This is the complaint I made with the Texas PUC and the Attorney General
April 20 I contacted Mr. Jack Cruzvillarreal of Gexa Energy. Jack was my account manager for Gexa. I contacted him in order to renegotiate my future contract with Gexa as my current contract was to terminate June 4 and I wanted to ensure that the contract did not begin renewing on a month to month basis. Jack emailed me a contract that day, 4/20. I may have signed and returned the contract the next morning via email, but I do not recall doing so. A copy of the contract is attached which Gexa received 4/21 at 11:18am, but my signature looks as though it was cut and pasted onto the document and then copied.
On 4/21/06 I began researching various energy companies rates and found that StarTex energy could give me a lower KWH rate and had a cheaper monthly 'Customer Base Charge'. I decided to change my energy supplier to StarTex. This was early afternoon on April 21. I immediately tried to contact Jack to inform him that I had decided not to renew my contract with Gexa and that I wished to cancel Gexa as my energy provider. I left a voicemail message to that effect about 2:00pm on April 21. This was less than 3 hours after I had allegedly sent the new contract to him.
During the next three days I called and left several voicemail messages for Jack. He did not return any of my calls. On April 24 I sent Jack a letter terminating my contract, the letter is attached. At that time I also sent a copy of the letter to Tara Rock at StarTex so she would be aware that I had cancelled with Gexa effective on the termination date for the currently effective contract June 4 when her contract would become effective.
I received a final bill from Gexa in June for $330.00 and I paid it in full.
My next contact with Gexa was the day that I received a second final bill from Gexa in mid July in the amount of $4,178, 25. I immediately called Gexa, Jack was unreachable so I asked for a supervisor. I was directed to 'Paulette'. I explained to her that I had cancelled my contract with Gexa and that I did not nor could not owe the $4,178.25. She informed me that I had signed a contract with Gexa on 4/21 and that I terminated that contract and I therefore owed Gexa the $4,178.25 per the contract cancellation clause. I then asked to speak to her supervisor and was transferred to Mr. Les Owens. I explained everything to Les and he told me not to worry about the contract that they would disregard the new contract since it was not to go into effect until June 4 and that I had changed my mind on the very day that I had (allegedly) signed the contract long before the new contract was to become effective. (40 days before the expiration of my current contract)
I did not hear from Gexa again until I received another bill in October. I then went to the Offices of Gexa and had a conference with Mr. Darrell Chipman and Jack Cruzvillarreal. I outlined everything above and the outcome of the meeting was that they would get together with Mr. Owens and resolve the issue and let me know the result of their meeting.
My next communication about this was the receipt of the demand letter from Mr. Steve Embry of Greenburg, Grant & Richards in the amount of $4,178.00, March 28.
I contacted an attorney and we discussed the case. The attorney wrote Mr. Steve Embry a letter (Attached).
Neither I nor my attorney heard from Greenburg, Grant and Richards, until Mr. Patrick Lindberg, who said he was an attorney for them called to see what I intended to do about the $4,178.00 debt. I told him he needed to talk to my attorney and he replied that he had tried several times to contact him to no avail.
He accused my attorney of being a 'Bill Beater Attorney' one who takes a case and then refuses to follow through. He also told me that I should settle the case out of court and offered to do so for half the amount. He said that if we went to court it would be a 'Judge Judy' setting, that I could not have an attorney representing me and that Gexa ALWAYS wins in those courts. I suggested he call my attorney.
Today, 7/24/07 I received a letter from my attorney advising me that he no longer is my attorney. His letter is also attached.
Summary
Gexa is trying to collect on a contract on which they never provided any value to me as a customer. I never received even one watt of power under the alleged contract. Due to an early termination clause they feel compelled to hold me up for $4,178.00. The termination clause language is on a page NOT initialed by me and that I do not recall ever seeing.
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