Could you please get the word out about Starion Energy. Here is my open letter to them. I imagine more of your readers are getting calls too:
For approximately the last month, I have received multiple telephone calls per day from telephone number (410) 397-XXXX. This number appears on my called ID as “Church Creek, MD.” Most of the time when I answer the call, there is no one on the other end; my “hellos” are met with silence. On every fourth or fifth call, I am greeted by an individual who offers to lower my electric bill. My response of not being interested falls on deaf ears. My request to be removed from the call list falls on deaf ears. I continually received calls, daily. On one occasion I received 6 calls in one day. I have skimmed through my caller ID and noted a few examples of the calls that I have received, AFTER advising that I am not interested and requesting to be removed from the call list:
2/1/2013 at 1:21 pm
1/31/2013 at 7:11 pm
1/31/2013 at 5:14 pm
1/29/2013 at 9:20 am
1/25/2013 at 8:22 pm
1/25/2013 at 2:06 pm
I did a Google search of the telephone number (410)397-0063, and I have found that I am not alone. This is not an anomaly. Telemarketers representing Starion are making repeated telephone calls to others, in violation of FTC regulations, including the National Do-Not-Call list, and in violation of other State and Federal laws and regulations. Review these websites for other examples:
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-410-397-0063
http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/4103970063
Today I telephoned Starion’s corporate office at (800)600-3040. I again requested to be removed from the call list. The first person with whom I spoke, I believe her name was Ann, stating something to the effect of, “You are off the list. Didn’t I talk to you last week.” She then advised that she looked into the issue and found that for some reason the call system computer was not “filtering” my telephone number. She apologized and recommended that I signup for the national do-not-call list. I signed up on the first day the law was enacted. Did a lot of good, huh?
I called the corporate office back two more times and spoke to two different employees, requesting that each do the same thing: remove me from the call list. What I found remarkable during one of my conversations is learning the fact that Starion energy is not even available for my service area (Choptank Electric Cooperative, Wicomico County, Maryland.) Starion’s employees are not only wasting my time, they are wasting their own time: I couldn’t become a Starion customer even if I wanted to. It should go without saying… I DO NOT WANT TO BE A STARION CUSTOMER. After this experience, if signing up with Starion could save me $100,000 per year, but Starion would profit one red cent, I would surely say no. If you can please, pretty please, with a cherry on top, facilitate my never receiving another call from Starion for a service that they cannot provide to me, I will forever be indebted to you. It is a reasonable request, is it not?
Until I receive a response from a Starion Energy executive, acknowledging this issue, accepting responsibility for this issue, and ACTING to ensure that these telephone calls end, I will be doing the following:
I will call the Starion Energy Corporate Office daily. I will limit the number of times I call each day to the number of times Starion Telemarketers call me. That seems fair and reasonable, does it not?
I will write letters to area media, bloggers, Facebook associates and anyone else who will listen, and I will convey my experience with Starion Energy. I think potential customers should be duly informed before deciding to do business with them. I will relentlessly spread the word.
I will make formal complaints to any relevant regulatory entity.
After about 7 calls, from them, I chewed Ann out quite completely. I made it very clear she, as a caller was in violation of the law and to pull me off the list right then and there. I am on the old and new do not call listings.
ReplyDeleteNo new calls from them since. Only solid pissed off seems to get the message across to them.
I had the same problem almost daily between 11 am & 12 noon then again between 5 pm - 8 pm and despite my request they would not stop call even though I'd requested it repeatedly and was already on the do no call registry. The way it finally stopped was when I spoke with each individual I advised them I needed the full name of the person calling and boy they trip up on that one right away! You see they have a name they use, but rarely get asked their last name. I told them I had an attorney friend that I was turning the info over to and was going to spend all the money it took to find out who they were and I was quite sure if the boss was offered the opportunity to fire "YOU!" or be sued that each person who called me after it was noted in the system to not call me every one who did would be fired. Well wouldn't you know it after three people had heard my promise the calls stopped! They may not fear the government, but boy they feared losing their jobs. END OF PROBLEM! Good luck.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised this has happened just sorry for you to have gone thru it...
ReplyDeleteI have had the exact same thing happening to me. I had to have the numbers traced and sent information to federal authorities.
ReplyDeleteThey've been calling me for at least a month...I answered today 2/5/13 and the woman claimed that Delmarva was reducing my bill by 15% due to MD legislation and that she needed me to get my bill and confirm what she was indeed talking to the home owner so that I could get my 15% discount. I told her to call back later...it just smells of telemarketing.
ReplyDeleteI'm not aware of any companies calling their customers to verify who they are etc.
I own a business. I get more calls from telemarketers than business. I had some of them call every 15 minutes all day. I finally told him I knew where he was calling from and what cubical he was sitting in and if he called again I was going to come hurt him. I guess he believed me. Had had NO calls since.
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ReplyDeletewhat really bugs me is a telemarketer from verizon trying to sell me on something! I tell them in the phone book it says to report harassing phone calls to call a certain number. I told her I was going to call that number if I heard from her again. :)
I normally just hang up. They want to know if they can speak to the owner or manager...right.
