North York-1874

I am another unfortunate soul who signed up for a contract for natural gas with Direct Energy. When I moved during the contract period, I notified them of the move and informed them not to break the contract. They ignored my instructions, tried to charge me a cancellation fee and them promptly tried to sign me up for a new contract at a higher rate! Hours of phone calls over weeks were required to straighten this out. When the 5-year contract came up for renewal, I did not renew. I never wanted to deal with them for the rest of my life. Little did I know that they used my lack of response to enforce upon me an automatic renewal at the rate of 44.9 cents, which is much more than today's rate of 14.68 cents from Enbridge. See the following link: http://www.thestar.com/business/article/655538 When I phoned to complain about the automatic renewal, of course the Direct Energy rep said I could cancel -- for a price! Or I opt to lock in for another renewal! Somewhere in the back of my mind, I picturee a gang of Direct Energy suits laughing it up at the bar at my expense. They had me! And if I wanted out, they would just squeeze my paycheck a little harder! What fun! I thought I did my homework when I signed up with this company. But I was wrong. Boy was I wrong. How did I even stand a chance with a couple hours of research against a company like this, with lawyers to handle the fine print and PR people to polish their image? Heck, Direct Energy even has Chris Bosh from the Toronto Raptors signed up to market them. I doubt if Chris Bosh even knows about all the complaints Direct Energy has, like the ones posted here and at other sites. Another tactic this company used in the new subdivision I used to live in was to send in waves of door-to-door reps, demanding to see the our Enbridge gas bill with the Enbridge account number. They harassed my wife constantly while I was at work with these intimidation tactics, rudely and arrogantly insisting to see our papers with our account information. Please, be careful with this company. Do not deal with them. Based on my experience, it will be a bad experience you will regret month after month. Remember, your utilities are an essential home service. That means you cannot live without them and whoever you sign this over to can use this -- against you, and against the finances of your family. I wish I had never heard of Direct Energy. I thought they were a company that could help with our household budget. Instead, they turned out to be just another worry to manage, like a pickpocket waiting for your attention to falter. Stay away... Peace/Pax/Live long and prosper...

The day we moved into our new house our cooling system was not working. I called McKinnon based on their web site which seemed professional and well-organized. When I set up the service call, I explained at great length that since the AC was only 2 years old whereas the furnace was 21 years old, I supsected that the problem was with the furnace fan and not the AC. As evidence of this, I indicated that although the basement was chilly, the rest of the house was warm and muggy. Therefore I asked for a service person who could take a look at the furnace in conjunction with the AC. When the serviceman arrived, he tromped through the house without even offering to take his shoes off. When my wife asked him to check the furnace he huffed and puffed before explaining that he was only an air conditioning guy. After spending about ten minutes checking the AC sytem, he declared that the AC was fine. (What a surprise. That's why I had asked for someone who could also check the furnace.) Ironically, despite the serviceman's claim not to a furnace person, he told us we needed a new one. He did not offer a single reason for this other than the age of the furnace. He then left and sat in his van for about twenty minutes talking on his cell phone before leaving. Our AC is still not functioning well and I am looking for another company so I can make an informed decision. When our Visa bill arrived, McKinnon charged us twice for the same service call.