A Viridian Energy Review – Legit, Scam or Pyramid? You Decide

Company: Viridian Enegry
Website: www.viridian .com
Founder: Michael Fallquist

Welcome to my review of Viridian Energy!

If you ended up here, you most likely want to know two things.

Is Viridian Energy legit and can I make money with this online business opportunity?

Well, there is no simple way to answer those two questions.

Since this is a 3rd party review, I have no affiliation with the companies I review.

What I do is provide information about a company and leave the decision up to you.

By the end of the review, you will have plenty of information and make the right decision based on your needs.

I call it like I see it.

If a company has a legit product and can make you money, I have no problem saying so.

If you the company is a scam, I provide evidence to back up my claims.

It is that simple.

Make no mistake about it, the vast majority of “reviews” are done by affiliates and therefore bias.

This does not happen here.

So I am glad you found this site because that means you are doing the best thing possible; educating yourself before making a potentially harmful decision.

So let’s get started…

A Viridian Energy Overview

Viridian Energy was founded in 2009, by Michael Fallquist.

It is a green energy niche MLM and appears to provide people with green energy at lower rates than major energy providers.

It is currently being lead by a man named Paul Booth, CEO, who has 30 years of network marketing experience.

He also have years of experience by creating and leveraging technology which helps direct sales professionals.

Here is a link that will provide all of the information about Viridian Energy leadership.

This is important information because the leadership often determines the success of a company.

There seems to be a strong and experienced team behind the wheel here.

Let’s move on to the products & services section of the review to see if the rest of the company checks out.

Products & Services

Here is a brief list of products and services that the company promotes.

PRODUCTS FROM HOME
• Electricity & Natural Gas
• Solar
• Smart Thermostats
• ECO Prepaid (Texas Only)

PRODUCTS FOR BUSINESS
• Commercial Energy Program

TRAVEL THE WORLD WITH US
• Travel Light Membership

ENERGY PRICE INFORMATION
• Utility Price Index
• Solar
• Smart Thermostats

This is just a list so that you can see what kinds of offers Viridian Energy has.

It offers a “cheaper” and greener energy which promotes a cleaner environment.

This sounds great right, well it is a good thing there is no disputing that.

But the claims that the company is making has gotten them into legal issues along with questionable billing practices.

This is not a good look for the company considering they are claiming to be family oriented.

These kinds of lawsuits put a dent in that claim.

Check out all of the details in the next section.

Better Business Bureau (BBB)

I’ve decided to start adding a BBB section into my reviews because there is a lot of valuable information that can be gathered in their database.

I have done nearly 75 reviews and never have I seen a “tale of two cities” situation with a company.

Check this out!!!

Viridian Energy #1: (Not Accredited with BBB)

Viridian Energy
http://www.viridian.com
2422 Old Westminster Pike
Finksburg, MD 21048

As you can see from the link, there is a D+ rating from BBB and this is not good news even if it is not the Viridian, LLC version.

It seems to be the same business because the website is the same in both link that I will provide.

The only thing that is different is the address and the “LLC.”

They are the same however, because of the following information.

Check it out below.

Notice the 3rd paragraph in the complaint.

It specifically talks about cancellation fees.

This article, Viridian Energy Facing State Investigation, talks about a lawsuit against Viridian for the exact same reason that the compliant is about.

“If the customers then left Viridian by switching to another supplier or returning to Standard Service during the term of the renewed contract, Viridian assessed an early termination fee on the grounds that the early termination fee provision was contained in the renewed contract.”

Viridian Energy, LLC #2: (Accredited with BBB)

This company is a much different story but you can still tell that both companies are the same due to the website listed and the complaint being of the same nature.

I think that maybe one branch of the company has not gone through the process of becoming accredited, where as the Viridian Energy, LLC headquarters has.

Anyway, here is the second BBB filing.

Viridian Energy, LLC
http://www.viridian.com
535 Connecticut Ave Fl 6
Norwalk, CT 06854-1700

There is an A+ grading on this company which is great but there is something much more alarming with this page.

You see, BBB doesn’t endorse products or companies themselves.

All they care about is how a company handles customer complaint.

If they are handled in a timely and appropriate manner, no harm, no foul.

There is a ridiculous number of complaints in a short period of time with this company.

Customer Complaints Summary – 194 complaints closed in last 3 years, 9 closed in last year
Advertising/Sales Issues: 26
Billing/Collection Issues: 105
Problems w/ Product/ Service: 63

Customer Reviews Summary – 17 total
Positive Experience: 9
Negative Experience: 8

Ok, straight out of the gate, I have never seen so many complaints with a company.

Imagine how many of the complaints were either settled without BBB involvement or left unchecked.

There has to be something wrong here.

Let’s see a positive and negative comment to ensure objectivity.

Here is where I come in on the matter.

With the two different listings for the same company, you can clearly see that they are the same but one of them is accredited and the other is not.

Both of the links I provided have similar complaints and this is verified with pending lawsuits against Viridian and other similar power companies.

Also, there are 17 customer reviews with the second listing with BBB; 9 are positive and 8 are negative.

Why would you flip a coin and take a chance that you are going to be one of the many people taken advantage of?

This is unwanted stress and it is easier to find alternative energy by other means.

Even some main stream power companies offer some sort of renewable energy package.

To be honest, the whole process of switching power companies seems without any other process besides signing on the dotted line seems shady at best.

Here are a few more links that will help shed some light on the situations.
TruthInAdvertising.org Article

Electric Company Sued For ‘Deceptive’ Billing Practices

None of this is good news and I’m wondering why there is no warning issued yet although some of the lawsuits are class action, which can take a long time to litigate.

Also, more people are joining the lawsuit on a regular basis.

Either way, this kind of evidence is not a good look for the Maryland branch of Viridian or the LLC version in Connecticut.

Compensation Plan

WAYS TO EARN MONEY
1. Earn Customer Bonuses – For each recruit you enroll, you start earning money.
2. Earn Team Bonuses – Encourages members to mentor their recruits.
3. Earn Residual Income – You get residual income every month your recruits pay their bills
4. Enjoy A Car Pool – Top money makers can enjoy this perk.
5. Explore The World – Getaway Discounts and Voluntourist Journies.

This is just the basic breakdown of the Viridian Energy Compensation Plan.

Follow the link so you can read the PDF version for all of the details.

Things I Don’t Like About Viridian Energy

1. First off, all of the negative press about Viridian.

This includes, the BBB complaints and class action lawsuits.

It is also very difficult to find an 3rd party review that recommends you to go all in with this company.

The verdict of this lawsuit is still pending but there seem to have too many issues from the start.

The concept is great, but the way the company processes billing and automatically raises your prices and renegotiates your contract at their own free will is a bit alarming.

2. The second major issues I have with the company is that there is literally no other way to make money than recruiting.

This is alarming because if a company’s revenue is generated from recruiting, there is a conflict of interest.

Now, Viridian will argue that they generate income via people changing their services but the people that change their power services are recruited.

Hence, revenue is generated through recruiting only.

3. Many people are complaining about low prices to start out with but then the price hikes during peak seasons, like Winter, are outrageous.

This means that in some cases, you are not saving money.

In fact, some customers might have a higher bill when all is said and done.