Duke Energy Reviews

The customer service representative repeatedly stated that I had used the energy and must pay for it. I reiterated that I understood that. Eventually, the representative stopped responding all together. That was when I contacted the BBB to notify them of Duke's billing practices and their inability to provide any sort of solution. Duke responded by stating that I had a large bill and that if you added up the bills from July and August of 2009, it was actually less than my bills from July and August of 2010. This big corporation was totally missing the point, it's not the cost, but rather how it was distributed due to a meter reading "error". How is an individual, on a fixed income, supposed to come up with that significant amount of money? Particularly since my July bill had led me to believe that my energy costs were decreasing as they do every fall.

Then this month, I got a bill for $10. I'm not even kidding. I checked the reading on the bill and it says I used 0kwh. I know that's not true. I contacted their customer service once again this morning. I made it clear that these "errors" in their meter reading were unacceptable. I did not want to be slammed with a huge bill next month because they did not read my meter accurately this month. They will be sending someone out for a special meter reading. Is it just me or it's ridiculous that I have to go through all the trouble of contacting Duke and the BBB? I pay for a service, should it not be done correctly? I have now started taking pictures of the meter on the day they are supposed to be reading it so that I can compare it to their bill.

Okay, now I called them back and asked if he faxed the inspection. They told me it was going to take 24 hours for it to be on file. I called the next day and they said they were going to put the meter on. I called next day and they told me they’re out now and today they will get it on. Now it all started on the 15th of September so by Friday, 17th, I should have had my meter and power on. I called and called every day for the whole week of September 20 to the 24. They keep giving me the same issue. Give us your number, we will investigate and call you back tomorrow. He told me this every day, lying to me.

Well, on Thursday, I got upset. I called and asked to speak with a supervisor or someone who could help me and tell me what's going on. This lady gave me a little different roll around. She was going to use an email because that gets quicker and assure me that on Friday, September 25, they were going to call me. But no call, no nothing. Monday was too early, my son was sick so I didn't call. I called yesterday, 28th, this guy gave me another roll around. When I talked with the engineer about this, he said his job was done, that it was the metering department now.

And who are these people? Do they play people like me this way? Is there someone I can go to complain or call? They got to be breaking some kind of standards guides, or is it because my wife and my name sounds Hispanic, so why worry about it? I don't know what to do now. I have to rent a generator which is costing me a lot of money. I bet if I'm late on my bill, they won’t be calling me every day for two weeks to ask for it. They will cut my power. I wish I could do something. I'm sure other people are having these same issues.

There are still people who have not been getting the adjustment and I'm one of them but yet each month I get a higher and higher bill. And plus, Duke is quick to disconnect and charge for reconnection plus a deposit. Duke needs to go. The way they do business is not customer friendly nor do they have any compassion for people during this recession.

Cutting off people's power and making threats against them if they don't pay is not acceptable. Duke needs to realize that they can't continue to 'bully' customers. We are stakeholders and if they continue with their rude and crude ways of handling matters, hopefully we can bring this to the attention of the OPUC and request a public hearing and if that doesn't work, a class act lawsuit can be filed against them in behalf of the millions of customers they have managed to rip off.

Even though I've managed to pay Duke $725.00 over the past 3 months, they turned my electric off on August 18, 2010 and will not turn it back on until I can pay over $1,500.00. I live in a mobile home in a trailer park. I don't have $1,500.00. I did mail them $235.00 on 8-30-10.

My 15-year old son started high school on August 24th, 2010. We have 2 coolers in the kitchen to try to keep food cold, we can't take showers, (no warm water). No alarm clocks, My son does his homework by lanterns and candles. No fans to keep air moving, the allergens are awful, (can't vacuum), and we all have allergies. My son was diagnosed with Mono the first of August and even though he can go to school, having a good breakfast and supper would have accelerated his recovery. He's not fully recovered. It's hot at night and we only have screens for a couple windows to be open. It's wearing on us terribly. The stress of this whole situation has really taken a toll on my family. After 16 days with no electric, and no hope in site.

