BALTIMORE — In Maryland, consumers have the power to choose who supplies their gas and electricity. This de-regulation is supposed to promote competition by allowing customers to shop around for better prices, but an Annapolis business owner said this backfired when his employee switched their service without his knowledge.
It started with a collection notice from a company called SFE Energy.
“I’ve never heard of this company before in my life. We’ve been with BGE for 30 years,” said George Criswell, president of Criswell Acura.
Criswell ignored the bill at first.
“I thought it was a fake bill, we get fake bills in the mail pretty often, so I put ‘do not pay,’ put it aside. I started thinking about it a few days later and then I started Googling it - where is this bill coming from? Who are these people?” said Criswell.
He asked his employees, and a worker in accounts payable recognized the name. She claimed to have authorization to change the supplier and signed a contract in June.
The locked in rate was 14.03 cents per kilowatt hour for 4 years. The rate is slightly lower than BGE’s peak rate charge, but higher than the intermediate and off-peak rates.
Looking at one account, the switch cost Criswell an average of $450 more per month. His employee agreed to switch over six accounts.
“How much has this situation cost you?” WMAR-2 News Mallory Sofastaii asked Criswell.
“To date, through February, which is the date BGE said that they could correct the bill, a little over $11,000, so they obviously didn’t lower our bill. It’s been about $1,500 a month higher than BGE’s standard rates,” Criswell responded.
Criswell called SFE Energy in November and explained the situation. At the time, he said they didn’t make any concessions or waive the thousands of dollars in cancellation fees.
“And I got desperate. I sent you an email, I guess a few weeks ago at this point, and I was shocked you emailed me back and you've been extremely helpful,” Criswell told Sofastaii.
SFE Energy has since agreed to cancel the contract without penalty.
In an email, a spokesperson wrote:
"In June of 2022, SFE Energy entered into a large commercial supply agreement with Criswell Performance Cars of Annapolis. The Agreement was executed by an employee of Criswell Performance Cars of Annapolis, which neither party denies. The issue at hand here, is whether the employee of Criswell Performance Cars of Annapolis obtained authorization from the owner prior to entering into the agreement. SFE Energy’s records confirm that Criswell Performance Cars of Annapolis employee not only confirmed their authorization on a recorded verification call, but two weeks later also executed a letter confirming that they had such authorization. SFE undertakes such processes to confirm authorization prior to the enrollment of any supply contract.
Based on the employee’s representations, SFE Energy provided the requested electricity commodity service to Criswell Performance Cars of Annapolis.
The owner of Criswell Performance Cars of Annapolis did not make any contact with SFE Energy until the end of November to inquire about the agreement. SFE Energy was reviewing the customer’s account when the customer subsequently filed a Maryland PSC complaint in early December.
SFE Energy has responded to the PSC complaint and the matter is awaiting final disposition.
SFE Energy takes all customer issues very seriously and to address the concerns that Criswell Performance Cars has raised, SFE Energy has cancelled the customer’s agreement and waived any associated costs as a customer service gesture."
The Maryland Public Service Commission's Consumers Affairs Division (CAD) recently issued their decision siding with SFE Energy. The agency found the enrollment was valid and authorized by a representative of the business.
Criswell, however, maintains that he never would’ve switched the supplier especially with his past experience.
“I experienced a third-party provider maybe about 14 years ago or so and it ended in disaster, and I swore that I’d never leave BGE never again, and I haven’t,” said Criswell.
While the CAD ruled in favor of SFE Energy in this case, out of 113 complaints filed in the last 2 years, 53 were determined in favor of the customer and 47 complaints were determined in favor of the company.
And on January 26, the staff of the Public Service Commission filed a formal complaint against SFE Energy.
The supplier is accused of violating multiple consumer protection provisions including misrepresenting their relationship with BGE, not providing a full copy of the contract to the customer, and enrolling customers without their consent then requiring them to pay a cancellation fee.
Sofastaii contacted SFE Energy about this complaint. A spokesperson said they do not have any comment at this time as the matter is before the Public Service Commission.
SFE Energy has 20 days to respond to the Commission and make their case as to why their license shouldn't be revoked or suspended.
In the last 4 years, there have been 7 formal complaints against retail suppliers. These complaints have resulted in civil penalties for hundreds of thousands of dollars plus one supplier had their license revoked.
To file a complaint with the Public Service Commission, click here.