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Signed Up With Washington Gas Energy Services
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When a company offers 10% off summer rates and 3% off winter rates for a year on electricity, you usually want to jump at the opportunity to save a few bucks. (There are catches; you need to sign up for at least a year) You definitely want to sign up when you know rates are going to be readjusted upwards of seventy-something percent on July 1st and that’s exactly what I did last night.
The signup on their website was painless and took about two minutes. The only hiccup I saw was a button that said “Add more Wind Power” but no information about how much that would cost. Had it cost nothing, I would’ve added as much wind power as possible but right now it’s at the standard level of 5%. (The site does say “5% of your electricity is generated from clean, efficient WIND POWER at no additional charge to you!” so I assumed to add more would cost more)
If you received a direct mailing from WGES, look for an offer code on the front of it above your name. If you enter in that code you can get more favorable rates. A friend of mine had an offer code that gave him 12% off summer rates for a year.
Why wouldn’t everyone do this? You can’t spread that price increase in power costs across a number of years, as the original plan with BG&E offered. Since the price hike was so sudden (at least publicly, it was on the books for four years) and a lot of families are likely unable to sustain the shock of it, you can spread the increase over a number of years (I forget now if there’s an interest penalty associated with it). If you are unable to withstand an increase (and subsequent discount provided by WGES), then you don’t want to take this plan. You want some sort of deferred increase plan.
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FYI, my roommate said there *is* an associated interest rate on the differed increase offer from BG&E. So basically, it becomes like a mini loan of sorts…
On the sign-up page, what does the option “I want to have my WGES electricity charges be included in my BGE Budget Bill” mean?
According to them, it just means that WGES supplies the electricity but BG&E still bills you.
ah… ic. Thanks!
Why wouldn’t everyone do this? Here’s why …
I have had WGES for several years. They raised their rates so high this year I decided to go back to Washington Gas. I have been trying to cancel with WGES since February of 2006 and THEY WON’T CANCEL MY SERVICE. First, they just renewed my contract from last year without giving me enough time to respond that I wanted to cancel. OK, so I paid the $50 to cancel their contract in March. I received a cancellation letter from WGES dated April 1. It is now August 12 and I am still getting billed by them. Washington Gas can’t help me and WGES is not regulated so I guess no one can unless I get an attorney.
My last contact with them was July 17 when “Tamika” appoligized and told me it would be taken care of within the week. HA. Who needs this aggravation?
This is the shadiest company I have ever dealt with….do yourself a favor and don’t use them.
Carole Stull – Has WGES returned you back to Washington Gas yet ? I am having problems with Commerce Energy Electric Company. Can you take them to court without an attorney ? This is really terrible. Send me email. gamack2@comcast.net
I signed up for 2 years in Feb. ’09 with WGES for $124 per month guaranteed. After taking payments for the summer months they switched me back to Washington Gas in Dec. ’09.
Jim
What is your reply to Carole Stull’s above comment dated 08/12?
Is WGES shady in there operations????
I am thinking of signing up. Or at least I was?
They currently say you can lock in the price for 3 years.
Thanks
gene
I just got a mailing from WGES with a special offer which sounded very good–use of 50% wind power with a lower price for two years.
After reading Carol’s complaint, I decided to check with the Better Business Bureau’s website and saw that WGES has a rating of F (that would be for failing!) with Carol’s complaint being repeated by others. So I think we’re gonna pass on this offer, much as I’d like to support wind power.
Marge
WGES BBB rating is F. This is based on:
-# Number of complaints filed against business
-# Failure to respond to complaints filed against business
-# Number of complaints filed against business that were unresolved
That said, they had 9 complaints in the last 36 month, compared to 56 for BG&E, which has an A+ BBB rating. Judge for yourself…
WGES – http://dc-easternpa.bbb.org/codbrep.html?wlcl=y&id=23005688
BG&E – http://www.bbb.org/greater-maryland/business-reviews/electric-companies/baltimore-gas-and-electric-co-in-baltimore-md-782
I wish Washington Gas Energy Services would stop coming to my door! I’ve had a similar complaint to Carol Stull’s, & finally, I’m free of them. Also, be careful. They misrepresented themselves to me, initially. They said they were from Washington Gas. I asked them again to confirm it, and the reply was, “Yes, we are Washington Gas.” It wasn’t only one that did this, but several.
Also see this US Department of Energy news site: http://apps3.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/markets/marketing.shtml?page=2&companyid=268
What is BG&E better business rating?
Not many people are happy with any power supplier right now. I’m curious if they are above am “F”
We had door to door WGES representatives in our area today. My mind told me not to answer the door but I did anyway. The way the rep. explained it was that it was like we were getting a wholesale price and it would be a whole lot cheaper than BGE. SO, OF COURSE ,I signed up!! After I began to read the fine print, I knew I wasn’t satisfied and it was a catch to it. I called to cancel even before the rep. had a chance to get back to the office. The rep. on the phone explained it different. SO , HOPEFULLY I’M CANCELLED
What was the catch????
Was your account successfully cancelled? And did your bill change at all?
Had WGES salesfolks in my neighborhood yesterday. I’m normally a bit reluctant to do business with any company that disturbs me with telemarketers or door-knockers, but these guys were such a**holes that there’s no way I would do business with the company.
Here’s a hint, guys: when I say “thank you, no soliciting”, that means you go away immediately. You don’t stick around in desperate attempts to tell me how you’re not selling anything, you’re there to save me money. And then telling me that you need me to sign a waiver showing that I declined the “savings” you were offering? Shadier than shady, and I’m not surprised to see the “F” from the BBB.