I asked for a date and time that they come and they said it was confidential and they can’t give out such information. Mentally, it has driven me insane. It has cost us a fortune to even maintain our electricity and they continue to refuse to bill us. When we call customer service, they always say, “Well, view your bill online.” We don’t have to send one out. They are smart ** to say the least. You will hold and hold for over 40 minutes to get a supervisor and most of the time, one won’t come back to the phone or else they hang up on you. What I want is for someone to contact this sorry company and make them do their job. They refuse to show me proof of how they determine my bills, refuse to send me bills and then refuse to tell me the dates that their so-called technician comes out, which we know is a lie.

We phoned Duke and got the CSR people, who assured us that the power would be restored by noon. Then when that didn't happen, we called again and they said by 5, then by 9, then by midnight, etc. We were on the phone with Duke CSR people about 8 or 9 times throughout the day and night trying to get the power restored, all to no avail. The worse part of this is is the shoddy customer care provided by the Duke CSR dept, along with their inability to actually resolve a simple problem like ours.

They appear to be trained to read a script and not to actually listen to their customers. They give only their first names, so they are untraceable for giving false information (which was common), and if you ask to speak to a supervisor, their typical response is to say they are busy for the next two hours and will maybe call us back. We finally got a supervisor sometime after midnight that night, and all they could do was the same as the the CSR line rep. They could check their computer screen for line crew assignments and reassure us that there was (once again) a crew that would come out soon. Of course we had heard this so many times by now that it felt like something out of a Kafka novel.

When asked to think outside of the box and simply get a crew out to perform the simple task of re-hooking the line back up the CSR people were flabbergasted and admitted they're powerless to actually do anything other than read what their screen told them. This reveals a deep structural problem within Duke Energy. Their CSR people are not even directly connected to the line managers who assign work orders for the crew! In effect, all the CSR folks do is act as agents of reassurance-- apologists, for the flub ups of the line assigners.

By the next morning our power was still out. I considered calling the police but this was not that kind of emergency, though a citizen arrest of Duke Energy seemed warranted. I contacted several local political reps and they got involved. The NC Utilities Commission took our number but they never called back. In the end. The same crew that unhooked us returned the next day-- 26 hours later, and explained that they communicated the need to rehook the house to the second shift but the second shift blew it and even altered his comments about hooking the house back up. This fellow was a sub-contractor who was surprised at how poorly organized Duke Energy was about such a simple procedure.

For example, their 8am assignment was to cut some tree limbs rather than restore power to my house and he questioned their priorities. Meanwhile, at our home, our cold foods went bad, I had lost a day of work, and we feel these damages deserve reparations. When I inquired about how to pursue this, I was told I would have to go through the same CSR folks that screwed up so consistently on the re-hook issue. Catch 22?

There are obviously two huge Duke Energy problems: Duke keeps bad records of house service needs and fails to have proper assignment quality control for their subcontractors, and the CSR department is totally ineffective and unaccountable for their own misleading statements. Anyone who refuses to divulge their own ID number or name, which is necessary for purposes of accountability, should not be trusted. Is this any way to run a business? Lost foods, lost day of work, anger and frustration at dealing with CSR people who act and sound like a computer recording, difficulty getting a hold of anyone who would take responsibility and initiate a solution to a simple problem. Duke Energy is the worst bureaucracy I've dealt with. They are bad for my blood pressure.

Duke Energy would rather its customers pay a $3.50 service fee for residential accounts or a $12.50 service fee for business accounts to have their bills paid over the phone. What a racket! How can one of the largest public utilities be allowed to get away with not providing a convenient and safe place for its customers to pay their bills? Power is not a luxury but a necessity. Even the local cable company, which is nowhere as large or necessary as Duke Energy, has a local payment center for its face-to-face business transactions.