The people calling me a represented themselves as Baltimore Gas & Electric.I called BGE and they reudely told me they don't do telephone solicitation and didn't seem to care if someone was.I'm also on Choptank and the lady calling me had no idea who Choptank was.She also knew few words of the English language.I wonder how many of people receiving calls are Comcast customers,there seems to be a pattern there.
ReplyDeleteI think you will find that they are exempt from the no call rules. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteCan I blame this on obamie , sure I can , we are going to be intimidated with everthing you can imagine . obamie don't care about you or I , he's a muslim terrorist.
ReplyDeleteHe wants you to be pissed off , so he can say he helped you get rid of this devil. He is is a saviour to to the satan worshipers.
We have complained to the phone company numerous times due to this type of call. The phone company and the do not call list have done absolutely nothing to help us! I also have a business number and boy they call the heck out of it and there is nothing we can do about that one because its a business number. My suggestion to anyone getting these calls is to answer all of them and keep the caller on the line for as long as possible and give them no information. I tried this tactic and have cut the number of these calls to almost zero. They have to pay for the time they spend on the line and sooner or later they will remove you when they realize what you are doing to them. Just remember DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY GOOD INFORMATION.
ReplyDeleteIt's funn how everyone hates the government but the first thing they do is cry to a government agency.
ReplyDelete4:07 and how good of a job is that Government Agency doing? very poor like the rest of everything else that Government touches.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you posted this. They won't leave me the heck alone either. Driving me nuts! Today they called my house phone number 12 times. Literally. 12 times.
ReplyDeleteI use a compressed air can (boat horn) from WalMart. Once I politly tell them I am not interested I expect that to be the end of the conversation. IF they try to continue or call back they get the horn. If my horn is empty I also have a police whistle. Just make sure you have ur earplugs in. LOL
ReplyDelete95% of the time they do not call back. I have also recorded several questions and just ramble on in general on my recorder that has automatic loop and once I figure out that it is a telemarketer I just put the phone up to the speaker and walk away
report them to FTC.gov
ReplyDeleteI called DP&L after receiving calls on several occasions and could not believe that they were not actually concerned. They said it was legal and there was nothing wrong with the call. After I complained further they said I could report them to some gov agency. Next time they called I told them that they are a SCAM and I'm not givomg them anythoing at any time. No more calls. I guess I became a waste of time. I had an elderly member of the family fall for this one and the company actually cost her MORE. There should be a law. BTW the air horn idea is cause for a civil suit. Sounds like fun though.
ReplyDelete@ 3:50 - .I wonder how many of people receiving calls are Comcast customers,there seems to be a pattern there.
ReplyDeletewhat's the pattern and what does it have to do with comcast? i get solicited on my cell phone.
I tell them to hang on I'll get the owner..it stays laying on the desk until I hear them hang up...If it weren't for telemarketers I wouldn't have any fun at all.
ReplyDelete:) :) :)
If you have Comcast voice, you can block the number...I did.
ReplyDeleteI also am plagued with these continuous calls. I am already on the do not call registry, so today I went to the site and completed 8 complaints...most were about this energy company using different numbers (including the church creek no.), but also other nuisance calls such as the one that starts out by saying "if you are a senior citizen"..then I hang up...not sure what that is about, but it sounds alot like Andy Harris's voice. anyway, try registering a complaint with the do not call registry. Hopefully this will help.
ReplyDelete7:58 you rock. The next time..if there is a next time...I will do the same. Great idea!!
ReplyDelete8:35pm, i was just going to suggest that...i have alot on call block. so much for a do not call list.
ReplyDeleteThe Crapo number they send out for the Caller-ID is fake.
ReplyDeleteIF they are going to lie to you BEFORE you pick up the phone, how can I expect anything else they say to be truthful?
This smells of class-action lawsuits ....
I had starion actually come to my house and knock on my door. I told them I wasn't interested and the girl insisted and I told her no and she left. But I have a feeling that wont be the last of them
ReplyDeleteI just received a call from these people and jumped on the Internet to research them. Too bad the reputation they have. Everyone here has been helpful but this one person who blames it on President Obama, calling him all kinds of names. This person is just annoying. Please take your politics and hatefullness somewhere else. We are simple, common Americans here trying to take care of our lives.
ReplyDeletei am a former customer of startel/starion energy and we are good suppliers and this is something just for you customers who dont understand why we call and try to help NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The numbers are in. New Yorkers are dishing out double for what most of the country pays for electricity. And if Con Edison gets its way, the rates could jump even higher.
ReplyDeleteAs CBS 2’s Janelle Burrell reported Tuesday, the rate hikes are hitting one segment of the city’s population — namely seniors — particularly hard.
For Azure Bourne, it came down either to buying groceries or paying for her electricity. So her Con Ed bill went unpaid, and the lights went off.
“I had a $700 bill,” said Bourne, of the Upper West Side. “It was over a period of months, and I just didn’t have enough to pay it.”
