Damn you, Direct Energy!

Motorcycle Mike

Motorcycle Mike

Well-known member
Sorry in advance about the rant -- just another company to piss me off.

I recently bought a house which came with a Direct Energy water heater rental.
The water heater is a bit over-sized for the house and for the number of people living here, is 8 years old, but is still costing me $15/month, so I have decided to buy a smaller, more efficient water heater that I will buy outright -- at $15 a month for a rental I would break even on a new water heater in 4 years anyway.

So I called Direct Energy to see if there is any fee to get out of the current contract. They respond that there is no fee to break this contract, but they charge $75 to pick-up their old water heater if you can't drop it off yourself.

This irked me a bit... $75 for them to come get their old junk?! But okay, no worries, I will borrow a truck and drop it off myself. So I ask them for a list of locations and the list doesn't have a single drop-off location near Mississauga or Brampton -- list includes York Mills, Kitchener, Oshawa, Barrie, Hamilton, etc, but no Mississauga or Brampton?!

They try to make it so difficult to leave that you stay, but in the end what they are doing is pissing me off so much that I will bear the expense to leave them, I will make damn sure I never come back and everyone will hear about their practices too. F U Direct Energy.

/rant

P.S. Anyone know any alternative to my problem -- like perhaps a closer drop-off location for a direct energy water heater than York Mills? Any way to force them to get their junk without paying a pick-up fee?
 
Stop paying your bill. They will threaten to come and take their equipment away. Dare them to do it. Problem solved.
 
Wait for it to fail? Then refuse to sign for a replacement. Act as if you'd be happy to leave it where it is. If they really want it they'll come get it, if not you can get a scrapper to come get it. Dunno, just thinking out loud.
 
I think I agreed to take over the contract when I bought the house... part of the deal that I suppose I could have written out, but didn't think of it at the time. I can't stop paying the bill as it is included on my gas bill. I could wait for it to fail, but that could take years... I might still pull it out myself and just drop it at their depot, even if it is a few km away -- then watch, they will claim it is damaged even though they definitely won't reuse an 8 year old water heater elsewhere.
 
Can't you just leave it on the curb on garbage day. The guys with pickup trucks collecting metal will grab that up in a minute. I know that every time anything of metal is left out in our area it will for sure be gone in the morning.
 
gamma1 said:
Can't you just leave it on the curb on garbage day. The guys with pickup trucks collecting metal will grab that up in a minute. I know that every time anything of metal is left out in our area it will for sure be gone in the morning.
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I'm guessing that he has to return it to them or else they will charge him for it.
 
Diesel said:
I think I agreed to take over the contract when I bought the house... part of the deal that I suppose I could have written out, but didn't think of it at the time. I can't stop paying the bill as it is included on my gas bill. I could wait for it to fail, but that could take years... I might still pull it out myself and just drop it at their depot, even if it is a few km away -- then watch, they will claim it is damaged even though they definitely won't reuse an 8 year old water heater elsewhere.
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I rent my hwh from "Direct Energy", and make quarterly payments.
I pay "Union Gas" monthly for all the gas I use. No connection to Direct Energy.
If you're paying "rent" on the same bill as your gas bill, the hwh has likely been purchased by the previous owner, not rented. Or, if you're paying Direct Energy for the gas you use, someone signed up with one of those door to door soliciters, which you can get out of in a heartbeat.

The contract / title you signed upon purchase would have stated all rental appliances in the home.
 
Can you just offer to buy the heater from D. Energy?

bigguy1 said:
Stop paying your bill. They will threaten to come and take their equipment away. Dare them to do it. Problem solved.
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Nice one...
Gary said:
I rent my hwh from "Direct Energy", and make quarterly payments.
I pay "Union Gas" monthly for all the gas I use. No connection to Direct Energy.
If you're paying "rent" on the same bill as your gas bill, the hwh has likely been purchased by the previous owner, not rented. Or, if you're paying Direct Energy for the gas you use, someone signed up with one of those door to door soliciters, which you can get out of in a heartbeat.

The contract / title you signed upon purchase would have stated all rental appliances in the home.
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any ideas on how to get out of a contract from Enbridge?
 
You can buy it from them but it will cost as much as a new one, your only option is to return it if you don't you will end up paying them the cost of a new one. I did the same with mine there was no problem you drop it off they give you a piece of paper saying it was returned and you are done, bit of a PITA to take it to them but it is really your only option. Also check the hours that you can return it they are something like 9 am to noon Monday to Friday.
 
