Pacific Gas and Electric

On 11/18/11, PG&E sent me a letter informing me that they had discovered that I was being billed Oakland's utility tax rate incorrectly. My business is in Emeryville. They gave me a contact person (George **) with the City of Oakland and he sent me a form to fill out to get a refund. I filled out the form, provided the documentation, and received a check back for one year of the 8 years that they had overcharged. He (George) told me that the statute of limitations on this is one year. I received my refund check for $277.66. Extrapolating from that, my refund amount would be a minimum of another $2000, probably more, for the remaining years.

It seems odd to me that PG&E is not taking responsibility and re-collecting the taxes from Oakland and that there would be a statute of limitations on something like this. My bills simply say "utility tax" without identifying for what city the tax is collected. My understanding of statutes of limitations is that there is an implication that one knew about the problem, which I did not.

I have asked Mr. ** in a voice mail left today to provide me with the citation in code for his assertion that the statute of limitations limits my recovery. I have so far received nothing, but I hope that he will comply. If not, I will call again in hope of speaking with him directly. Everyone involved, especially Mr. **, has been polite, but I feel stonewalled regarding this money. What right does Oakland have to keep it?

I have an approximately 600 square foot loft and I've been living here for about 1.5 years. Usually my bill is approximately $60-$90 and even during the summer a maximum of $120 or so. Well this past July, I got a bill for about $280 and my AC was off because it was broke for about a week and the PG&E representative insisted that it has been running non-stop. So I didn't argue with him because he was giving me the run around saying maybe there was a glitch in my AC unit or something which wasn't the case, I know it.

So I decided in August I would go out to the mall or some other place with AC to hang out while it was hot, so I didn't have to use my AC. I ended up getting another $300 bill. Once again, there was nothing I could do because he insisted that it shows all my usage online, etc. Now, we're in winter, I run my heater every night and my bill is back down to $50.

I feel so helpless against PG&E and I know they are scamming people or raising their rates but since they are the only energy company, it's like you can't argue with them even though there are large gaps between summer and winter bills. All they have to say is, "well, it's summer time so you're using your ac more" and even though I explain to him I don't even touch the damn thermostat. It's not like he can come to my house and witness for himself that I'm not using my AC, you know?

PG&E is a tyrant company. If they are collecting $400 from everybody during the summer that's a scam. How much is the CEO getting paid? If my bill is $200 per month, that better be going to finding more resources, not a CEO having a billion dollar salary.

Some months ago the PG&E station on Schmidt Lane in El Cerrito began to make a buzzing noise. I called 6 months ago but no one returned my call. Then, it also began to make a loud humming noise. I called again and no one returned my call. Now the noise is so loud that I can hear it in my home, which is located across the street and down the block from the station. I called again and still no one returned my call.

We bought this house 30 years ago and the pole was then just a street light. Now is is a vibrating and powerful noise maker. We need help in this relocation process as PG&E seems to turn a deaf ear to our complaints. HELP!! just move it!

PG&E sent me a letter saying that I must read my meter. I did and they said they will send me a bill for over seven hundred dollars. I called them and said that it is correct. I went online and found that they let me read it the wrong way just to charge me a lot of money. They said they charged me for the whole winter because my bill was not read. Every month, someone comes to my house to read the meter.

I have received a PG&E bill totaling over $2000.00 in the month of Sept. I called PG&E about my bill and was told that I owe the monies from the previous months, but wasn't given the $2000.00 bill until PG&E was sure that I had incurred the bill. I asked PG&E, "What bills have I been paying since the time I've been living in my home?" I average a little over $200.00 a month for PG&E, so I didn't find that I was paying over or under what I expected for a home of this size. I called the representatives at PG&E to ask why I wasn't informed beforehand about the high amount of the bill? I was told that several employees checked the usage of the smart meter, and for the months of July and August, my bill totaled over $2000.00 dollars.

