I am a single mother with two small children and only get 7-20 hours a week. I pay all my bills by myself and my light bill is high, due to a past bill from a previous address that I paid. But I am being told it was not paid. I have gotten my bill down and have a cut-off notice. I called Allegheny (Potomac Edison) to work out payment and was told no. The rep I spoke to was very rude and not very understanding at all. I just do not get it. When a consumer tries to pay bills even if it is not the entire bill, companies tell them no. Who in these days can pay an entire bill? I feel they have no compassion and the fact that they would turn electric off in the winter time is beyond mean. I need help in fighting to keep my electric on and to get them to realize I am willing to pay. I just can't pay the entire bill. My cut-off date is 1/11/2012.
Consumer Complaints & Reviews
When my husband and I moved from our little apartment to a house, of course we had to go with Allegheny Power. What I was not told was that my old bill from my old place would be put on my new bill at my house and now because of that, they are making me pay massive amounts to keep my electricity on at my new place. What they deem as an agreement to pay is also a lie. I was told one thing, but funny enough, the price I owe per month keeps going up. Now, if I didn't have all that money in the first place and either myself or my husband have been laid off the last 2 years and are finally trying to get back on our feet, why is it they keep making it harder for me to pay them back? Don't they want their money? And how is that lawful to put amount owed at a completely different residence onto a new residence?
We live in a small house and are charged $150 a month for electric. And they made us give a $300 deposit and after a year have yet to give it back. We are sick and tired of being ripped off by this monopoly. We have no other choice but do be at their mercy and this is goes against the very foundation our country was built on. Shame on whoever could be making a difference but chooses not to.
The problem is, like with many utilities which hold a monopoly, consumers have no options to shop around for better service. This is only the lastest in a string of examples of poor service and lack of response, not necessarily from the people in the field but from the headquarters employees. I suspect the real reason is to help them pay their attorney fees for controversial projects like the unwanted new high tension lines being run across northern Virginia(rather than generating cleaner power closer to where it is used).
I have called Allegheny about our electric bill that I thought it was to high. I asked them to come out and check our meter. They said they would not . That meter would last 50 years. They charge me a Security deposit for being late 455.00. I explained that I had fallen and broke my knee cap and have a fractured back. My husband was paying the bills and I had Other medical stuff I had to buy and it put us back. I told her that I would now be doing the bills and That I planed to put our pill on auto bill where they can take it right out of our bank acct each month. why would you put that on somebody thats all ready struggling.
Also they have these fees for everything Generation charge at.07738 per KWH $260.00. transmission charge at .00401 per KWH $13.49 customer distribuion charge $ 5.00 Electric Universal service Fee 0.37 KHW Distribution Charge at .01691 per KWH $ 56.87 cogeneration PURPA Surcharge $ 16.99 Franchise Tax 2.09 Md environmental Surcharge O.49 Toatal 329.63 then 100.00 a month for sycurity deposit If you have read the back of your electric bill you are being charge for things that look like the same thing, This is crazy. They said I used 3363 KWH estimated avg daily use 112 avg temp 32 avg daily cost $10.99 avg mthly usg $27.45 12 month usg 329.05 Anyway Is there anyway to get them not to charge us a security deposit? To give it back. And to get them to check the meter.
This is killing me to keep up on my bills that I have.