Scuba Steve said:
You can buy it from them but it will cost as much as a new one, your only option is to return it if you don't you will end up paying them the cost of a new one. I did the same with mine there was no problem you drop it off they give you a piece of paper saying it was returned and you are done, bit of a PITA to take it to them but it is really your only option. Also check the hours that you can return it they are something like 9 am to noon Monday to Friday.
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It depends on how old the tank is, mine was over 10 years old and the buy out was less than $50. It was cheaper than having them pick it up
 
RockerGuy said:
any ideas on how to get out of a contract from Enbridge?
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Call them. Tell them you want out?
Reason: you had dimentia when you signed.
Not only that, but whoever signed was NOT authorized (tell them that).
I got my parents off one with a single phone call. (not Enbridge though, but similar)
 
Gary said:
Call them. Tell them you want out?
Reason: you had dimentia when you signed.
Not only that, but whoever signed was NOT authorized (tell them that).
I got my parents off one with a single phone call. (not Enbridge though, but similar)
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They keep telling me that I need to pay $xxx to get out
 
Diesel said:
Sorry in advance about the rant -- just another company to piss me off.

I recently bought a house which came with a Direct Energy water heater rental.
The water heater is a bit over-sized for the house and for the number of people living here, is 8 years old, but is still costing me $15/month, so I have decided to buy a smaller, more efficient water heater that I will buy outright -- at $15 a month for a rental I would break even on a new water heater in 4 years anyway.

So I called Direct Energy to see if there is any fee to get out of the current contract. They respond that there is no fee to break this contract, but they charge $75 to pick-up their old water heater if you can't drop it off yourself.

This irked me a bit... $75 for them to come get their old junk?! But okay, no worries, I will borrow a truck and drop it off myself. So I ask them for a list of locations and the list doesn't have a single drop-off location near Mississauga or Brampton -- list includes York Mills, Kitchener, Oshawa, Barrie, Hamilton, etc, but no Mississauga or Brampton?!

They try to make it so difficult to leave that you stay, but in the end what they are doing is pissing me off so much that I will bear the expense to leave them, I will make damn sure I never come back and everyone will hear about their practices too. F U Direct Energy.

/rant

P.S. Anyone know any alternative to my problem -- like perhaps a closer drop-off location for a direct energy water heater than York Mills? Any way to force them to get their junk without paying a pick-up fee?
Click to expand...
Call them and just say, I am putting it on the curb, you can race the scrap guy to it, as for it being on your bill. that means ****, your bill is supplied by Enbridge, they just collect it for Direct Energy, it won't affect your bill at all.
RockerGuy said:
Can you just offer to buy the heater from D. Energy?



Nice one...


any ideas on how to get out of a contract from Enbridge?
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What contract? Enbridge doesn't sign contracts, they are only a distribution utilty.
 
^ Stop talking out of your ***, not only does enbridge sign people into contracts its in their best interest. Ofcourse we're not talking about equipment but gas prices. You can sign a contract for X number of year at X rate or you can go variable which the rate gets adjusted 4 times a year. Its just like mortgages. You can lock yourself in for fixed rate or do variable.

I'm in the same situation as OP. I have (Had, since i also yanked it out and replaced with High Eff tank i got for a SMOOOOKING deal)

I get my bill from Enbridge and tacked on it is the 14.99 for hot water tank and it says something like "third party" on it, but you cannot separate the payments....So unless u want Enbridge to start getting ****** off at you for late payments, either pay em, or drop it off.

My old tank is sitting in my garage waiting for me to get some time to take it in.

Dont for a second think that Direct Energy gives a **** if you throw it out or return it. They are gonna keep charging you whether its sitting collecting dust, working or has been already melted down for scrap metal, and its in their best interest to make it as inconvenient as possible. My closest drop off locations are Orangeville or Hwy 7/Hwy 400 area. So i'll hitch on the trailer and drop it off on my way to work.

Speaking of Direct Energy....i got em to quote me a new furnace installation. Basic single stage unit with installation was gonna be $3200. Two stage, Variable speed motor, $4200. Doing some leg work and quick trip to Buffalo had me in possession of the exact same two stage, variable speed motor furnace for $1300 taxes in, installation cost me $600 + 100 for water tank and 100 for additional pipe running for my basement. Furnace ended up costing me $1900 vs $4200.

PM me if you want the contact info of the company i bought the furnace from in Buffalo.

oh and google Direct Energy.....they are the farking devil!
 
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Take it to them if you put it at the curb you will have to pay for it, and they will send collection agencies after you. Don't make your life any more difficult than it has to be.
 
Red_Liner740 said:
^ Stop talking out of your ***, not only does enbridge sign people into contracts its in their best interest. Ofcourse we're not talking about equipment but gas prices. You can sign a contract for X number of year at X rate or you can go variable which the rate gets adjusted 4 times a year. Its just like mortgages. You can lock yourself in for fixed rate or do variable.

