Complaint Review: Viridian Energy - Norwalk Connecticut

Viridian has a Better Business Bureau Rating of A+.  This is a great company, with great saving.  You can click on the link given and see it is A+.

I'm not sure how they can be a rip off when they are very clear what your rate is. They have variable, 6, 12 and 24 month fixed rates. Variable is just that... VARIABLE, meaning it will change from month to month and be driven by market factors. The 6, 12 and 24 month fixed rates are just that... FIXED. Can't really get much clearer than that.

Now, their rates might be HIGHER, but as a consumer that is what you are supposed to decide for yourself. Do you wish to pay a higher rate for green energy, or would you rather save the money and pollute the air we all breathe? Oh, and it's not a given that the rate will be higher, just that it COULD be.

Personally, I am wiling to spend a little more so I don't help pollute the earth. What was good for me when I looked at rates for Viridian is that I was able to get .1449/kWh when my Green Mountain Energy was going to be priced at .1686/kWh and Green Mountain is owned by NTG Energy so my green energy wasn't so green. Kind of like donating to a rehab center that's owned by a drug dealer.

Just my 2 cents, but rip off seems a highly suspect description of Viridian.

If all of the negative things being said about Veridian and their rate practices are false............I guess their F rating at the Better Busienss Bureau http://www.bbb.org/connecticut/business-reviews/electric-companies/viridian-energy-llc-in-stamford-ct-87068321/ mostly based on customer complaints about billing and rates is inaccurate, and postings such as http://dellea.hubpages.com/hub/Beware-of-Viridian-and-other-green-energy-providers are just made up.......

People should judge for themselves but despite the second link above not being my post, that is exactly what happened to me.  Save yourself the time and effort and stay away from them.

Viridian does have some attractive rates in some states, but it's not the consumer of electricity that needs to beware.  It's the Viridian Associate that's getting screwed!

Check out the article Manning Touts Benefits of Local Wind in the Register-Star, which is totally against Viridian's terms of being an Associate.  Do you think Viridian will eliminate Mr. Manning as an Associate?  BTW... what is "local" wind?  Does it start in Hudson?

Yet Viridian has terminated many Associates and will terminate many more for doing far less than Mr. Manning. I will leave you with one of many illegal maneuvers that Viridian plays; What's your "warm" market? 

I have been a customer for over 2 years and live in JCPL territory in NJ. I have saved money every month except 2 months back in summer of 2011. i was educated by a Viridian rep at the time that i would save money over time, which I have. This past spring i converted to the 6 month fixed product and saved $80, $70 and $76 in June, July and Aug. That alone was worth switching and the fact that I've made an impact in the environment makes me feel great.  i also signed up for their natural gas product and had huge savings over the summer with my pool heater being on. I believe i saved close to $300 in 4 months.  Rip off??? you're SO wrong.

    Just some background so you know where I am coming from on this I was a Viridian Associate from Feb 2011 to Feb 2012 and a customer for 14 months ending in May 2012 at which time I moved on to another company as a associate and customer. First off about the article being in april and the 20% savings in the summer, that was the special they ran last summer (2011) which is what she said. 

    The whole deregulated energy market is the best thing to happen for the consumer as long as they do their homework and pick the best company and plan for their needs. Some companies offer very competitive rates and plans range from variable or fixed. Fixed plans lock you into a contract and variable plans are generally month to month. The company I choose now which I will not mention so you don't think I'm just trying to sell you on it offers a variable rate but we set a rate cap under the utilities rate. 

    Some companies offer you a higher green option or 100% green but you can choose their  everyday "brown"product. Some companies only offer the basic supply which has to meet the state standards for renewable energy. Viridian only has 2 options, 20% above state standards or 100% green or renewable. You have to understand that renewable energy does cost more to generate and as a customer it is your choice, some people like the environmental impact a company like Viridian has. What they offer is affordable green energy, not necessarilly cheaper.

    The problem alot of people have with Viridian is that all their associates are not up front and miss quote or over sell the savings. When I joined they keep telling us and promoteing a "Historical" Savings of 8%. They did say that it could possible go over the utilities rate but it has never happened. Up until the end of last year they only had a variable rate and the whole thing they were pushing was no contracts which is one of the things most residential customers liked. After their rates went above the utilities for 2 months last summer (2011) they decided to add a fixed rate because we were loosing customers and they had to find a way to retain them.

    I don't know what their rates are now, and I'd like to see where you found on their site the listing of the rates their customers paid, not the intro rates they offer new customers. My first month of service March 2011 we saved $37. After that savings were minamal or none and in July, August and Sept. we paid more. When I got my last bill for May 2012, my savings for 14 months was only $33. which was only 3-1/2%. If you want to save the environment, this is great, if you want to save money, not so great.

    All I can say is do your homework and pick a supplier thats right for you. The whole thing with 3rd parties is not a scam. The company I am a customer with right now has been consistent with their rate. In the market I live in the utility's rate is $0.1187, our intro rate is $0.0935 and we have a cap at $0.1075. June, July, August and Sept 2012 my rate has been the "intro" of $0.0935 and we saved about 18% during summer months that are typically higher. So this does work you just have to make the right choice for you.      

I find this RipOff report odd because it was posted in April and yet the poster speaks of a Summer Rate Special?

Either way, I am a Viridian customer and this post was pointed out to me by my sister who is currently considering signing to purchase her power from Viridian. Personally, as a 16 month customer, have seen no such ripoff like actions. In fact, one thing that made me feel confident in Viridian's pricing was that they publish their rates on the web for anyone to see, which means I can, and on occasion do, check the published price against my bill - I have never found any trickery.

For those not following my logic; if Viridian publishes their prices publicly it makes it very difficult to increase the price over the current market rate, because if they did they would simply be turning away new customers as well angering existing customers.

Viridian publishes a Sustainability Report annually that transparently publishes every detail of their Renewable Energy purchasing. This report can be located on www.liveviridian.com

Additionally, the associate I worked with was able to answer all my questions regarding the fluctuation of rates for the last year, not only in my state, but also every other state they are in. However, Viridian also offers fixed rates in most states too, including mine. I opted for the fixed rate and am happy with it thus far.

I learned this week, that the CEO of Viridian won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. I am glad I made the choice to switch to this company. Their associates were just cleaning up the beach in my area recently and I was proud that I chose them over any other company (not that there were better companies that I found).