Spark Energy -- Profile Analysis

Spark Energy is absolutely the worst company I have encountered. I was better off staying with Nicor Gas and paying the rate that they had instead of signing up with Spark Energy. I signed up with Spark Energy on April 2023 for a 6-month plan at .54 cents per therm. However, I received a call from Spark Energy asking if I wanted to renew my contract. At this point, I said no because Nicor had a lower rate of .37 cents per therm. The man on the other end of the line said, "Oh no worries, our rate is at .38 cents per therm, and it would be locked for another six months". I said, "Oh, okay then, let's go ahead and renew it." I left it like that and did not cancel. I was under the impression that I was all set. However, when I received my December bill, I realized my bill was very high. Higher than any other year in winter.

I started to analyze the bill. That's when I realized that Spark Energy doesn't break down its fees or charges. They only list a commodity charge with no rates. I've had other energy companies, and all have listed their fees and rates.

At this point, I could not see what fee Spark Energy charged me. I compared my December bill from 2022, and I used more energy that month at .67 cents per therm, and my bill was nowhere close to my December bill with Spark Energy.

I called Spark Energy to ask them what was happening and discovered that Spark Energy never renewed my contract at .38 cents per therm. Because it wasn't renewed, according to them, it fell into a variable rate at 1.34 per therm!!
When I heard this, I asked to speak to a supervisor, and that was no help because there was no record of my call back in October. I checked my phone to see if I had their phone number (877-547-7275) registered in my calls, and I couldn't find anything. Without that proof, I couldn't prove that I spoke to someone. I asked the supervisor if there were another phone number they would use, and the supervisor said no. I went through all my cell phone statements to look for the phone number with no luck.
I was so angry with them because the variable rate was ridiculously high. Higher than Nicor's rate!!

Spark Energy was charging me three times more than Nicor's rate!!!
The whole point of receiving these services is to get a better or similar rate than what Nicor Gas has to help save you money.

The supervisor asked me if I wanted to renew my contract and told me it would take 1 to 2 billing cycles before the .38 cent rate would take effect. I was furious, so I told them I wanted to cancel with Spark Energy and no longer wanted to deal with them. They also said it would take 1 to 2 billing cycles even if I canceled.
This feels like a trap or scam!!

A few days later, someone from Spark Energy called me and asked me if I wanted to renew my contract with Spark Energy. I looked at the phone number, and it was 773 phone number. I asked her why she called me from a local number instead of the 877 number. She couldn't answer my question and was thrown off by my question. I explained to her what had happened. She said if I had to discuss anything with them, I had to call the 877 number.

This made me even more upset because the person who called me from Spark Energy back in October was probably from some random 773 phone number, which is why I couldn't find it in my previous calls.

I went back to look at the contract, and nowhere does it specify that it will fall into a variable rate if you do not renew your contract. It does state it for a variable plan however, it doesn't state that for a fixed rate. It has no warning that once your fixed rate contract is over and you do not renew it, it will fall into a variable rate. It states that if you choose a fixed-price plan, it will automatically renew into a new fixed price upon completion of the initial term, not a variable rate.

I have copied and pasted the paragraph I am referring to in the contract of Contract Renewals here:

Contract Renewal:
If you choose a fixed price plan, then this Agreement will automatically renew to a new fixed price and term upon completion of the initial term, and the price may be higher or lower than the natural gas utility's rate during any given term. If you choose a variable rate plan, then this Agreement will continue on a month-to-month basis until either you or Spark Energy cancel this Agreement.

In two months, I have paid over $1000 for gas!!! Beware of this company!!