Ambit Energy Marketing Scam Sparks Consumer Outrage

The next time an energy company calls you up and offers discounted electric rates, be wary because it may be an offer too good to be true, as many Texas residents found out.

Area consumers reported that Dallas-based Ambit Energy offered them a good deal and promised a discount on their monthly electricity bills, but after a year or two, they discovered that the rates had skyrocketed without their knowledge.

Disgruntled residents expressed their frustrations after being told by Ambit Energy that they had inadvertently “opted out” of the fixed-rate savings plan initially offered as they failed to contact the company. The company claimed that each customer would have been notified by mail about the impending expiry of the savings plan, and that unless contacted, they would proceed with “upgrading” customers into the newer and more expensive plan.

“This does not make sense at all,” said one customer who’s a longtime staff with A1AutoTransport, Inc. “It’s wrong for the company to force us to “choose” a higher rate.”

Another customer from Saratoga Springs expressed his disbelief, saying no other company would make their existing customers to contact them in order to continue enjoying the lower rate. “It’s a no-brainer, and this is just not done,” he opined. The customer went on to elaborate that he was charged 18-20 cents per KWH on his latest bill. Compared to New York State Gas & Electric Company who was charging its customers 8 cents, Ambit Energy seems to be out to scam customers with this unsavory “loophole”.

These complaints are not just unfounded grouses from disgruntled customers. Last month on March 26, an Illinois law firm filed a fourth class-action suit against Ambit. Others from New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey have followed suit. The latter accuses Ambit of violating the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and have been slapped on four counts of violating the New York Business Law.

Furthermore, in 2014 alone, the New York Public Service Commission saw 450 complaints being filed about Ambit Energy. The bulk of the complainants were customers who felt cheated when their guaranteed savings plans were rolled over to another one that did not guarantee savings at the end of the contract term, without their knowledge, to boot.

It seems that their staff isn’t spared from the scam. Larry LaFountain, who has been marketing for the company for six years, experienced first-hand the frustrations that come with Ambit’s policy of changing fixed rates to variable rates. A year after signing the guaranteed savings plan contract, he received a bill that totaled up to $600 more than the month before.

After the spate of complaints and investigations, Ambit Energy agreed to provide rebates to most of their customers who were given different charges pertaining to their initial guaranteed savings plan.

However, there are still customers voicing their dissatisfaction over the variable rates after experience difficulty in reaching out to Ambit. They’re advised to file a complaint with the Public Service Commission.

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