I'm in the same situation as OP. I have (Had, since i also yanked it out and replaced with High Eff tank i got for a SMOOOOKING deal)

I get my bill from Enbridge and tacked on it is the 14.99 for hot water tank and it says something like "third party" on it, but you cannot separate the payments....So unless u want Enbridge to start getting ****** off at you for late payments, either pay em, or drop it off.

My old tank is sitting in my garage waiting for me to get some time to take it in.

Dont for a second think that Direct Energy gives a **** if you throw it out or return it. They are gonna keep charging you whether its sitting collecting dust, working or has been already melted down for scrap metal, and its in their best interest to make it as inconvenient as possible. My closest drop off locations are Orangeville or Hwy 7/Hwy 400 area. So i'll hitch on the trailer and drop it off on my way to work.

Speaking of Direct Energy....i got em to quote me a new furnace installation. Basic single stage unit with installation was gonna be $3200. Two stage, Variable speed motor, $4200. Doing some leg work and quick trip to Buffalo had me in possession of the exact same two stage, variable speed motor furnace for $1300 taxes in, installation cost me $600 + 100 for water tank and 100 for additional pipe running for my basement. Furnace ended up costing me $1900 vs $4200.

PM me if you want the contact info of the company i bought the furnace from in Buffalo.

oh and google Direct Energy.....they are the farking devil!
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LOLz, I thought I was zoning out or something. I've been seeing an Enbridge bill for years and they are charging me.

I called Direct Energy because my pilot light for my water heater was out. They told me they cannot offer me instructions over the phone due to liability reasons. They want someone to come over for $120 to switch on my pilot light. Fack that crap, I tried to figure it out. It was a pain in the arse but I eventually figured it out. Figured how fool proof the water heaters are. At first I was scared of blowing up my god damn house :(
 
Red_Liner740 said:
^ Stop talking out of your ***, not only does enbridge sign people into contracts its in their best interest. Ofcourse we're not talking about equipment but gas prices. You can sign a contract for X number of year at X rate or you can go variable which the rate gets adjusted 4 times a year. Its just like mortgages. You can lock yourself in for fixed rate or do variable.

I'm in the same situation as OP. I have (Had, since i also yanked it out and replaced with High Eff tank i got for a SMOOOOKING deal)

I get my bill from Enbridge and tacked on it is the 14.99 for hot water tank and it says something like "third party" on it, but you cannot separate the payments....So unless u want Enbridge to start getting ****** off at you for late payments, either pay em, or drop it off.

My old tank is sitting in my garage waiting for me to get some time to take it in.

Dont for a second think that Direct Energy gives a **** if you throw it out or return it. They are gonna keep charging you whether its sitting collecting dust, working or has been already melted down for scrap metal, and its in their best interest to make it as inconvenient as possible. My closest drop off locations are Orangeville or Hwy 7/Hwy 400 area. So i'll hitch on the trailer and drop it off on my way to work.

Speaking of Direct Energy....i got em to quote me a new furnace installation. Basic single stage unit with installation was gonna be $3200. Two stage, Variable speed motor, $4200. Doing some leg work and quick trip to Buffalo had me in possession of the exact same two stage, variable speed motor furnace for $1300 taxes in, installation cost me $600 + 100 for water tank and 100 for additional pipe running for my basement. Furnace ended up costing me $1900 vs $4200.

PM me if you want the contact info of the company i bought the furnace from in Buffalo.

oh and google Direct Energy.....they are the farking devil!
Click to expand...
STFU if you don't know what you're talking about. I work for Enbridge, they are a distibution company, and they don't profit from the sale of natural gas. If you are in a contract you're with a marketer. How is it in their best interest if they don't profit from it, explain. I hope your new furnace is approved to be used in Canada, because if it isn't and we get a call to do any work on the gas service, we'll A tag it, disconnect it, and we don't give a rats *** if it's the coldest day of the yr., and the guy that installed will get a visit from the kind ppl at TSSA.
As for not being able to separate the billing, I believe Enbridge was suppose to stop billing for direct energy last yr, but for some reason they continue to collect for them.
 
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Reading comprehension is not your friend...i said i got the exact same furnace as what DE sells....so unless their furnaces are not CSA approved, then neither is mine. EDIT* Just double checked and yes, the model number is CSA approved.

So when Enbridge keeps calling me to scare me with potential skyrocketing gas prices to lock me into a gas contract i should tell them to STFU cuz some guy on the internet says that they they dont do that?!

Now if thats a marketer representing himself as an Enbridge employee, we got ourselves a much bigger problem.
 
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Diesel said:
Sorry in advance about the rant -- just another company to piss me off.



So I called Direct Energy to see if there is any fee to get out of the current contract. They respond that there is no fee to break this contract, but they charge $75 to pick-up their old water heater if you can't drop it off yourself.
Click to expand...

Call them up and tell them your willing to extend the favor of crediting the $75 pick up fee against the $100/day your charging them for storing their junk at your place..
 
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