**psychology (we all make mistakes)

Just wanted to say, I worked for this company for about a week (was in between jobs and needed to have a paycheck while I looked for a new one) I hated working there, the supervisors are adolescent at best, many of the employees appear to be on drugs, all the owners are Scientologist's  and have the employees read training material that is at the core Scientology (many quotes from L.Ron Hubard) I find that extremely unethical because most of the employees are too idiotic to realize what they are actually reading. Now this being said I'd like to tell you all that  

1) Telemarketing is a real job, it's not a fun job it's not a job people WANT to do but its a job.

2)They are not trying to scam you, they are being trained and told these programs will help you save money and they believe that to be true. The honest truth is they may help you save, they may not every program is different.

3)They are not switching your utility provider, the utility buys electricity from supply companies on the market. The utility has been de-regulated by the state you live in and this is the utilities program.  

4) The PUC's website is a trust worthy source, they fine suppliers for any offenses on behalf of the consumers.

5)The only thing these telemarketers can do with your account number is pay your bill, they don't get payed enough to do that.  

6)The same people aren't calling you over and over, the number is recycled through a computer system, so its a new person calling, who is not aware of how many times you've been called.  

7)The telemarketer is not hanging up when you answer, the dialer system is dropping the call.

8)Your utility company is the one giving your numbers to these call centers, in fact they SELL them along with your names and address's so it doesn't matter if you're on the national Do Not Call List. Stop threatening marketers and go call your utility company and ask why they sell your information for less then a penny.  

9)Rather then cursing, hanging up or any other rude behavior, simply tell the marketer "put me on your companies do not call list" they must comply, and tell them to take your other numbers out of the system if you have any more.

10) They don't enjoy bothering you any more then you enjoy unwanted solicitations, but thats what they have to do to make a living so try and at least be a decent human being when answering the phone,  and try not to let paranoia get the best of you.  

Also before the nasty replies come rolling in, I am not "stupid" and I've held many jobs before my week in hell as a telemarketer and currently am studying for my PhD in phycology, and began reading this as a study I'm doing on human paranoia and natural distrust of people they are not in direct contact with (telemarketers in this instance)  

Some guy called and said he was applying for a personal loan. I told him we don't do that and he hung up. I have caller ID and on it , it says "Atkinson Bran"

The Do not call list is a scam.. company gets a lot of their leads off of that list so u r paying for nothing.. trust I worked for companys and they will call u the best way jus get irate n ask to speak with a supervisor or take legal action or simply change ur number

I know this company they enroll peoples accounts for savings I found out who they were when my mother needed to lower her gas bill. So far they have been incredibly nice and moms bills have decreased tremendously. I don't know what they have done to make anyone angry except call on the phone.

Hello J,

I find it interesting that a company like Vista Energy Marketing which has an A rating with the BBB and very few online complaints in comparison to the competition, is discredited by you. Your posting states you recommend cancelling Vista Energy and that 'any other supplier' would be a good fit? Even the ones with a laundry list of negative online press and bad BBB ratings? Let's be forthright and honest here 'J', please.

Although one can't be certain 'J', it seems that you are either: a) The competition with something to gain by slandering a reputable business or: b) A disgruntled former Vista Energy employee. Even if both of those assumptions is incorrect, what you are doing here is dishonest, mean spirited and just plain wrong.

I would recommend folks do some online research and come to their own conclusions regarding Vista Energy Marketing. Although not a perfect company, Vista is most certainly undeserved the unfair negative comments, from what appears to be an individual with hidden objectives.

DO NOT ANSWER THIS COMPANY, IT IS ALL BASED ON BRAINWASH SCIENTOLOGY!! REPORT THEM!!!!

I fill them out, not that I think it does much good.  But it takes very little time and I recommend everyone do it.

I just got a call from these guys today and he wanted me to give my info to him I told him to call back on Monday and I have put him on my blocked calls list on my phone  he wanted my account number and other info I told him no

Hi sir I am currently calling soe a particular company and eould like to extend my services to your company. I am great on the phone and like you i care a great deal about my customers. If you want to extend your operations and get a great telemarketer for your electric supply company please contact me. My e-mail is rodj62@yahoo.com. Thanks.

all you have to do is call them to disconnect, if you did not understand what you were getting into they have to release you.

