Smart One Energy LLC Tricked my wife into unwittingly switching our Gas service!!! Wesley Hills, New York

This company is a scam - please  read about my extremely ugly and illegal interaction with them.  This confirms what the consumer tells you about his wife's experience and is even worse.

I have received numerous robo telemarketing calls to my cel phone from this organization's call center populated by people whose English is poor and claim to be with PG&E, my energy company, I have not given them permission to contact my cel phone and I have been on the do not call registry since June 26, 2015!

When I ask to be put on their do not call list, they hang up on me and call again later. It is illegal to place telemarketing calls to a private cel phone without permission and which is on the do not call registry.

Yesterday, when I again requested to be taken off their list and also asked to speak to a supervisor, the employee asked why and when I repeated my request, he screamed "f**k off!" into the phone and hung up on me.

Today, after receiving yet another robo call and being hung up on when I insisted on speaking with a supervisor, I called the only corporate number I could find on the internet, again was connected to what sounded still like a call center in India. I was finally passed to someone who claimed to be in charge who claimed too be in NY although I beieve he was just another person in the call center.   I asked to speak to or be put in contact with an officer of the corporation or the president. He refused to give me any information or to pass my request along to the appropriate person.

Whenn I informed him that his company, as a telemarketing organization,it  is in violation of:

1) the TCPA Phone harassment laws (Telephone Consumer Protection Act)

2) California Penal code 653M PC which states harrassing and or obscene calls are a crime, and 

3) The laws governing the Federal Communication Comission's Do Not Call Registry,

He finally said he would take my number off the call list.  We shall see.  In any case, these activities are illegal and potentially subject 

• $500 each time a number on the Do­Not­Call registry is contacted

• Up to $500 per call that violates the TCPA

• Up to $1,500 per phone call if TCPA was intentionally ignored or violated.

Perhaps it is time to start a class action law suit to stop companies like SmartOneEnergy from continuing these illegal practices.

I am the person who said they had a different experience and I am not an employee.  I work for a 100 year old computer company not a gas company.  If you were to call the number during business hours you would get through.  It's amazing how people will make ridiculous accusations about others being employees.  I know they are ridiculous because I know who I work for.

1. I had the same experience as the first person who said they couldn't get through to the company.  The company address does not exist, and there is no other number other the 888 363-4976 which is given on the only website for the company.  I was called after business hours, and the person calling had a thick Indian accent and I couldn't understand her.  I also did a reverse phone lookup and it doesn't exist.  The fact that there is only one website with little information leads me to believe that it doesn't exist.  This is a complete scam.  The person who posted that their experience was different was likely someone from the company.   The sole purpose of these scam artists is to get the WGCS account number.  One should always be very leary, and I expressed my concern.  Then I was hung up on.



2. Please contact the Public Service Commission in your area as soon as possible, write a letter of complain, contact the BBB as well, and don't fall for this.

I don't work for Smart One and have no connection with them other than having been switched to them by mistake.  I am not sure why people feel obligated to look for sinister motives, I am just trying to defend them against accusations that were made without reason - yes they had reason to be scared at the time, but I bet that the original poster is OK now.

For the record, I filed the 3rd post in this report, and I DO NOT work for Smart One.  I wasn't smart in giving out my info, so I panicked, checked the web, and found this report.  I, like you, thought the first response was from the company, so I expected the worse when I called.  But, indeed, I got a woman on the phone that was happy to help me.  Her name was Gloria, and she was great.

I do know the practice you speak of, and it's unfortunate.  But, this time, this woman was legitimately nice. I mean, if that was his experience, that's fine...he should report it.  I see no problem with that....But I think it's fine that I post my experience (and the other poster should report his experience as well), especially if it contradicts the original report.  

I mentioned to Gloria that she can come on here to rebut the report, but clearly she hasn't done that.

...in this case it is pretty obvious the posts that are complimentary about this business are placed here by the company in question (a company I know nothing about BTW). I mean come on, look at this quote from BMG: 

"I mentioned this report to the lady I spoke with and she told me that the complainer called very late on a Friday afternoon just before a holiday (the web site clearly states they are closed at 3pm on Friday and anyone familiar with the area the office is in would understand why, and would also understand why they were closed on Saturday).  He called them on December 23rd at late in the afternoon, then again on the 24th, 25th and 26th, it's unreasonable to expect anyone to be there."

So when you asked the lady about this post that was left here almost 2 MONTHS ago, she rattled off all these details, and of course you took notes to post them here? Funny that she remembered it so well, along with the exact dates, and was willing to discuss that with a customer she never knew. And you found that information so important that you decided to post it here (along with glowing comments about how wonderfully they handled your issue).  Please.

Listen - the most credible way to counter these reports is to honestly post AS THE COMPANY, and explain your side of things. Doing this fake posting this just makes you look sleazy, and damages your credibility. 

Bmg, you are the child i was referring to. Grow up, who cares.

Comments like "you children above" are unnecessary, you might want to read the whole discussion again.

Got a call from a guy w/an indiam or pakistani accent. Caller ID was showing a rockille #301-460-5216. Asked me if we use our gas for heating, i said yes. He said a qualify for 10% off my bill from wasington gas for the next 12 months and said that in order for my discount to begin he would need my washington gas account#.

I said, you just called my cell, and verified my home address but u dont have my wash gas account#? How is that possible? Who do u work for? He then said smart one energy and said they r an approved supplier to washgas... I want a discount but it seemed odd so i told him i waa going to call washgas first and if they say this is legit i would call back.