I called again and was told that I may have a power box problem so someone was sent out. Naturally, no one found anything and they told me that I may have a power drain and I needed to have my landlord check it. I called him & we arranged for him to come out on a Monday & check it. The Saturday before, my mobile home caught on fire, and I lost nearly everything I had in the world. The fire department said it looked like it started in the bathroom, but since the bathroom and kitchen shared the same wall & wiring, it was debatable. They determined it could have been power surge.

Same circumstance, but this time, the bill was $240. I called again and was told that I may have a power box problem so someone was sent out. Naturally, no one found anything and told me that I may have a power drain and I needed to have my landlord check it. I called him and we arranged for him to come out on a Monday and check it. The Saturday before, my mobile home caught on fire and I lost nearly everything I had in the world. The fire department said it looked like it started in the bathroom, but since the bathroom and kitchen shared the same wall and wiring, it was debatable. They determined it could have been power surge.

After holding for over 10 minutes, a supervisor answered with an attitude and stated that she would put in the request but I needed a receipt from where I paid my bill. Now if I hadn't paid the bill, I wouldn't have power and it shows I have a credit. Now I don't have a receipt because after my services were turned back on, I didn't think I would need it. They are quick to ask for your money and disconnect your services, but when you need your money from them, they make your jump through hoops. I need to pay my mortgage and that was part of my money. So why can't I get a refund? The supervisor was laughing and really made me mad that I had to deal with people like this over my money, not theirs. My house payment is late.

I came home the day they installed the pole and the light was oriented almost 180 degrees away from the road. So I called and told them it was not oriented in the correct position. She read from the paper work that she had "light to be out over the road." I came home two days later and they had rotated it only half way to the road. So I called again, told them they could put it where it belongs or take out the pole and light at their expense if they did not want to do things right. I pointed the orientation that the light was supposed to be at from the beginning on the ground a the base of the pole and called them to tell them it was there. The lady said they had probably been there, was going to check, put me on hold and disconnected me. I came home and nothing had been done.

Over the weekend, I attempted to pay the bill. Again, I spoke with a customer service rep and she told me to pay just the past due balance. I again told her the automated system gave me an amount of $300.00. I paid what the young lady told me to pay. The following Monday, they came and cut my lights off. I called and spoke with a manager and he told me that I did have to pay the $300.00 payment. He apologized to me for the misinformation and waived the reconnect fee. I paid that amount and they cut the lights back on. I received a new bill due on 05-21-2010 for $209.20, which I planned to pay on Tuesday 05-25-10. On Saturday, 05-22-2010, I got a letter from Duke Power that says I have paid my power bill unsatisfactorily and that they are now requesting me to pay a deposit of $365.00 in addition to my regular bill amount.

My husband has been out of work for over two years and has just started working again. The returned check was not even mine. If they research this, they will see. So I am not sure if it was a misapplied payment or what, however this is the first time my power has ever been disconnected and it was disconnected because two representatives told me the wrong amount to pay, on two different days. Now as of today, my light bill is over $700.00 because they have added on a deposit. Do they not know that it is a recession? I feel that this is unsatisfactory treatment of its customers. In reality, no one can live without their lights so the bill is getting paid. Is it getting paid on time? Probably not, but before my husband was laid off, it was paid on time every month before August 2008.

They are capitalizing on people's misfortune. What else can a person take? I guess I should give back my house, tell them to cut off the lights and say forget it! Me and my family can go live somewhere else. Sometimes things like this can be the difference between life and death for people that are going through so many things in their lives.

No one was willing to send anyone out to re-read the meter. They were all about telling me I had maybe done wrong which is nothing. I had a maintenance guy come and check my apartment. When I showed him the bill, he was amazed. He read my meter at about 30 days and said: “This month you have only used 113 KW. Last month they billed you for 1552 KW. Your usage really states that you are not running and using any power in this apartment. For the month I’m looking at a light bill in the 20's.” Now, how can a person in a one bedroom go from using 1552 KW to 113 KW the very next month and he is never there? Duke Power is a total rip off and can get away with it, because they are the only electric provider in the area. This has to stop. It's not fair to charge someone for what they didn't use and then not even give the means the correct what is wrong.