There is no scam , I don`t work for any company , I think most consumers wether it be commercial or residential, Just dont understand that they can lower ther electric bill or gas bill at no cost, All the consumer is doing is forcing there utility company to purchase gas or electric at a lower rate on there behalf , But the consumer must choose a supplier , So I like to look at like this, If your filling your gas tank at the local convient store , And gas is 25% less a gallon across the street ,  you would go accross the street,Right !!  Why wouldnt you take  advantage of a prograhm regulated in your state that gives you (the consumer) the power to lower your utility cost by as much as 30% .. I just think most people are not educated about deregulation , And what it means to the consumer... So please unless you can afford your utility bill , Do some investigating, contact your department of energy in your state , Just think what you would be paying if the telecome industry wasnt deregulated, Its the same thing here........

Here is a link about the executives of Vista Energy:

http://www.cftc.gov/ucm/groups/public/@lrenfo ... orderwhalen.pdf

Who can trust Vista Energy when they've previous convictions by FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) and they're utilizing a 3rd party call center, CSS (Consumer Sales Solutions) locates in FL to make telemarketing sales call to PG&E business???  So, I researched CSS and find they're been fined multiple times on slamming customer accounts for several energy suppliers in the past.

My understanding is that there is no way to stop business to business calls. You can ask them to take you off of their calling list, but I am guessing that they can call back again if they wish.

If they are calling your home you can register on the DNC list.

Phone ID displays ( Toll Free ), they just hang up when you answer the phone.

remember, there ARE good alternative energy supplier out there that WILL save you money and it's all through your utility company so nothing changes. Vista IS a sh*tty company though, so is Spark , they don't give a sh*t about customer service, they don't even know the meaning of the damn words.

BUT, some of their competitors are fantastic and WILL easily save you 5-12% annually on your gas supply. ALWAYS REQUEST WRITTEN INFORMATION, SH*TTY COMPANIES CAN'T PROVIDE THIS BUT GOOD COMPANIES WILL.

It is not illegal, it's very good program..it's actually a program made available through your utility company. UNFORTUNATELY, the company that is calling all of you people is a company that doesn't care about quality customer service and hires any drug addict off the street. And this company markets enrollments for participating suppliers that also do not care about providing quality customer service.

I am the owner of a company that is in the same industry as this crappy company and the crappy energy suppliers that hired them. The difference is my staff actually cares, actually answers the phone when you call, we actually save our customers 10-17% on their bills, and maintain a perfect zero-complaint history. I wish companies like them would just get the hell out of our industry and stop ruining it & giving it a bad name.

Dear Customer,
We are sorry to see that your concerns do not seem to have been addressed after Lakeshore Energy’s Manager of Customer Relations responded personally to your e-mail to our organization.  We apologized for the inconvenience and immediately distributed the telephone numbers you listed as prohibited for calling by all agents who call on Lakeshore’s behalf.

The 800 number posted on this forum belongs to a third-party call center who contracts with dozens of energy companies who service areas all over the United States and Canada.  The link you have posted to Lakeshore Energy’s parent company’s website is only associated with our organization who services customers in Michigan and Ohio.  If a customer is called by this 800 number and does not live in those areas, this link is useless to them.  Likewise, this link is only for one of a dozen or so companies who service Michigan or Ohio, and this narrows down the usefulness further.
Please understand that the link you have posted to Seminole Energy’s website will lead potential callers in states other than Michigan and Ohio to a contact who will not be able to address their concerns.  Having said that, even callers in Michigan or Ohio, who may have been called by the third-party call center and who contact a telephone number from the Seminole Energy link you have incorrectly posted, would be contacting someone in a department who is not connected to the small commercial/residential business unit.   Directing customers to do what you have posted will lead them on a wild goose chase.  Others who have posted on this forum before have done the legwork and found the name of the company via a reverse lookup.  If you search their name, you will find this link which is far more helpful to a frustrated customer than giving them false directions and frustrating them even further.
For anyone who does not wish to be contacted by the third-party call center and placed on a Do-Not-Call list, please contact (800-919-8021) to be removed from future campaigns.  If you do not call this number, you will not be taken out of the database, but rather only off the list of the energy supplier that the call center is currently working on behalf of.
To the poster of this original message, if you have any further questions, you know how to contact me.  
Thank you for your time.  
Manager of Customer Relations

