Complaint Review: UNIVERSAL GAS AND ELECTRIC - Southfield Michigan

the fine print and their website do not mention the $250 fee you will be charged if you try to cancel their service. nor is this fee disclosed when they come your door. i got suckered by them, i wish someone would start a class action. in this economic climate they are lining their pockets while people are suffering.

If you check the fine print you will see everything you need to see! With Universal gas they went door to door back in July of 2008 and were telling everyone the prices were going up. But who knew how the market was going. The prices of natural gas have declined in the past 6 months. In July 08 the prices were $13.00+ per MCF(thousand cubic feet) and in Febuary 09 it traded at $4.47 per MCF and are still going down. Never sign a long term contract. A variable rate has out performed a fixed rate 11 out of 12 months. On your bill there are 4 charges 1.customer charge will not change if you use a choice supplier. This charge is for the local utility to service the gas lines, meter reading, billing ect. 2. distrubution charge - the cost of the electricty and delivery charges to get the gas to your house or business from the local utility. These 2 charges will not change 3. gas cost recovery charge this is where you will find your choice supplier how many MCF/CCF you used for the month and the rate per MCF/CCF if there is nothing but g.c.r.c then you are still with the local utility if there is a name there it will have a 800# to call. Please call and find out if you have a long term contract 4. Taxes you only pay taxes on the gas usage. Universal gas has locked in a lot of customers in at $10.49+ per MCF or $1.049 per CCF and Febuary 09 Consumers Energy was at $8.16 per MCF. There are several choice suppliers in Michigan and most of them are great to work with. I found Volunteer Energy has been great to work with. This is how I found out about how the natural gas companies work. There rep sat down with me and explained everything in detail. They don't have you sign a contract or lock you into anything. No switch fees no cancelation fees. Universal is a rip off company and the rep info that I was reading in other articles seem that the reps are very rude. The bottom line is do your home work and use google you can search anything that's how I found these articles on the company. Google Volunteer Energy and you will not find anything about a scam or rip off! Don't forget everybody buys the gas at the same rate. It's what they do with it after is called a margin or overhead.

here is the deal. just don't sign up with anybody as your gas supplier. leave your gas bill alone. put yourself on the federal do not call registry(www.donotcall.gov) all these suppliers,(univeral,igs energy,etc.) are all scams,you just have to understand that is what they do. in Apil 2008,reps from Michcon and Consumers Energy came to IGS Energy headquarters located in Dublin,Ohio to tell IGS Energy to stop soliciting in Michigan until things died down. this was because of the bad press Universal caused by scamming so many people. now IGS Energy is actively soliciting Michcon DTE customers over the phone right now daily.

In response to Kim's comment, "Universal is a manipulating and fraudulant company. If u see them knocking on your doorsteps, don't even open the door!" NOTHING IN YOUR POST INCRIMINATES UNIVERSAL GAS & ELECTRIC OF ANY FRAUD OR MANIPULATION!!! FACT: Universal is licensed by the Michigan Public Service Commission and solicits commercial business by going door-to-door. FACT: Universal's product is a Five-Year Price Protection Program on your natural gas. (As of March 2008, Universal protects your price at $1.049 per Ccf for the next five years, with an introductory discount price of $0.839 per Ccf for the first three months.) FACT: For commercial applications, either the account holder or A PERSON AUTHORIZED ON BEHALF OF THE ACCOUNT HOLDER can enroll the business into the program. Kim, your boyfriend's business was enrolled because one of his employees signed the agreement on behalf of the account holder. HOW IS THIS UNIVERSAL'S FAULT??? Put yourself in the agent's shoes. If you went into a business, described your product, and the business person was interested and signed for the product on behalf of the account holder, how can you hold it against the agent for enrolling the business?! THE PROBLEM IS WITH YOUR EMPLOYEE, NOT WITH UNIVERSAL. Your employee made a decision on behalf of the account holder. If the employee is not authorized, THEN THE EMPLOYEE HAS COMMITTED FRAUD AND MANIPULATION. Also, Kim, why did you want to cancel the program after you received your bills and there was a 'significant increase'? This leads me to believe that you do not understand the program. Since you were not there to hear what the agent said, and apparently did not read your copy of the agreement and User Guide, I will describe the program for you. GAS PRICES HAVE NEARLY TRIPLED OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS and Universal Gas & Electric is going to protect your price at $1.049 per Ccf for the next five years. If you enrolled before February 2008, then, INITIALLY, your protected price is higher than your utility company's price. (Because it is a fixed rate for five years.) That means your first few bills will be higher than normal. HOWEVER, GAS PRICES RISE. It is only a matter of time before your utility company's price reaches and surpasses your protected price. Here are recent utility company rates for Michigan residents: DTE Energy/MichCon (Price per Ccf): January 2008 $0.70000 February 2008 $0.70000 March 2008 $0.84900 (14.900 cent increase = 21.3% increase) April 2008 $1.00500 (15.600 cent increase = 18.4% increase) May 2008 ??? Consumers Energy (Price per Ccf): January 2008 $0.76714 February 2008 $0.76859 March 2008 $0.76934 April 2008 $0.89547 (12.613 cent increase = 16.4% increase) May 2008 ??? Since February 2008, Universal Gas & Electric guarantees your price at $1.049 per Ccf for the next five years, with an introductory rate of $0.839 per Ccf for the first three months. What that means is that if a person signed up today, they could actually enjoy a DISCOUNT period through the summer. As of today, the most a DTE Energy/MichCon customer would pay is 4.3% more. The most a Consumer Energy customer would pay is 17.1% more. So, when making a decision to enroll with Universal, you have to ask yourself if you believe gas prices will increase 4.3% or 17.1%, respectively, over the next 5 years. Looking at historical gas prices could help aid your decision. For example, roughly five years ago, in January 2003: DTE Energy/MichCon charged $0.4140 per Ccf. Their gas price has INCREASED 243% OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS. Consumers Energy charged $0.3700 per Ccf. Their gas price has INCREASED 242% OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS. Kim, what evidence do you have that you will not save money with the program? JUST BECAUSE YOUR FIRST FEW BILLS ARE HIGHER DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE NOT GOING TO SAVE MONEY! Consumer Energy rates are now at $0.89547 per Ccf and DTE Energy/MichCon rates are now at $1.00500 per Ccf. What do you think those rates will be five years from now? If you simply continue the trend of gas prices from the past five years, then five years from now Consumers Energy rates would be around $2.167 per Ccf and DTE Energy/MichCon rates would be around $2.442 per Ccf. Your protected rate is $1.049 per Ccf. Doesn't that rate look favorable right now? Wouldn't you want to be paying $1.049 per Ccf in the year 2013?!