I explained to the representative of PG&E that I have been paying PG&E bills for over 27 years and I have never had this situation happen to me. I cannot understand how PG&E could have me pay my PG&E for years, and then in an instant, send me a bill for over $2000.00 stating that it is not the fault of PG&E, that the oversight was "caught" and that I am responsible for their oversight.

My husband has recently become disabled due to a malignant cancer that he has recently had one operation for, and is expected to undergo another to remove a scapula that has been infected. He just had surgery to remove a tumor at the base of his skull, and he is no longer able to work.The cost of transportation needed to meet his medical obligations has added an expense that we must comply with. We are at a loss for how to pay PG&E.

Utility bills have increased greatly since PG&E put in their new smart meter. When you contact their complaint center all you get is the run around about how you must have been undercharged before they installed the new meter.

PG&E installed one of their "Smart Meters" on my home. Since this was done, I have felt an unusual degree of fatigue, and I have gotten headaches. Previous to the installation of the meter, I never got headaches, and I mean never. My health has been damaged. At the very least, I want that meter removed. I did not authorize PG&E to expose me to the health risks that the meter poses.

My bill continues to get larger each month. My June bill is $174.00. Keep in mind that it is summer time. My house doesn't have an air conditioner, nor have we been using the central heat. We have hot water on demand, and we heat with propane. I don't understand why I am continuing to have to pay these amounts, when nothing is being used. The damage is being that me and my wife are disabled, and on a fixed income.

Last fall, PG&E installed a smart meter in our rental home. Our monthly bill suddenly shot up more than 200%. We were literally paying about $600 more per month. I called to find out why and they explained that it was due to rate hikes and our high usage during the summer months. They recommended that I go on their balanced payment plan in order to average out my monthly bill over the past 12 months. I do so and the next 2 bills I received showed a credit on my account with $0 due.

The 3rd month after this happened, my bill was only $58. Little did I know, that those three months I was still being charged the high rates that the smart meter was causing, about $700 per month. Now that I am moving, PG&E is telling me that I have an unpaid balance on my account for $1993.02. Who has that kind of money just sitting around to pay to their utility company? Certainly not me. I am upset about the huge increase in my PG&E rates since my smart meter went in and PG&E's failure to bill me properly causing me to pay a huge outstanding balance on my account. When I contacted their customer service, they said that it was due to the balanced payment plan and that I was using more energy than I was paying for. They still failed to explain why my rates went so high and why I did not get billed for 2 months.

Our usage since the installation of the "smart meter" has doubled each month and we installed all new energy efficient windows/doors in our home and have cut down usage of everything electrical, yet our bills are outrageous and unaffordable consistently, every month.

A smart meter was installed at our home by PG&E. Since this time, our utility bills have gone out of site. The home is approximately 10 years old, therefore, it is hard to believe that the old meters were not accurate in their readings. I believe that these smart meters are a ripoff.

I called PG&E last month and complained that there should be something wrong with our meter as we were charged $388+ last month although there are only 3 adults living in our house. Our bill was never this high before. I only work part-time and have to be careful about what we are paying out. The rep from PG&E replied that I am on Smart Meter, so there could not be anything wrong with the meter. I mentioned to them that it is possible that the meter reader read it wrong. I have never called PG&E before for overcharges. This is the very first time!

I called again today and spoke with a rep. (my call returned by a PG&E rep at 12:44pm Saturday, February 27, 2010). I did not get her name, unfortunately. Again, this rep told me that my bill last year was about the same, in the $300s. That's right, but it's not close to $400! She recommended that I be transferred to the Smart Meter group, but I told her I don't want to because I wanted to speak to someone who does not work for PG&E and who can come out to check our meter to see what really is going on, if it is indeed set up wrong, which is very likely.

Our immediate neighbors complained about it and received a response that their meter was set up wrong and that PG&E was overcharging. We all got our Smart Meters installed at the same time here in Burlingame around summertime of last year, in 2009. They also said that Channel 5 came out there yesterday to check their meter and was filming inside their house with the homeowners there. Channel 5 was talking to them about exposing this problem through TV media with an exclusive or a special report to the public. Our neighbors recently received a refund of about $300 from PG&E after discovering they were, in fact, overcharging.

