Constellation - Company Information

“  We've had StarTex for a couple of years now. We pay our bill on time.

Went on vacation, and Mrs paid the bill before we left. Get home, no power. Apparently she sent $119 and the bill was for $190. 10 days late with a "past due balance" and they see fit to turn out our power. Lost everything in the fridge and freezer because of it.

Customer service was not very sympathetic, and treat Mrs like we're some sort of trouble case. Now we have "reconnect fees" on top of our bill and lost groceries.

Helpful customer service my ass. What kind of company shuts off power that quickly, and with such a trivial reason? ”

“  BAD-BAD-BAD
I was told when I renewed my contract that there will b no monthly charge even if I didn't use the minimum monthly KW, but they did charge me $9.95 & after I requested to investigate what the rep told me on the ph, they said that I agreed to that, but when I told them to let me listen to the recorded conversation, they said no! They also didn't want to give me the address to their legal dept so I can send them a letter from my Atty.
DO NOT SIGN UP WITH THIS CO!!!
BAD-BAD-BAD ”

“  Have a commercial building in McAllen Texas. I had ordered STARTEX to stop service due to a new tenant coming into the building. Low and behold STARTEX failed to stop service and tenant ran up a bill under my name. Then had a bill collector hounding me for the bill and was extremely rude and offensive. Having to clear up a problem created by STARTEX that should have been avoided by them. Definitely would not recommend and will never consider them due to bad service, ignoring my requests, and extremely rude unprofessional behavior. ”

“  When I first signed on with them my bill was never more than 115. Now my bill is never less than 135. I've been having family tragedies and have been in and out of the city for the past 2 mths. The bill completely slipped my mind. So I figured it would roll over to the next and I would just pay it all one lump sum like most companies. HELL NO two weeks later I'm back in town and come home to no lights. They give you no lee way. I have 3yr old twin daughters this was an outrage for me and them. I call. And ask them can they reconnect and I could pay it the next morning when I get paid and the response I got was unfortunately our system is automatic and we can not restore power until the balance is paid in full and even then there is a reconnect fee. Miss me with the bs startex there is always a way. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. THEY DO NOT CARE FOR THE CUSTOMER. I'm switching to txu. I'd. Rather pay more and be service satisfied than deal with this scrappy company ”

“  I had trouble with receiving my bills throughout by contract with this company. They sent me my last month bill but not my final bill, never sent me any notice of owing them money and then turned me over to a collection company for $43.50. Never, Never,Never do business with this company! You will regret it in the end. ”

“  After several years service and my contract ending, ST sent me a offer for renewed service. After filing the new service request I was under the impression of getting a new contract. After checking my last bill, I noticed my rate ($0.133) was not moved to the newer rate..!
What's the point of wasting the energy to contract for an additional period of time? So much for customer service. Bye, Bye Star Tex, you have a problem and I choose not to continue your service. ”

“  Avoid these guys at all cost. Downhill since
acquired! ”

“  THE CONTRACT EXPIRED. THE RATE JUMPED FROM 8.5 TO 14.4 KWH. A PRICE THAT WAS NOT CONSISTENT WITH ANY OTHER RATES -- DEFINITELY A RIPOFF ! I OVERLOOKED THE EXPIRATION OF THE CONTRACT DUE TO A DEATH IN THE FAMILY AND NEVER GOT A NOTICE FROM STARTEX. I EXPLAINED THE SITUATION WITH THE SUPERVISOR. THE SUPERVISOR/COMPANY WOULD NOT GIVE ME A BREAK. ”

“  I've been with Startex for a few years, and I have learned that they lack the competence to process 2 invoices (for 2 accounts I have) that I mailed them in their own envelope. They cashed the check but refused to apply the money to my accounts. Then they threatened to cut off my service if I didn't pay the amount due (of which the money had already been received, accepted and cashed!). I had to give them a credit card over the phone to stop my power from being cut off. I sent then a copy of the front and back of the cancelled check along with emails AND THEY STILL DIDN'T ALLOCATE THE FUNDS TO MY ACCOUNT PROPERLY.Customer service is a joke as these folks dont even know how StarTex does the billing, how they apply funds received and then they tell me the computer allocates the money a certain way when its received. Well, if that's the case, why the heck do they have a line below the amount due on the invoice where we the customer are asked to fill in how we want the check allocated ??????? This alone is mis-representation and another scam to squeeze WRONGFUL late charges out of you. Anyone out there know of a good lawyer to sue this company? I'm confident in a suit we can get their records of 1,000's of people they do this to all the time to add as additional plaintiffs. ”