If I treated people like this I wouldn’t have any business, my wife and kid spent the weekend with nothing, and it was in the 30s in the morning, I want Cinergy back. I can’t wait till I can afford solar so you can buy back my overpriced energy! What kills me is the kept saying just like today someone is on the way, sad thing is power went out in Vevay in sat May 8th 2010 and my town was swarming in dick energy trucks. I had 3 in my yard, I ask they guy named Ryan on the phone, to dispatch one of the people from one of many trucks save the customer some money by getting someone who is already in front of my house, but that’s not how it works I was told, I hate ** energy. Good day.

I honestly can't maintain for Duke Energy. There has to be a law against this. I make the company I work for money every day by going to work .They have meetings about all the millions the company is making. So why am I suffering? After working and making a little, I give it right back. Paying bills, paying bills, I'm sinking. Someone help.

They had me to fax them proof I did that. It wasn't good enough. They now want tax papers I fax that. It still not enough. Every time I call, they give me a hard time. I'm really upset. Please help, we don't have 1900 to pay someone else bill. We are poor people. They also mail me someone else information, then told me to throw it away.

Due to my economic situation, now that I have reduced my bill, they put me more out the balance. And this deposit is not necessary, (they say that the deposit is required because they supply the service to be paid later) so charge me a deposit of 73 is ok. Like a house when you rented it, it's the same situation and they don't charge you 4 times in a security deposit.

And they doing that with a lot of families, this should open a class action. This got to be stopped. this way our economy will not recover.

My bill went from $175 one month to $204 the next month (both on estimated gas readings). When the bill was delivered to me for over $200, I contacted customer service and was given a canned response of "estimated based on last year's usage" and "It's been an extremely cold winter." Ironically, there were three separate occasions where my street experienced a power outage during the large snow storms in February, and yet, my energy consumption was higher? How is that possible?

Finally, after calling and escalating the call on four separate occasions, one rep was kind enough to reduce my bill by $20. This past bill cycle, I read my gas meter the same day that the meter reader visited the house (the key worked this time). The gas reading was the same, and I expected to have a reasonable and fair bill.

To my utter disgust, my electric consumption doubled! My heat and stove are gas. There is not a washer and dryer connection in my house! How in the world did I double my electric consumption? According to Duke, it was read and not estimated. By March 17, I have to pay Duke $234 for lower gas usage and double electric usage. It doesn't make sense, but I'm glad for them that they were able to price gauge me to death this winter.

I called Duke to find out what is going on, nobody is home during the day, the temperature has not been that cold (because the weather was the reason for December and January's, now we are in February it is has been the coldest month again, interesting!), I keep my thermostat on 67-68, there were some days that were warmer and my heat didn't run as much, and other days I turned off the heat. I know I changed a lot of things as they had requested me (and everyone else to do) but yet my bill is still extremely high. Well, this time it was because I was taking showers in the mornings and not evenings, it was because I turned off my heat, I just need to adjust the thermostat and never turn it off, and of course the infamous "you need to get your wiring checked again".

Well, I was obviously not satisfied with that answer, so I found this number on this website to call the Utility Commissions. I couldn't dial the number fast enough. Well, I guess sometimes you don't realize how dumb you are until you do stupid things. I talked to them and sure they called me back just to tell me, we can have your meter checked, but it is probably something that you are doing to cause your bill to go up that high. Do you really think that the NCUC will actually do something about Duke Power when they work hand in hand? Sure they can check my meter and say "o yes, your reading is right", and why wouldn't they, where else can I go? Who else can I turn to? They approved the bill to state that Duke Power can go up on our already ridiculously high light bills, but now, you can't prove it (and who would you prove it to?). Something is wrong with Duke energy and there is nothing we can do about it!

There are 100 counties in North Carolina, 93 of them have an alternative electric company. How can we get Rowan to give us the option to choose? Even if I had to pay the same price, I wouldn't want to stay with Duke Energy.