Please help ASAP. I need someone to come out and check this meter for us or investigate it other than PG&E, so we can get this corrected soon and refund overcharges. Or a least give us any recommendations on what we should do. Thank you.

I called PG&E last month and complained that there should be something wrong with our meter, as we were charged $388+ last month for only 3 adults living in the house. Our bill was never this high before. I only work part-time, as my employer reduced my hours and have to be careful about what we're paying out. The rep then told me that I am on "Smart Meter," so there couldn't possibly be anything wrong with our meter, as I mentioned to them that it's possibly the meter reader that have read it wrong. (I have never called PG&E before for overcharges, as I know our usage.)

I called again today and spoke with a rep. (My call returned by rep at 12:44pm, Saturday, February 27, 2010.) I didn't get her name. Again, she told me that my bill last year was about the same, in the $300s. That could be, but not close to $400! She recommended that I be transferred to the "Smart Meter" group. I told her no, as I want someone else to come out other than PG&E to check our meter for us to make sure we get refunded if the meter was indeed set up wrong, which is very likely.

Our immediate neighbors at Burlingame, CA 94010 complained about it, and they got a response that theirs were set up wrong. We all got our Smart Meters at the same time during summer of last year (2009). Channel 5 came out yesterday to check their meter and was also "filming" the house with the homeowners there and are talking about exposing it in the media with an "exclusive" or "special" report to the public. They also recently got a refund for $300.

Please help ASAP. I need someone to come out soon and check the meter for us other than PG&E, so we can get this corrected and overcharges refunded. Or make some recommendations.

I would like to join class action against PG&E. They installed the "smart" meter in my home. In November, my energy bill was $84. In December it jumped to $340 even though I was out of town 10 days in that month and had run the heat a total of 4 hours the entire month just to cut the chill. When I called, they said that my energy usage had spiked to 9 times the usual on the 28th when I was in Idaho and no one was in my home. They said my usage dramatically increases at 3 pm every day. Most days, I am not home until 6 pm.

I declared that something must be wrong with their new system if they are showing that I quadrupled my bill in a month that I was only home for a third of. They said my usage did not quadruple, it doubled. Double usage quadrupled my bill. I asked how my usage can spike when I'm not home and the only thing running is the refrigerator.

Their response was that their system indicates that everything is fine on their end and I need to pay the bill. I still haven't paid because I adamantly disagree and I can't afford this drastic charge. So I became especially aware of usage and did not run heat at all the month of January, yet my January bill is another $260.

I now owe PG&E $600 and have no way to pay this. I work as a teacher so I frequently get sick (currently with H1N1), but I never get better because I am always cold. I just went to the hospital last week and am still terrified to run the heater. Last winter, I was sick so long and coughing so much that I sprained a rib because of this very fear of running anything in my home. As I type this in my bedroom, I can see my breath. From my conversation with PG&E, it was clear to me that they have a monopoly and know that there is no recourse for the consumer. I reported this to the Public Utilities Commission and still have not received any response.

Recently PGE installed electronic meters in the township of Tuolumne City, my monthly bill has gone from 130 to over 600 a month with no change in my energy usage habits. How do I know the information from my new electronic meter even pertains to my usage? I want my old meter hooked up, I will phone in the meter readings. If the bill goes down somebody has some explaining to do. It seems like these guys hooked up with the guys that got gas to 5 bucks a gallon last year when the congressional hearing was held to find the individuals in charge of the regulation there was nobody found to be accountable soon after those hearings, gas went to 2 bucks a gallon. Send those guys to PGE as soon as possible.

We have been paying about an average of $500.00 or more per month. Last month we received a bill over $800.00. We called PG&E's customer line. Each had different stories and could not come why the bill was so high. One reason is that they had us read the meter outside of our rental home and by that reading we were told that we would owe about $8,000.

