Frontier Utilities has been flooding DFW with advertisements for cheap power, but consumer reviews say you should beware.
An investigation from The Dallas Express checked Frontier reviews on four major platforms: Reddit, Yelp, Texas Electricity Ratings, and the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Each review had a common theme: customers did not receive what they expected when signing up.
A typical Reddit example began, “This Frontier Electric company is a fraudulent company that manufactures fake kw of electricity the customer has used.”
This review, made in February, alleged that despite the claim of using very little electricity, “My 2nd bill came for 587.21, they are thieves! They are claiming that I used over 2000 kw. Made up numbers! I have proof from a whole previous year how I do not used over 1000 kw a month. My electric meter was checked on 2023 and is working fine. This company is falsifying the electricity watts usage to rob the customers.”
The next commenter on Reddit concurred: “Worst company I’ve ever used.”
Customer dissatisfaction stands in stark contrast to Frontier’s advertisements.
“You could be paying too much for electricity if you’re not with Frontier Utilities. Stop comparing rates. We have some of the most affordable plans in Texas!..,” a Google Ad with the header “Low Rates for Texans” reads.
The company’s website proclaims itself as offering the “best value ” and “personalized customer service [and] full account control.” The company also highlights Frontier’s 4.9-star rating from 15,000 customers on Birdeye, a consumer review platform. However, most of these reviews appear to be five years old or older.
Notably, nearly all of the more recent reviews are either not in English or do not appear to be written by native English speakers.
Above the reviews, Birdeye hosts a digital billboard for the company, stating, “Why pay more for the same?”
The product Texans have most likely seen advertised is the “Frontier Saver Plus 12 Plan.” This 12-month fixed rate plan can help customers “enjoy peace of mind with a low rate guaranteed for 24 months.”
However, one Yelp user, Jacob of Houston, alleged that he was hit with a $295 fee for canceling his contract after he claimed he was billed at a higher rate than he agreed to when he signed up. Frontier’s Electricity Facts Label for 2024 indicates that “A $150.00 early termination fee will apply if you terminate service prior to the expiration of the contract term.”
It was not immediately clear why those prices would be so different.
Yelp has 162 reviews for Frontier Utilities, with an average rating of 1.5 out of 5 stars. Although this rating is similar to competitors such as TXU, the allegations about Frontier are unique. Numerous users allege their contracts were canceled without their assent and then hit with fees.
Numerous other complaints echo the element about paying higher prices than were allegedly initially quoted.
Yelper Gus T. said, “Frontier Utilities provided me low rate at 12.3 cents per kWh with email confirmation before I signed the contract. So I signed 12 months contract. But now, I m with Frontier utilities less than a month. [sic] the first bill came and my account shows 16.45 cents per kWh.”
The layout of Texas Electricity Ratings’ website gives the initial impression that its reviewers have had a positive experience with the company. The first view appears under the headline “no problems.”
It is from Kurt from Kileen and reads, “Been with them 2 years no issues at all, not even during the 2 week freeze. Prices are average. Happier with them than I was with TXU!” In response, there is a cheery exchange from a Frontier Utilities agent. The exchange is from 2021.
Then, there is a table of energy prices that purportedly show cheap rates in Dallas and Houston. Yet the quantity and quality of reviews on Texas Electricity Ratings’ website are nearly identical to those from Yelp. 175/232 reviews are one star.
A review by a Leakey-based user reads, “DO NOT BE LURED INTO THIS PLAN!” and “Unprofessional and Bad business,” another reviewer from Pflugerville wrote. These two complaints were from 2023.
Complaints with the same allegations themes as the Yelpers emerged: inexplicably canceled service, higher rates than promised, and mysterious charges.
The Better Business Bureau provides exhaustive and detailed accounts of customer disputes with Frontier Utilities. These cases, which are open to public review, also have nearly identical themes to those from the other review websites.
Better Business Bureau cases are the only public forum customer reviews that Frontier appears to respond to consistently. The first two complaints to populate when you access the BBB reviews accuse the company of taking advantage of the elderly.
The first complaint comes from Franklin, who says Frontier Utilities used some unclear means, which he describes as “dishonest,” to get him to change his electricity provider from TXU to Frontier. He says he did not know what he was doing and was hit with a termination fee from Frontier once he realized what he was involved in and tried to stop it.
“I am 90 years old and this company should stop their shady telemarketing practices. I never want to be contacted by phone by Frontier,” he concluded his 2023 complaint.
A response from “Frontier Utilities, Office of the President” indicates that the company waived the disconnection fee two to three months after the complaint. A timeline of events supplied by the president’s office says that Franklin reached a customer from Frontier to March, and there was a concurrent dispute about when the first bill would be paid.
The second complaint is written on behalf of a woman named Kaye around the same time as Franklin’s complaint. The brief entry alleges that “Frontier called Kaye, an elderly person with dementia to tell her she would get a $50 credit off her electricity bill and then signed her up for a 36-month contract.”
“Kaye will have to pay an early termination fee to her current provider and has no idea what she signed up for with the new provider. She is on a fixed Social Security income and can’t afford these fees or for her utility charges to increase,” the second complaint continues.
Frontier did not appear to fight this complaint to the degree that it disputed Franklin’s. The president’s timeline says Kaye was sent documents to rescind her contract, and she has been “returned to her previous provider along with all usage charges.”
Another complaint returns to the mysterious charge theme.
A customer alleged that they were charged to have their smart meter read, something smart meters do not require, and an event they say could not have happened because of the meter’s location. After considerable back-and-forth, which both parties acknowledged, the fees were waived.
Many of the rest of the BBB complaints continue in this vein.
Frontier Utilities is not BBB accredited, meaning it has not had its ethics and practices assessed by the Bureau. The Bureau reports that the Houston-based energy provider has been in business for 16 years.
Frontier was contacted for comment on the production of this story but did not respond by the publication deadline.