“  I renewed with StarTex after my original contract ended and received a confirmation that my order was received. Three months later I figured out that my renewal had NOT gone through in spite of the confirmation I had received and that StarTex had been charging me much higher non contract rates. I had been overcharged several hundred dollars! It was an act of congress to get a refund! I will never do business with them again.
”

“  After the switch, this company is worth a flip! ”

“  Star Tex Piwer has claimed good customer service in the past. Now I would say that is in the past. They have over charged me. Representative's are rude and unhelpful. Forget about speaking to management. Be prepared to be labeled if you have problems with them. Labeled unfairly financially and with service. ”

“  I have been with your business for years and I recently talked to your representative before April 10th for locking in low rates. Your rep said it would be 8.6 per kwH. She told me I could not lock in this rate. My contract will end May 24th, 2013. I am only able to lock in the rates after April 10th. She also told me the rates go up and down. It sounds like I have to call in every day to find low rates. I called again after April 10th and the rep told me it is now 8.9. Four days ago I called again and now it is 9.3. They transferred me to another department and they would give me it at 9.0. I said I have to think about it. Sounds like I can never get it back at 8.6 when I first called in. Your rates looks like it always goes up, never down. I think this is a game trap. I don't appreciate your customer service. I spent a lot of time calling in and it's not going low just high. ”

“  After 6 years with Startex I to stopped getting bills after changing my contract. I spoke with customer unservice 6 times no help. They promised they would not send a past due or turn off my service and now they are doing both. I'm running as far as I can. If they try to hit me with a termination fee I will pay it the same way they send there bills, never. Stick it where the sun don't shine Startex. ”

“  I always had difficulty paying my bills due to lack of accessibility. My account was not accessible online to allow me to pay my bill more efficiently, despite my attempts to get this resolved, but it never was. The automated payment system would not recognize my account either, therefore I resorted to having to "hold for the next available customer service specialist" for at least half an hour "due to extremely high call volumes" to make my payments with a customer service representative each month. This was such a terrible experience! "At StarTex Power, customer service is our number one priority." ?? I would highly NOT recommend this company. ”

“  A StarTex representative came knocking on my door with a story about a rate adjustment from Oncor to which I was entitled - I think that is what he meant. He spoke quickly and what he did say was not clear. As I asked him who and what StarTex was he replied "I'm not selling you anything." Clearly untrue. At that point I closed the door. ”

“  I have been a long time startex customer. Their rates for renewals are higher than for new customers. SSDD, This company was great when it first started, now it's just doing what every other business does. Gets customers, treats them right for a while and then and then raises the bills and the plans.... not worth it anymore... ”

“  Customer since 2011. GREAT COMPANY UNTIL A FEW MONTHS AGO.

My monthly bill(s) have more than TRIPLED (from$ 80.00 - $ 350.00) with NO ADDITIONAL ELECTRICITY USED! Have made SEVERAL calls. NO ONE HAS ANSWERS. Suggested we are turning all the lights on at one time....power surge.

LOCATION IS AN EMPTY NON RENTED LOCATION.

WAIT time for phone calls averaged well OVER the 30 minutes they project!! Today, I spent almost an hour waiting to speak to a representative. Several times I have been disconnected while they put me on hold to research this. Another 30 plus minutes on hold.... TOTALLY NOT ACCEPTABLE!

In their favor, once you speak to a representative, they are pleasant and try to be helpful. Unfortunately, their answers are generalized. Since December, I have asked to speak to a supervisor. 16 calls later, someone actually did call me back. They were going to look into the problem. Never heard back re: solution. So NOTHING HAS CHANGED. SO VERY UNHAPPY!!! BEWARE!!!!

SHOPPING FOR ANOTHER COMPANY!!!! STARTEK HAS LOST MY RESPECT!!! ”

“  Their variable rate plan was great the first month, then the price per kwh doubled the second and subsequent months. They lure you with attractive rates. A bait and switch scheme for sure.. ”

“  Didn't receive my March bill when I was expecting it. Finally, it showed up on line. I was billed for 832 kwh. The cost for electricity was about $90. They added an additional $1900.00 to the bill. It was itemized as a "check refund". When calling, the wait is usually over 45 minutes. I got ahold of a guy in another department who said he would e-mail my concerns to the appropriate department. The next day someone called and left me a voice mail saying they were working on it and would call me back. They didn't. They don't respond to e-mails. Finally spoke to another rep who couldn't explain the added charge. It's been almost a week and they still haven't corrected the bill. My contract expires this August. I'll be looking elsewhere. I have been with StarTex for about 4 years. I have never received such horrible customer service from anyone like this. Called Constellation....they don't seem to care. It's time for a PUC complaint. ”