I called and they informed me that I did not originally sign up for a yearly plan and rather, had signed up for a partial plan. I knew this was not the case but I had no written materials to prove it. One of the customer service representatives that I spoke with confirmed that they only offered the lower rates during a period at the end of the year when the summer/winter rates switch. I began service in November of 2006, when the lower rates are offered. They informed me that I had signed up for a short term, then signed up for the yearly rate in July, and which ended in June. The rep. said the yearly contracts were not offered EXCEPT at the end of the year. I spoke to a customer service representative and a supervisor during two calls to Green Mountain Energy and they twice I was told that they are not "REQUIRED BY LAW" to inform me when my rates are changing but that they had informed me anyway. The same "required by law" phrase made me wonder what they were concealing. I asked to be switched to a yearly plan so that I could lock in the lower rate without the $5-a-month service charge. They switched my service but said it might take two to three MONTHS for my bill to reflect the lower rate; yet as a new customer, they were able to sign me up immediately. With computers, I do not understand how it could take that long to make a change; it seems like a "bait and switch" ploy to squeeze more money out of a loyal customer who pays her bill in full and on time each and every month. I told the supervisor on the phone how dissatisfied I was but she didn't seem to care. On another occasion, I had received a promotional email that was signed by the Senior Vice President of Residential Services, Paul N. Markovich. On the previously mentioned call, I asked the supervisor how I might be in direct communication with this man. She gave me an email address of
[email protected]; not what I had asked for. My dilemma is that I want to participate in green energy but now I feel like I will have to watch my bill and regularly inquire after my account. I would not recommend them to anyone because they have broken trust with me. If there was a competitor that offered green energy at the same cost, I would switch companies. The company may be abiding by the letter of the law, but they have certainly violated the spirit of honest business dealings that I grew up with. They seem to have several different plans that are not easy to track by their customers. WARNING: Read every word of every bill that you receive, especially the extremely fine print found in "Important Information". It is almost exclusively very unimportant information; but this is where the important information might be found.