mistake, the rate jumped from 6 cents to 21 cents per kWh :0 Really???? I called the customer service number hoping there was a legitimate reason or a mistake in the billing. How can the rate jump 3 fold in the course of 1 month? No luck, they responded with their standard response of... it's a variable rate and we use the rate of what we buy it at market? Really?? We have a different electricity provider in our primary residence and it just so happened our contract expired at the same time our rental home did. Our 'variable rate' in our primary residence was 7cents per kWh? How can one company have a variable rate of 7 cents and Spark Energy have a variable rate of 21 cents per kWh? This does not sound right at all..sounds more like Price Gouging... I also reviewed my invoice and under Plan Information it lists Residential Evergreen, expiring on 9/14/2015. Why can't I find the Residential Evergreen plan anywhere on Spark Energy's website? Help?? I'm looking at a $575 bill for a vacant house :0, this is almost double that of my primary residence.

This has been one of the most unethical experiences while dealing with an electricity supplier. I signed up a sixth month plan where I was told by the sales representative that I would be charged 9.9c for the period. Two months later I was being charged 13.3 c. I didn't notice this for 4 months (Spark never informed me either) and when I call I am being told that it was a flexible rate and not a fixed rate. This was NEVER COMMUNICATED to me before signing up and now when I call I am not being comped for this nor will they drop the ridiculously high rate (30% above market rate) till the next billing cycle

A very dissatisfied customer,
Zahid

Encouraged me to sign up for a new plan with a very low rate. Did not disclose TDSP delivery charges. A 3-4% rate is actually more than 11%