I can't get caught up on my light bill, I am steadily 2 months behind and having to pay right before the cut off date, and this is going against my credit, which was already struggling due to the economic status. Does it matter?

Okay, no problem, just stay under $150.00 and I’m good. So sooner than I spoke those words, January hit my ** in the face with a bill of $261.00. What the **! Oh no, I went around to my neighbors’ house asking about their bills. Theirs had gone up to but just to like $185.00, in which still nobody has a high bill like mine! So, I called the Dukes and told them they needed to get someone out here, because the meter dude must be drunk when he comes to work and he’s not seeing things right.

I asked the customer service rep how could my bill jump a hundred plus dollars in one month! We all know what she said. They bill higher in the month of January because of the weather. Then, she said they like they go off of whoever resided here before me. I didn’t want to hear that nonsense. I told her I wanted a tech to come out and investigate. You never know someone could have been stealing it. I wanted to make sure. Anyway, she told me that I would have to pay for an electrician to come out, because it sounds like a problem with the wires in the house! The only time Duke will come out is when they disconnect you. Babies can be in the house, your house can be on fire, and they will still read your meter or clip you.

Consequently, the meter guy is tired of waiting and doesn't look at me and pulls off. Oh let me guess it's 4:58 p.m. It's time for this guy to get off work, so he doesn't give a hell if I'm without power! I'm trying to flag this guy down while still being on the phone with customer service! I've been a loyal customer of Duke Energy since 2001! Never in my life has something mad that my blood pressure got so high! Then, the supervisor tells me that anyone can call in over the phone to start/stop service at any given time. My question to her is why anyone can call in about a residence to change service if the individual who already has an account doesn't call, especially when you have to give a Social Security Number and other details of an individual! This makes no sense. This company has to take responsibility for such careless mistakes!

Now, I'm sitting in the dark with food on my stove, and I cannot dial out on my home phone. My cell phone is dead. The time is now 6:42 p.m. here and this company doesn't have a way of telling what exact time someone will be here to restore my services! It can be 3-4 hours. There's no way for the company to radio its employees. This is ridiculous! Hate is a strong word. I hate this company if I was able to restore my services with someone else they would be with one less customer and that would make me proud! As a result, the supervisor tells me she's sorry. No, you work for a sorry company dear! Ever year the energy cost is going up! Wow! I have no choice but to sit and wait with no heat!

I live in a one small bedroom apartment. You can’t tell me that I use that much gas, something is not right. Today is Feb 18 2010, my bill came in the highest ever in my life since I started paying gas and electric, at $474, again it was estimated they did not read the meter. My last bill was $334. This is how they make money and they are killing me. Now, my next step is to move.

Shocking enough, there was a message at the back of the paper stating that, “the gas charges on this bill have been estimated because of the weather condition.” Well, I don’t really get it to be honest. This company can make you cry. It is hard even to pay any bill you would think and with this company just charges any amount they feel like and if you are late, they charge you also a late fee.

So since they don’t read my meter and charge me whatever, I don’t know what to do. I was charged a late fee on my last bill because I couldn’t pay the whole thing. It is not my bill because they don’t read the meter. I wish they can change how they do business. Unfortunately, I am not the only one. Many customers are complaining of the same, and they not certified.

I read the meter, submitted it and waited for my February bill to see if there was a credit. I got my February bill, no credit but it's with an estimated read for $512.00, another huge bill! I called Duke Energy to see if there was a problem and was told flat out it was because of a change in the weather. I knew that wasn't true because our weather in Cincinnati in January was unseasonably warm and I explained this to them and the fact that I have lived in my home 3 years and had never had a bill that high and their excuse was still the weather.

I questioned them about the meter read because 4 years ago I lived in a small apartment with electric baseboard heat and was once billed $180.00 for one month when my bills were only around $60.00 a month there. They were willing to look into it and found that there was a mistake and credited me $120.00. This also happened to my mother-in-law in January. She was charged $220.00 for a small one-bedroom apartment and they were totally unwilling to work with her.