These people are a pain - apparently DO NOT CALL is to many words for them to understand

Got a call today at work.  Saw the 800 number on caller ID and didn't answer.  Picked up VM and there was a message from Chris at Vista Energy asking me to call 800-919-8021 ext 384, regarding my PG&E gas account, which I won't be doing.

i received calls every day from this people for my boss,
they said it is to talk about information mailed to us with our pg and e bill (electric/gas) i checked the bills and there is nothing different! i called the number 1800-919-8021 and the operator answers "customer Service" she wont tell you the name of the company! the ext. the woman gave me was 398. I asked the woman (very rude person by the way) what company this was and she said something supply, not sure.

Just for everyone's knowledge, calls from energy suppliers are exempt from the DNC lists.  It sux, but it is fact.

I cannot believe this site exists. I am not all that up on computer stuff but out of real concern I just put in the phone number ... unreal that this has been going on for so long.

The reason I've making this comment is that my 87 yr old aunt just called to tell me she'd gotten her Christmas Tree and signed up  with Lori at 1-800-919-8021 x457 for her electricity next year and was so glad to get that off her list before Christmas. I promised I would look into it based on my experience with it

The first time they called I was en route for surgery ... told her to call back. The first time I was able to talk to her she explained that NYSEG was no longer able to offer choices, like a fixed price on elec so I should choose her offer. She was not able to make any sense so I asked to speak to a supervisor (I've done customer service for a Fortune 500 corp) and when the supervisor wasn't able to explain - and wasn't willing to mail anything, I decided to ignore the continuing call and deal with NYSEG - even tho they are now owned by a Spanish Corp.

I will call NYSEG asap and see what they can tell me. I live in a county in the southern tier of NYS ... and if we elderly (I'm 68) are being targeted and it's going to cost my Aunt more than NYSEG Solutions would cost maybe I can get something into the local paper.

Thanks for being here

Constant calls from this number... Never anyone there, just hangups
sometimes 3 or 4 a day... I am on DNC list too
Same MO  when you call back recording press ext. or customer service.
Boy this is #@%#@!@@~%^!!!! irritating!  Most times I don't answer it because
I can see who it is

I just called this place, various times, and as posted above, each time I would get the "customer service" or "operator" voicemail. I tried the other numbers listed and the different extensions until I finally got "Tracy Paula?" I asked to speak to the supervisor and she attempted to get him on the line but apparently he was busy. His name was Anthony. I did, however, get her to divulge the name of the company she worked for. She said it was "Consumer Sales Solution, LLC" and that her office was based out of Clearwater, FL but that they had many offices all over the country. I made small chat with her when she first picked up so that getting this information would be easier. Usually, when you ask them for info, they try to give you a "runaround" answer and never full disclose who they are. I'm posting this information on every website I can find. I hope this helps anyone on here.

Caller was from Spark Energy trying to sell their electric program over BGE.

I just got a call (3:00pm EST) from this 727 number and was told to call the 800 number regarding my BGE water bill.  Just as previously mentioned, the caller was representing Spark Energy, attempting to illicit my BGE account info to sell their electric program.  Of course the beginning of the call is very weird, not giving a company name, and pretty much as soon as I got on the line with an operator, they wanted my account info.  I don't trust this number one bit.

Received three calls today over a 6 hour period and they hung up each time.

Just got two calls in a row from this number while I was working with students.
(Ignored the first one, and they called right back)

Called the number back--did not divulge who they were. If they call again they will get an earful.

We have had 7 calls from this company in the last 2 weeks.  Never leaves a message or they hang up when we answer.  

This is a business line that they call us on and it takes time away from our clients.  We have decided to file a

1088D complaint with the FCC.