They adjusted our bill down to $297.00. The bottom line is that we were also told that they are estimating our bill and these have us thinking about our last 6 month bills that have been over $500.00 or more per month. We are not trying not to pay our bill but just want for PG& E to properly bill us for the electric that we are using per month, not to estimate our usage. I would like to have a service manager or supervisor to have look at our meter and to have someone call me. Thank you. This has resulted to financial stress.

After they installed a "Smart Meter," my bill jumped from about $135 average/month to $488 for December 2009. Being a power distribution technician for 23 years, I am well-versed in KWH terms and usage. Therefore, I am the self-proclaimed "energy warden" of my family. I know our usage habits, and keep them down to be as "green" as I can! My family, who couldn't afford to have a Christmas this year, have to either pay this bill and do without food and gasoline, or dispute the bill and take the consequences!

Our 11/17/09 to 12/15/09 bill rose to 469.96 dollars. There should be a law prohibiting such an increase from a monopoly business. I would like to join a class action suit.A PG&E worker checked the meter and said it was correct. Thank you.

ive have filed several complaint ,to utility com,only to get the same answer back everytime.they cant seem to find any thing ,on pge part.im just using to much electric.this year i have paid a total of 6709.00 to pge,and there is still,dec.last year i paid a total of 1600.00 big difference!! but they have away of making you believe its something your doing ,or tell you that it alot hottier this year then it was last year. all i can say is, it been a hard. and there not helping one bit,cant get them to send any one out to see what the problem is.but if you dont pay.they be there to shut you off ,like they did me.oct $2354.00 was what i had to pay,didnt have it,shut me off,went with out electric 1 week,paid 2354.00.a week later i get a letter stating i need to pay 906.00 buy the end of oct,800.00 dep,106.00 is pge.i could have a bill yet ,i just paid it in full,went on line to pge site pulled up my account .it showed on the days that my power was shut off the smart meter was still sending signals.and they were billing me for it. this months bill i got a creadit for 230.00 big deal they claim it for something else.

I recently contacted PG&E to make a payment on my pass due bill and was very surprised to learn I had been billed an extra $323.00. After speaking with a representative, I was told the reason I was charged is because I had been previously notified that if I received another 48 hour notice on my bill, I would have to pay a re-establish fee in the amount of $323.00.

As I told the representative, during these economic time and due to the fact my husband has been laid off and I am the one and only sole provider for my household, I am not always able to pay my bill on time. However, my services have never been shut off in the past 14 years I have had service with PG&E. I don't think it's fair that I should have to pay this fee just because I'm not able to make my payment before a 48 hour notice is mailed. Is it legal for PG&E to add these additional fees to their customers bills?

My jobs recently took 1 furlough day per month and may soon increase to 2 days per month. Even though I know I have to pay my gas and energy bill, I also have other bills that have to be paid and cannot afford to pay out money that I don't have. As a result of this additional fee, I am not forced to pay this amount back in 3 monthly installments which will not take additional money away from my household and other bills. I think it's unfair and unethical for PG&E to take advantage of their customer during this time.

If my service had been shut off, I can understand paying extra to re-establish credit but this is ridiculous. PG&E knows they are the only company in my area that provides gas and energy so I guess they feel they can do whatever they want. This needs to be STOPPED!

I just received a letter from PG&E regarding a required security deposit that will be billed on my next billing statement of $543.00. This security deposit is going out to everyone that has had more than 3 payment arrangements or past due bills within the past 12months. I don't think this security deposit is FAIR, regarding the economy and so many out of work. The new smart meters are billing incorrectly and I was charged a $800bill last month.

I made a payment arrangement & paying this bill and now I'm being charged a security deposit,we only living under one income. PG&E is expensive they do not care of anyone's situation and payment needs to be paid or they will shut you off regardless of your home situation! Where is the fairness?

These are hard times,PG&E will take our deposit earn interest on this money and as long as payment is not made on the due date the security deposit will not be given back & they are earning interest on our money! Where is the justification to this? We need to fight for our Rights and PG&E does not need to take anymore from us~We are hard working americans, we pay our taxes and still get crap on!!