They told me once again that it was the weather and that was that, denying any wrongdoing on the meter readers part. I questioned them about why I had an estimated meter read and they told me due to snowy conditions they didn't want to send any readers out so they estimated the bills, which was totally unfair to me and everyone else. They told me I could read it myself so I did and I will read it myself from now on.

She has been sick these last couple of days, and didn't feel like dealing with the ** but she was a trooper and called them right away. This was around 11:20 am. The gentleman wasn't very friendly and he wasn't very helpful; then he proceeded to tell my girlfriend that our bill was for $100 dollars more than what our statement was showing. When she called him on this, his "computer went down" and when he came back on the line, we were mysteriously right. Imagine that. However, we still had to make a $65 deposit (he was never clear about what this was actually for), a $25 re-activation fee (for turning us back on).

We just wanted our electricity turned back on. So, armed with my entire paycheck of two weeks, we went to go pay for it. We ran into some speed bumps there that had nothing to do with Duke, but we ended up at my mother's work to see if she knew how to get to the company or knew of any other places we could turn in our money so we could get our electricity back on. It is the middle of winter, after all, and my girlfriend is sick. So being without electricity is out of the question. My mother offered us another solution, and she called Duke from her workplace, which is a big company "no-no" for her, but she loves us. Anyway, after speaking to another person on the phone, they told her that because it was "after hours", they were going to have to charge us an additional $50 "after hours" fee. ***? After hours? Seriously? It was only 12:15 pm in the afternoon.

By this time, my blood was boiling. My girlfriend could only cry, and I wanted to strangle the big wigs. My only comfort was knowing that in the end, heaven has no room for selfish money grubbers. I know where they are going.

Anyway, they told my mother that our payment had been accepted and that they would be restoring our electricity in a couple of hours. We ran our errands, then went home and waited and waited and waited and waited and then we waited some more. Frustrated, we made several more attempts at calling them. They told us that there was an 8 hour window, and that since we made our payment at 1:20 pm, (Wait a minute! We made our payment at 12:15pm) that since our payment was made at 1:20 pm, that it would be as late as 9:15 pm before our electricity would actually be restored. So we waited and waited and waited, then it got dark and we waited some more.

Then it started to get colder and we waited some more. 9:15pm rolled around and our electricity was still off. Our final attempt at getting our electricity restored was around 9:20 pm and my mother made the phone call, as our phone runs on electricity. The last woman my mother talked to, was the only friendly and helpful person that day. She admitted that our payment was received at 12:20 pm not 1:20 pm and that the 8-hour window they spoke of was only a very loose translation of the actual time frame, which really went all the way to 7:00 am the next morning, and that we should definitely have our electricity restored by then, if not a bit sooner.

I feel like we were pressured to hold up our end of the bargain, but they were not to be held accountable for anything. My girlfriend, tired from weeping all day long, physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted, finally went to bed around 10:00 pm. Our electricity was finally restored at 11:00 pm and I'm madder than any hatter over this whole situation, and as far as I'm concerned, the powers that be, the big wigs, the money grubbers, can all speed up their trip to hell.

I know that nothing will every come of this vent. The little voices are never heard, but somewhere deep inside, I feel just a little bit better knowing that I've shared this situation with someone.

I am appalled that after over 50 years of service with Duke Power and also her very precarious emotional state that she would be treated like this. Their rates are increasing, the service goes out more frequently and they have been known to stop power to the elderly, which has caused death. Where is their personal service?

Now, I get my 2nd bill and it was $200.00. This is crazy, Duke needs to be stopped. They are terrorists to the economy. I don’t have $350.00 to give these morons just because nobody reads the meters. Each bill states estimate which means nobody physically comes out to read the damn meters. I'm not into the business of paying for their ** estimates anymore. No wonder people steal damn power; Duke has stolen enough from others. Do something. What the hell is Consumer Relations doing about these jerks just reading this ** then hitting delete? How many of you jerks at Consumer are having your pockets padded by the Duke jerks? I have no damn power if I don’t pay and I have a son with chronic asthma.