Wendy D’Lugin said even in her rent-controlled studio, her Con Ed payments are the highest bills she has during the summer, “which is a fortune, and this is not a big apartment,” she said.
Even more difficult for D’Lugin and others over 50 is hearing that what they pay as Con Ed customers is 102 percent higher than the average electric bill across the country.
“I think it’s criminal,” said Sydney Fox of the Upper West Side. “Over the last year or two, my bills have increased at least 20 percent.”
Dave Irwin, spokesman for AARP, said seniors are being put in a position where they sometimes cannot afford their electric bills.
“They spend a higher percentage of their household on utility costs than any other demographic,” he said.
Irwin said an AARP study shows across the nation, power rates are declining. But in New York, the trend is just the opposite.
Most spend, on average, 12.8 cents per kilowatt hour. But in New York, it is nearly 26 cents per kilowatt hour, and those pennies add up, Irwin said.
“These are, we think, highly startling numbers,” he said.
Con Ed officials declined speaking with CBS 2 on camera. But in a statement, they told CBS 2 they try to keep prices down.
“Con Edison does not control 65 percent of a customer’s bill,” the utility said in the statement. “We also operate one of the world’s most complicated and highly reliable energy delivery systems.”
But over the last two years, Con Ed shareholders have pocketed a 9.5 percent return. And now its leaders are asking for $400 million rate increase, which may mean customers’ bills will be going up.
“Apparently, there’s no end in sight,” Fox said.
There is also little chance of electric rates going down.
The AARP supports the creation of a consumer advocate officer for utilities, which they believe will help prevent the cost from increasing significantly. and you guys just dont understand the diffrence between a variable/secure rates
Well, I am a former employee of YEARS for Starion Energy and let me tell you THIS.... They are VERY unprofessional. Their employees. supervisors, as well as the 2 main managers come in smelling like marijuana. All the managers and supervisors leave to go outside on a regular basis to get "high" in some form or another, usually coming back clearly inebriated and smelling of marijuana. They reward only the employees they know from the "streets" or people they are drug buddies with and completely look over any true and loyal employee that is there struggling to make ends meet. Starion is constantly changing paperwork and scripts to skirt by and get through the loop holes of the law when it comes to Electricity Supply and the Deregulation Law. They blatantly teach their employees to "spin" a customer regardless of whether the program will increase their bill up or not just to get the sale. Please spread the word on the unprofessionalism of this company!!!!!!! I have seen customers bill increase from $200.00 a month to over $1000.00!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI am (was) a representative on behalf of Station Energy please do not fall for the scam that they are calling you for. Their rates are variables and they are constantly jacked up after your enrollment. Their business is very unprofessional from the supervisors to the office managers I was terminated due to the fact that I asked that the loud blaring and vulgar music be turned down as well as minimize the screaming. Most agents there minus myself are all drug addicts including supervisors. They have children running around like it's a day care and I've even witnessed drugs being sold from the building as well as used. Please protect yourself by contacting your electric company and asking that they remove Station Energy as a supplier for you.
ReplyDeleteI am an employee working on behalf of Starion Energy. I think before anyone rushes to judge a company, you should at least give them a chance before spreading lies and misleading information. For one, we do not physically dial anyone's phone number, that is out of our hands as we sit at computers and they auto dial current electric customers phone numbers. We do our best to disposition each call as do not call, not interested, etc. but some fall through the cracks. We are paid by the hour to help you save money, so trying to punish us by making us sit on the phone for awhile is no price to us, we are just doing our job to offer you a better rate. We do have both fixed and variable rates available and all that information is gone over in the sign up process. Also, you do have a rescind period of 3-7 days depending on your area, where you can change your mind and nothing will be affected on your bill. The variable rate plans have no cancellation fees or contracts and you are free to cancel at anytime. I have saved many customers money on their bills and their have also been customers who were already at lower prices so I let them know it would be better for them to stay where they are with suppliers. If you listen to the information it all makes sense, but everyone is quick to judge and call it a scam. Everything is disclosed and gone over in the call, and then sent to you to look over before it goes into effect. VERY CLEAR. Don't jump on the bandwagon just because of other skeptical people, after all, are they going to pay your electric bill for you? Compare the prices for yourself, don't let others do it for you. We never ask you for any information that can hurt you. All we can do with your electric bill account number is pay your bill or offer you the reduction... and we are not in the business of paying your bill, wish we could.
ReplyDeleteI am going through the same thing,,,or WAS.I recently got xfinity voice and internet,the phone part allows you to go online to XFINITY.COM and check your bill,,check many things,and one service includes 'CALL BLOCKING',,Great idea for these kind of idiotic calls almost daily and multiple times a day.All i can say is whoever has been calling is very lucky for this feature :) I have registered a complaint with the FCC and have been on the DO NOT CALL list since 2003,so maybe the FCC will look into it,and i sent a list of complaints many other people are writing in blogs like this and also on sites like 'WHO CALLED ME'.to me,any business that allows this sort of harassment can't be doing all that great,or simply let the troops run wild with no care for the consumer.
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