I was over billed $3000.00 and forced to pay it or be shut off. PG&E after 5 months trying figure out the error, credited my account then demanded immediate payment of $700.00 or shut off. They then sent a bill within 8 days of the $700.00 demand for $1200.00 then another for $2300.00 eventually adding back up to the credited amount (all with shut off notices). I paid the $3000.00.

My electric was cut off and I was accused of meter tampering (though buying a new meter was a plus). I requested new prior to this accusation. I lost $600.00 with of food. Plus 589.00 for a new meter. The $3000.00 put me behind with my rent.

Incident = i have been using the pg&e balanced payment plan for 1 1/2 years now and i noticed something curious---when i signed-up with them i thought it would be a good idea---but what i noticed is i took all of my actual useage charges for that time period and what i was charged, then i took the amount billed in the bal pmnt plan each month for that time period, added them and got two very different sums.

it seemed i paid over 1600 dollars to pg&e for the balanced payment plan than what was my actual charges! i wonder if this is going on everywhere??? im going to go to the main office and see what is the deal here??!!!!does anyone else get this same problem---how can they do this?

they told me they take the prior year and estimate it and go from there well---this house was not occupied for 10 years prior to me living here! then they said well we probably took the useage from your prior address and estimated from that--well i lived in a 800 sq ft apt.! not 2 story townhouse! anyone out there going thru this???

i have been using the pg&e balanced payment plan for 1 1/2 years now and i noticed something curious---when i signed-up with them i thought it would be a good idea---but what i noticed is i took all of my actual useage charges for that time period and what i was charged then i took the amount billed in the bal pmnt plan each month for that time period and got to very different sums---it seemed i paid over 1600 dollars to pg&e for the balanced payment plan than what was my actual charges! i wonder if this is going on everywhere??? im going to go to the main office and see what is the deal here??!!!!does anyone else get this same problem---how can they do this? they told me they take the prior year and estimate it and go from there well---this house was not occupied for 10 years prior to me living here! then they said well we probably took the useage from your prior address and estimated from that--well i lived in a 800 sq ft apt.! not 2 story townhouse!

I called Bo Enterprises and they sent two different workers and one of them said that there was no current going in the panel. They also said that it must of been like this before.

I called their supervisor and told them that I was going to take them to court and they said that they were going to send someone. Days past and no one showed up. I decided to call someone else that is a licensed HVAC person. He said that it would cost $350.00 to replace the panel plus labor of $150.00. I then decided to replace and upgrade the furnace to a new one for $1000.00 including installation. This cost was a discount due to my general contractor license.

On 6-20-08 I went into PG&E to make a payment as I received a 24hr notice. Prior to that I had not yet received any statement for that month. They shut off my electricity as of 9am 6-20-08. Recently, I have had issues receiving my bills at my PO Box. In May I asked PG&E for a duplicate bill because I had not yet received one. Then I received April's bill in June. Yet the post office will not take responsibility I have proof the envelope is stamped with the date on a mailing label change of address.

I spoke with the post office people whom I have known for 12 years and with my everyday postman to let them know what has been happening they assured me it would not happen. I have had this same account for 12 years and never has there been a problem till recently with the mail issue. PG&E can clearly see up till recently there has never been a problem. I don't feel I should have to pay $228.00 deposit for something that was not my fault not to mention I have had the same account for 12 years with no problems.

I lost 3 hrs of work. I cannot do my clients without PG&E. I own a salon and we need electricity.

Re: rebate for Heating work to residence.

The work was expensive (over $5,000) any rebate is appreciated and widely advertised. However actually getting it seems to be another matter.

cancer to the lungs and anal caivity forcing to have to go every morning to a nother location to get treatment becuase i can;t have it at home due to the nasty and stubborn refusal of pG&E

I tried to call them and could not get hold of them. I put a stop payment on the debit transaction.

