Deml

The furnace in our house needed replacing and Direct Energy was more than happy to assist. They were fast, efficient, affordable, and cleaned up after them selves. I would recommend this company and their services to anyone.

We had a bad experience with this company when we called for a technician. They took apart our hot water heater that we rented from them, left it taken apart and did not leave any information about what the problem was. It took multiple phone calls with multiple people and it was many hours until I finally got told what they thought the problem was. When I went searching on-line I discovered that Direct Energy has a bad reputation for its treatment of customers. See the Calgary Herald (Direct Energy Part Two: "Get the hell off my porch" Door-to-door agents were told they would make a lot of money -- quick. Telemarketers were instructed to "disarm" homeowners with small talk, such as chatting about the weather. Consumers were not impressed.Calgary Herald - Sunday, May 16, 2004)and the Toronto Star (Direct Energy Fined over forged electricity contracts, Toronto Star, June 21, 2003).

The furnace stopped to work during this winter; You know what does it mean; 4 electric heaters did not help. I was lucky to have the MAINTENANCE PLAN for FURNACE with Direct Energy; Called them, do not expect during a long weekend to be solved; POSITIVE ASPECTS: the furnace was fixed properly in 3 days since I called; reason: specific part was not readily available from the warehouse; When they shipped it at home, (I was told!) that the warehouse made a mistake and shipped the wrong part; once received the correct part, the job was done EXCELLENT and VERY PROFESSIONAL; 3 technicians were in our home, ALL OF THEM EXCELLENT and VERY KNOWLEADGEABLE; The last person from the CUSTOMER SERVICE was VERY, VERY NICE! (I do not know her name, sorry!).CONS: in my judgement, sending the parts at the client home is not an efficient way to do it: proof: IF the WRONG PART is shipped, BOTH: CLIENT and DIRECT ENERGY is loosing TIME and MONEY....this was the reason because it were necessary 3(three) visits...
The MOST POSITIVE ASPECT: having this plan with DIRECT ENERGY is an ASSET ! Many thanks to all the technicians! P.S. The site is asking for the COST: I do not know how much cost because EVERYTHING (except my time when I waited with the WRONG PART) was covered by the MAINTENANCE PLAN that I bought from DIRECT ENERGY; I specified 400 dollars because I am aware that the electric motor for the LENNOX blower costs approx 400 dollars...the plan that I have is just half of this price...I have no idea how much the installation costs...

The company location is Ottawa but I could not put that in the area above.

The service technician was excellent - efficient, respectful, knowledgeable, professional and friendly. Knew the nature of the problem right away and fixed it quickly.

Have a furnace protection plan so did not pay a penny.

The old water tank leaked and flooded the basement. I called in the technician and was quoted a cost of around $420. The contract was signed to go ahead with the replacement and a second team of technicians came and quoted a cost of $1100. They also tagged the furnace saying that it needed a bigger vent to comply with the new regulation which came in effect a few years ago. These technicians do not offer any suggestion or help as to how to stop the flooding caused by the leaking water tank. There should be a tap in the tank that could shut off the flow of water independent of the main supply. I suggest that he company should issue instructions to the technicians as to their social responsibilities as they charge a lot for the services and in balance should balance what they have to contribute to rental consumers.

Excellent service received from first call to installation. Third time I have had to use the services of Direct and have found them to be professional and helpful. Protection plan is a first for me and I am glad that I enrolled.

Recently my gas fired, high efficiency heating furnace failed to operate efficiently. Hot water tank too developed trouble. I talked to the agent on phone and found him extremely polite and cooperative. He guided me to temporarily fix the problem. Next morning the technician, a highly cultutured and respectful individual (Mike) came and fixed the problem. Earlier Martin had installed new water tank with great skill. I admire the company, its agents and technicians and their expertise. Above all their respect for customers. Great people to deal with.

We are in the final stages of selling our home. During the Home Inspection, a "Minor" leak was detected in our water heater. The fianl approval and acceptance of the sale was contingent on having this repaired.

When I explained this to the Direct Energy Customer Service representative, he said he would find a way to fit us in that same evening. Shortly after, he sent an email, confirming the appointment.

Their technician arrived in the promised time frame and quickly analyzed the problem. Not only did he repair the leak, he also replaced a few other parts that "might" cause a problem in the future. While he was waiting for the final test to be completed, thoroughly wiped down the tank, stating "I may as well make it pretty, while I'm waiting; it's better than standing around, doing nothing."

The job was done quickly and very professionally, far better than I expected. Direct Energy demonstrated what real Customer Service is all about.

We recently moved into a house with a 40-gallon gas powered hot water tank. For the first few showers/dish washing sessions, we ran out of hot water after only 10-15 minutes use. The tank was only 5 years old and should have more than enough capacity to satisfy the requirements of 2 people. We had 2 technicians out (they were dispatched quickly), that couldn't diagnose the problem and insisted that, if a new tank were necessary, a Field Supervisor would have to come out an approve the replacement of a relatively new tank. We were told first that it was probably an issue with mixing of cold and hot water at the kitchen faucet or downstairs shower faucet that caused the problem. $200 for a plumber to come out and fix what Direct Energy told me to fix, to no avail. Direct Energy at least offered to cover the unnecessary plumbing costs that they suggested.

Field Supervisor Keith Parkes came out late and authorized a new tank - an upgrade to 50-gallons. We wanted a 60-gallon tank, but were told that there was no space for it. When I called quite a few different people at Direct Energy to find out the required space for a 60-gallon tank, I was finally told that I did in fact have the space after all. A few days later, a new 60-gallon tank was installed with no explanation of why a 5 year old tank would fail. That information would have helped possibly identify if we have a plumbing problem (sediment) as well. In the end, after much bargaining and arguing with Direct Energy, we got our 60-gallon tank and it works fine.

I have been paying Direct Energy on monthly basis for quite some time now. Each time I have an issue, they are able to eventually solve it after taking me to the point of exhaustion and surrender. To be fair, one out of the approximately 10 visits (diagnose, try to fix, come back with the right part, etc) they have scheduled a visit, they arrived on time. Make sure to never give them more than one contact number or they will call the one you ask them not to call. By this I mean if you ask them to call your cell to confirm the time they will arrive, they will call your house phone (whil you are at work) to confirm. Then, because you are not there to answer the phone, they don't show up at all.) More often than not, they will schedule a time then either be extremely late or not show up at all. My oven went on the fritz and, within a week of calling them, a very nice technician showed up at my house to diagnose the problem. I thought things had changed! Instead they booked me for a Tuesday morning appointment the following week. There were to call my cell between 8:30 and 9 am to arrange the exact time. At 9:30 I called and asked when they were arriving. I was told that they would page the technician and he would call me within ten minutes. An hour later I decided to go home in case they were pulling the call the wrong number stunt on me again. I waited until 3 in the afternoon. When I called they told me that, unfortunately, they ordered the wrong part and would not be coming today. IF YOU ARE A CUSTOMER THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU. I COULD GIVE YOU MORE EXAMPLES. I STILL DON'T HAVE MY OVEN FIXED, WEEKS AFTER CALLING.