Like Tom Swiss, a WGES salesman came to my door recently. He was quite aggressive and threatening. After numerous requests for him to leave my property I threatened to call the police. I asked his name and he hid his ID badge. I won’t do business with people who use bully tactics.
Like Tom Swiss and TWC ,I had a WGES Rep come to my door yesterday.She was so soft spoken,I had no idea what she was even saying!! I had to keep saying”what?” Your with who? I told her that I wasn’t going to sign up for anything until my husband and I discussed it and do some more research. This girl really was so soft spoken that it was impossible to understand what she was even here for.At one point (seeings how we just moved here and she was dressed in the bge colors) I thought it was a BGE Rep doing a survey???..ha!She left one little flyer circling the rate diffrence.No other papers to be read,no further explanation .Seems if WGES want to sell their service they should get a GOOD REPS! Not ones that argue with you or ones that can not speak up? So my point is…IS this a good deal to be locked in for a year with them? As I mean it “sounds to good to be true ” Factor and according to Judge Judy,”If it sounds to good to be true, then it probably isnt!”
re. Wind Energy
Wind energy is 5-7 times more expensive to produce than from electricity from coal.
Plus it is nowhere near anything in the Baltimore/Washington area.
Check out this link: http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/07/taking_the_hot_air_out_of_wind.html
There seems to be some confusion about whether Washington Gas Energy Services in related to Washington Gas and, according to this, yes, they are, so they aren’t misrepresenting themselves if they say they are Washington Gas.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., WGL Holdings has three operating segments:
(i) the regulated utility segment which primarily consists of Washington Gas, a
natural gas utility that serves over one million customers throughout
metropolitan Washington, D.C., and the surrounding region; (ii) the
retail-energy marketing segment which consists of Washington Gas Energy
Services, Inc., a third-party marketer that competitively sells natural gas and
electricity and (iii) the design-build energy systems segment, which consists of
Washington Gas Energy Systems, Inc., a provider of design-build energy
efficiency solutions to government and commercial clients. Additional
information about WGL Holdings is available on our Web site,
http://www.wglholdings.com.
I have WGES for both Gas and Elec in DC since last June (2009) and the rates have been less than Pepco and Wash Gas. There’s no comparison. I coulndt be happier. Gas is up slightly (was .73 now .77) but elec is going down this yr (was 10.5 now 9.8).
I have WGES supplied power, but billing is through Pepco. When Pepco changed its billing procedures last spring from automatic deduction from my bank account, I didn’t initially catch the error. BIG MISTAKE!
Pepco did not pay the WGES portion of the bill. Once I figured out why the account showed no debits to Pepco it was too late.
WGES CHARGED ME A CANCELLATION FEE OF $500!! even though I caught up with Pepco payments once I realized what had happened with the now defunct automatic payment to Pepco.
Phone calls to both Pepco and WGES resulted in nothing. To make matters worse, I tried to pay Washington Gas the additional fee owed to WGES, but this of course was not applied to the WGES account.
I CONSIDER THE CANCELLATION FEE OF $500 TO BE CONSUMER PRICE GOUGING.
Am I still with WGES? Once I paid the Pepco bill, I was put back on with them, so how is it they considered my account to be cancelled?
I want to be green, but this is patently unfair.
I was told by WGES that I last signed a two year electricity contract with them in early 2008. In late 2010 I signed with a new electricity supplier. WGES hit my account with a $420 cancellation fee. The contract apparently automatically renews for another 2 years if you do not cancel the contract within a 45 day cancellation period. When confronted with the outrageous cancelation fee I immediately called WGES. The company refused to eliminate all of the cancellation fee and would only agree to credit back a portion of the fee if I agreed to re-sign with WGES for another 2 years. This is a great way to keep a happy customer base. After agreeing to re-sign with WGES I asked to have the contract terminate in two years. This request was denied. I was told that I needed to calender my next 45 day cancellation period. I have complained to the public service commission in Maryland about this practice and am hopeful that these practices will be forbidden in the future. This is not a consumer friendly company. Buyer beware!
WGES is a flat out scam from my perspective. The salesman lied about the fact that there was a contract involved. I didn’t agree to a two year contract. I didn’t agree to any contract term! I asked if there were any fees or additional charges. To which, the salesman replied, “No.” Another lie, WGES charges a deposit, which is CLEARLY an additional charge. WGES – the next time I see one of your salesmen on my property I’m going to let my Rottweilers out to pay him a visit.
I CURRENTLY HAVE A SALESPERSON IN MY OFFICE OFFER WGES SERVICES FOR 9.1 ELECTICAL AND 73 CENTS FOR GAS, IS THIS WHAT YOU ARE PAYING? AND ARE YOU LOCATED IN THE DC METRO AREA, IF SO WHERE?
DON’T USE THEM. DON’T BELIEVE THE CHEAPRE BTU RATES. THEY ARE MORE EXPENSIVE AND CHARGE YOU TO CANCEL. THEY ALSO AUTO RENEW YOU CONTRACT IF YOU DON’T CANCEL WITHIN THE 10 DAY WINDOW. IT COST ME 500 TO CANCEL. DON’T BELIEVE ANYONE THAT SAYS ANYTHING GOOD ABOUT THEM. I BELIEVE THAT THEY HIRE FOLKS TO WRITE GOOD THINGS ABOUT THEM.