I had just purchased a home and had the power switched over from the builder into my name. I received my first bill which was for 6 days and it was just under $100, mind you the house was vacant. So I called PG&E and they claim that they take the total from the month even the power that the builder was using and get an average for each day and thats how they billed me instead of starting it on the day that I requested service. They eventually corrected that.

However I received my next bill and it was around $180 I called them again and they said they were aware there was a billing problem so I had to convince them to file another report to correct this bill. I received notice in the mail that it was dropped down to around $75 or $80. I just received another bill from them for a total of 35 billing days.

They are claiming that I owe $323.75, which I dont think is humanly possible when no one is living in the house. I called once again and they came back with yet another offer telling me my bill is now $217.78 for 35 days of billing.

At this point they make me feel like I am lucky and they are doing me a favor by dropping the bill for yet another incorrect billing issue.

I currently live 5 miles away in a comparable home that I am at and running electricity all day long and that bill is less then half of what they are trying to say that I owe for a house that is vacant.

The neighbors across the street from us had informed me that they were having the same problems when they moved in but it had already been resolved. Unfortunately mine has yet to be resolved in a manner that I feel is satisfactory.

I have yet to have any damage because I havent paid the bill. However if they note me as being late and it goes on to my credit report then that will be significant damage.

My average PG&E bill at a house I didn't occupy went up from $20/month average for 10 months to $87 for the 17 days before I rented it out. PG&E didn't read the meters when the tenants moved in on 1/4/05, but rather on 1/18/05. My bill covered the period 12/18/04 to 1/4/05 and was based on average usage from 1/1/05 to 1/18/05. The account was in my name only 4 of the 18 days used to calculate average usage, and the house was empty (no inhabitants) in those 4 days.

They billed me based on an average daily usage from 1/1/05 to 1/18/05 even though my account with them was terminated on 1/4/05. Thus, my average was based mostly on my tenants' usage and then multiplied by the days the account had been under my name from 12/18/04 to 1/4/05, which is very unfair. I'm still trying to solve this problem.

My bill for two weeks is $67 more than my average monthly bill of $20.

I'd like to bring your attention to a complaint I have with your company's billing procedures and demand for payment. I know you appreciate your customers and want to keep them happy, so I am certain you'll want to address this quickly. This incident has been dragging on for months now and now I have been advised my power is to be shut off for a bill that isn't even mine!

Here's the problem: On November 26, 2002, I moved to a new residence. My x-boyfriend (Kenny) stayed in the other house (La Jolla Ave) and we had requested that service be taken out of my name on the 26th as well. Kenny requested that service be transferred into his name via telephone of which I was present for since I too was required to be on the same call for this request to be processed. Two other calls were placed previously also but for some reason were not in your system. We had thought this call would be the last one we had to make for this request.

Since December 2002 I have received normal bills for Teresi Court from PG&E each of which I have paid monthly. Then I received my May 2003 billing statement which reflects $202.66 as Total adjustments which I have come to find out was the balance for services on the previous address of last year (La Jolla). In order to find out this information I have spent countless hours on hold, being transferred and being advised inconsistent information by multiple customer service reps of PG&E. My efforts have been unsuccessful in clearing up this matter. I have spoke to your company trying to resolve this matter for months now.

I have also come to find out that Kenny's SS# is the one affiliated with this account in the first place. I should not be getting billed for any services of the La Jolla address since I had that account current at the time I moved out.

I'm also being told various stories - for example: It was assumed I had changed the move date, I advised you I moved later, and so on. As far as I know you have some way to verify a persons identity when they call in, so why can't this verification information be presented to me also?

Here's what I'd like to see happen: I would like you to reverse this incorrect adjustment of $202.66 on the Teresi Court account. This amount should be posted to the La Jolla Bill not mine (Teresi Court) I have been a very good customer, pay my bills in full and on time. I should not be billed for services I did not utilize nor did I live in that location at the time. Your records need to be revised accordingly.

My overall experiences with your company have been fairly decent. This incident has discouraged me. But I still might recommend you to any of my family and friends.

Again, I am sure you are interested in satisfying your customers, so I hope you'll move quickly on this complaint.