In all honesty, to you childrem above, there's probablly not much anyone can do w/your washgas acct# anyway. Go to smartoneenergy.com and it might make more sense to you. Deregulation of gas is going to make some people very rich, and i think this call was essentially a result of deregulation.

I am sorry, I misremembered what Gloria told me, everything you said about what you did was correct.  Also you are right, at the time they did say that they were open until 6pm which it no longer does.  However as much as I would like it to be different, many public service companies do close early, if Washington Gas is open at 5pm on a Friday, that's very unusual and I certainly don't think you can hold it against a company for not being open on at that time. 

I think the real issue is that you called them at a time they said they would be open, and when you got to their voicemail because they were actually closed, you got scared.  I too was annoyed when I got the letter although in my case our family actually did give the go ahead to switch (without my knowledge) fully aware of what we were doing. 

If you had called back the following workday (and maybe you did) rather than posting the ripoff report there and then, I believe that you would have found the same pleasant experience that both I and the other rebuttal did.  Can you agree with that?

Unlike the original report, I had a GREAT experience with Smart One Energy.  I, like you, was cold-called by their call center (clearly not US-based), and the person I spoke with had a very thick accent and was hard to understand.  I, also, was under the impression that I was speaking with someone at Washington Gas, and that they were applying a rebate or a discount to my account.  They used words like "you qualify", "discount", etc.  I must admit, it was a bit misleading, although I must accept some blame since I KNEW I didn't fully understand what was going on, yet I provided my information anyway.  

I quickly did a web search and came across the original report.  I called Smart One Energy immediately, and was quickly on the phone with Gloria.  Gloria was very nice, and the first thing she announced was that she would cancel my change.  She asked me if I'd like her to explain the service they provide and what I had signed up for.  I said yes, and she explained to me that they provide the gas to Washington Gas, who will then distribute it to me.  The cost of the gas being delivered is cheaper (usually) with Smart One Energy, hence the "discount".  

Gloria was very clear and extremely helpful!  There was no run-around, no hard sell, and no gimmick.  She seemed to genuinely want me to understand what the service was, and once she was done, she told me how easy it is for her to cancel my change.  I, no realizing that this IS NOT A SCAM but is a LEGIT SERVICE, decided to keep the new service, especially since there is no contract and I can cancel at any time.

I understand that the original reporter had a difficult time, and I know how unnerving it can be to feel like you were tricked into something.  I think, however, it may also be helpful to remember that you called them on December 23rd, and pretty major holiday weekend.  It's certainly understandable that no one be available to handle the call.

While I think Smart One should definitely take a look at their call center and reevaluate how those calls are being made, I think it's unfair to categorize Smart One's entire operation as negative based on this one experience.  I also think that their customer service was nothing short of outstanding, and I wish I had such great experiences with my other utilities.  

In fact, I am also sending an email to Smart One to inform them of the wonderful job Gloria did when she spoke with me.  

To "Bmg - Silver Spring"

I'm glad that you had a better experience than I.
By the way... how would you know how many times I tried to contact customer service? 

My post merely says,

"...Today (Dec 23) I received a letter from Washington Gas informing me that Smart One Energy LLC would be my new natural gas provider (effective January 1, 2012). I tried numerous times at 5:00 pm today (Friday, DEC 23rd) to contact Smart One Energy LLC customer service (or ANYONE at Smart One Energy LLC ), via their customer service line: 1-888-363-4976. Each time, I was re-routed to the company voice-mail (even though the Smart One Energy LLC website lists customer service hours until 6 pm on Fridays)..."

Your post says, "...He called them on December 23rd at late in the afternoon, then again on the 24th, 25th and 26th, it's unreasonable to expect anyone to be there..."

I did, however, have no problem reaching the folks at Washington Gas, and at the time of my complaint, the Smart One Energy website did indeed post business hours until 6 pm on Fridays--why would I make that up? (I see it has since been changed, which is good... I too like honesty).

My experience was exactly as posted.  I recommend Ripoff report keep my complaint and the comments from "Bmg - Silver Spring."  I believe that readers can make up their own mind.

I received a letter from my gas company today, and the first thing I did was Google and found this report.  This got me really scared, however I did call the company and I was able to get through immediately, spoke to a very helpful person who canceled the contract there and then.  Like the complainer, my wife also took the call, however she knew what she was doing, and they made it perfectly clear what they were trying to do.  What my wife did not realize is that we are on a fixed price contact with Washington Gas Energy Services, and to switch would not only have incurred a penalty but also would not have been any cheaper. 

I mentioned this report to the lady I spoke with and she told me that the complainer called very late on a Friday afternoon just before a holiday (the web site clearly states they are closed at 3pm on Friday and anyone familiar with the area the office is in would understand why, and would also understand why they were closed on Saturday).  He called them on December 23rd at late in the afternoon, then again on the 24th, 25th and 26th, it's unreasonable to expect anyone to be there.  By the way, the lady I spoke with said that in our case it totally did not make sense for us to switch and without any pressure being needed said she would cancel it.   She gave me her name, told me when to expect it to be done, and said I could call her back if necessary.  She also said that they would make sure that they checked before asking someone to switch whether they were on a fixed contract like mine (she was not aware of the Washington Gas Energy Services plan that I am on and did not realize that you don't have to top off if you use more gas than expected).

This ripoff report should be removed, in truth the complainer is guilty of worse behavior than the company he is complaining against, and you should be more careful when posting complaints.  I have no connection with the company, I just like to see the truth.