Deml

I purchased the maintenance protection plan through Direct Energy. Each season they come and run the unit through a number of tests, clean the filters and make sure it is running at peak efficiency. I would recommend this service. It saves money in the long run.

The service was on time and the technician was professional and obviously knew his job. He was courteous and carefull, and cleaned up on finishing I would definitely recommend Direct Energy service to anyone

We have plumbing and furnace protection plans, they have a quick response time, competent and respectful contractors and it removes the worry of having a stranger in my home. I know that I am getting superior service and trust the recommendations made by the contractors. I am very satisfied with work completed, and would recommend protection plans to anyone! The worry of paying just for someone to show up is removed, and I am relieved that I do not have to worry about being "taken advantage of". Well worth it!! My annual protection fee is under $200.

I pay for a repair coverage plan with Direct Energy, however it seems that not everything is covered. After 6 house calls I still had to pay $350 to complete the repairs. The scope of what the repair technicians are allowed to do is limited. If they were allowed to do a complete repair it would save not only his time but the homeowners as well and be less expensive.

(although $1000 + is the estimated cost by the representative, the actual repair was completed for under $20 ($120, including second opinion).

We had a wet spot in the basement, right where the enclosed main stack of the house goes to the main drain. BUT we had a protection plan. Rig,ht...you know the rest: read the fine print. Cast iron stacks and many, many other things are excluded. I had read the fine print, but did not know what my enclosed stack was made of. OK, so even if I blew it there, what happened when the service guy arrived was inexcusable: After bashing the drywall out (with permission), he concludes that the stack has to be cut and replaced at a cost of just under $1000, PLUS whatever else they need to do.
Since I had to pay for it anyway (complained to no avail with Customer Care-LOL), I decided to get a non-corporate opinion. Guess what-the stack didn't have a leak. It was in a connecting pipe, and merely running down the main stack. A quick fix fOr under $100 (including the price of the second opinion). AND, that opinion included the observation that taking the stack out would have meant a serious remodeling of the kitchen as well as the repair of drywall already compomised.
BUYER BEWARE, especially in older homes of this company's plan. BUYER BEWARE doubly when it comes to whoever represents them. Complete rip-off.

I knwo there are a lot of you who do not think much of Direct Energy, but I believe that it is the office staff that are the ones not very good. We replaced our existing water heater with a new tankless one last week. We had an appointment with two fine men...Jay and Phil, who spoke plain English and gave advise that we needed to understand. Once we confirmed the job with the office, we were thrilled that Jay and Phil came back out to do the actual work. Once again, they were courteous and worked very hard to do what was needed. It was a very cramped space that they were dealing with and had to run new lines, etc. I did not see them stop once during their time here and all that time, were smiling and friendly. Once they finished th job, once agian took the time to explain everything to us. I am just thrilled with these two guys and they should be a role model for other Direct Energy workers. Thanks so much Jay and Phil.
Now, saying that, I think the office staff...or "customer care" people should learn some manners and be patient with home owners like us, who may not understand all this technical stuff. In my being transferred from one place to another, I found that each of the people I spoke to did not show any patience or consideration to our situation. One customer service woman actually said to me that she would not help me because I was not a Direct Energy customer...meanwhile I have maintenance contracts with them, had the tank installed, had work order numbers, etc. She just seemed to want to get off the phone to let her nails dry or something. Once she passed me to yet aonther person, I did get the answers to my needs. Direct Energy need to spend some time with their customer service people and teach them something about customer service. This is their job and they should be considerate to people who do not have hot water, or a working stove, etc. Maybe cut their own service and see how they like being treated as if inconveniencing them. Once agian the actual workers, gave me the satisfaction I was looking for and why I reviewed them at a 10.

Service Tech. was scheduled to arrive between 3-7PM. He arrived at 3:10PM...found the motor on the furnace seized and had to be replace.
He replaced it and made sure the furnace was running before he left. He knew what needed to be done and after checking with me did the work. He had the furnace up and running by 4:00PM. He was kind, courteous, treated me with respect and he was understood the problem and how to fix it. He was in and out of the house in less than an hour. Furnace has been working fine ever since.

We had a rented water heater from "Direct Energy". When we bought a new house we called "Direct Energy" asking to close our account starting Dec 22 2010. In January we've received the December bill with the charges up to Dec 31. Called to "Direct Energy" again. They told us that they charge for the full month and we had to pay until Dec 31. And they told us that our account will be closed after that.
In February we've got another bill with the charges for January. Called again - they asked us to pay for the service we even did not receive, otherwise they can't close the account and the payment will be refunded as soon as the account is closed. So we followed the rules and paid that amount.
In March We've got another bill with the charges for February. Another customer service representative told us it takes up to 2 billing cycles to close the account. We waited again.
In April: We've got another bill with the charges for March. We called again and talked to the manager this time. She assured us that the account will be closed and the money will be refunded. She promised we’ll receive the final bill and the refund somewhere at the end of May.
In May we’ve got another bill with the new charges (for partial month this time) and give another try to call to "Direct Energy" . This time another manager told us that our account is "inactive" and we just need to wait "another 2 billing cycles" to have a final bill .
At this point we did not receive any new bills.
Now (March 2012) it is already 15 months as we moved from the old house. No final bill yet and "Direct Energy" still has to refund the money.

Update:
we filed the complain at BBB (CASE#: 1250789). Direct Energy reported they cleared our account. But after 3 months we still did not get neither the final bill nor refund...

The estimator attended my home to provide an in-home estimate for a tankless water heater. He noticed that a tankless could not be installed and he would let the company know about this issue. He suggested that he would look into a newer tank I agreed that would be best. Unfortunately, it never went further than that, Direct Energy never contacted me again.

I was skeptical about dealing with a large company as my experience is they are over priced, I was very happy with the final quote and the quality brands they had to offer ( I did some research on the products they were offering) not to mention they were a one stop shop and looked after my home energy audit as well. They also handled most of the paper work for the government rebates that I was applying for.
I was not as happy with the installation crew, one of the two person crew seemed intent on cutting corners instead of completing the project as described by the sales rep., so you may need to stay on top of them. Something I don't feel you would get from dealing with an owner operator but you also don't get the help on the rebate forms from the smaller outfits either.