I wish we were overcharged just by a dollar, but this is not the case. We are being overcharged way more than that. That is what I feel. This company must be investigated and audited. I am sure that there will be a lot of findings that will surprise people. This company is the worst company I have ever known. Duke Energy must be sued and it also should compensate money to all of its consumers who have been overcharged.

I called Duke Energy and was told that since I received two disconnection notices in the past that I must put down this deposit. I told the supervisor that I made the mistake of signing up for e-billing and rarely check my home email account. She didn't care. She kept saying, "There is nothing I can do." She also stated that after a year of paying on time without a disconnection notice or if I move, then I will get my deposit back. I bet in a year, I don't! My service has never been disconnected in the past. Charging me this deposit just makes money tighter for me and is ridiculous! This company is taking advantage of consumers and since it is the only electric company offered in my county, what other choice do I have? By the way, I went online to try to change my billing back to paper billing and I can't figure it out. I am pretty computer literate too. I think this company is corrupt and horrible!

How can Duke Power expect me to pay the $208 bill by Aug 25th ($63 + $145 deposit)? I have had just enough to pay my normal bill (around $65 each month). $145 may seem like a small amount to some, but to our family, it's the difference between possibly losing my home and making it or not. I called customer service and after 3 or 4 times of "can I speak to your supervisor," I gave up. The same speech each time "Sorry, nothing we can do." They gave me some local assistance numbers, but when I call them, they can only help with food or whatever. No help with this.

What are we to do in this economy where we are dealing with mindless robots who have no heart or compassion for the problems our current economic situation is causing? I simply cannot pay this extra fee. They give the option of providing a guarantor to secure the account, but everyone I talk to, family and friends, all do not meet the requirements of having not been 1 day late for the past 12 months.

Any comments from anyone on this matter from any others with this experience would be welcome. What do we, as citizens of South Carolina, plan to do about these problems? Are we really at the mercy of monopolies like this? I truly hope not.

My name was never on his service, until they attached it! That is fraud and identity theft. They (Duke Energy) go after people for that. I am very much in hopes that a whole lot of people have been bullied in this way by Duke and we can do a class action. I am in the process of searching for people who have gotten desperate and paid bill for Duke that were not in their name, just so they could get utilities turned on. In Ohio, that is fraud and Duke Energy knows it.

What has finally intrigued me to write this is when I spoke with my cousin. She told me that her bill was 350 dollars for the month of July. She was in tears! She lives in a small single wide mobile home as I do and has electric as well as gas. This was for her electric bill alone!

This is close to what I pay every month between November through February even when I take drastic measures to cut back on electric. Their only response is that it's because it's colder so I am apt to pay more! **! My son that is in a very small mobile home has had extremely high bills with Duke as well. We all have proof of this and have all complained in which it's always the same answer as if everyone that is employed there is programmed to give the same response. I think Duke needs to be fully investigated because as long as they can rip people off, they will!

I had my gas turned off for several months. I talked to a rep on the phone. They gave me the date when the bill had to be paid and they disconnected me anyway. Now, they said they undercharged me $2,000, they took my large deposit. I have tried and tried with this company to cooperate but they are always right and we are wrong. I have had to get a second job just to pay the electric bill. I already work 40 hours at one job. Trying to be a single parent to my kids and working two jobs was not easy. I am worn out trying to reason with this company.

This is not right and I'm sure there are other Duke Power customers dealing with unemployment that they're doing this to! Something to help myself and others being penalized by Duke Power for being unemployed! I've written my State and Federal representatives about this. I also plan to report it to at least one of the customer advocacy departments of the local news stations.

Finally, yesterday, they sent the same guy that cut down half the tree and knocked the power out. He is accompanied by what I guess is a member of his crew. My roommate overheard them through an open window say that they "weren't gonna tackle that" before knocking on the back door. They actually ask which tree we were talking about, to my roommate's astonishment, since the huge leaning tree, 20 feet high, is not 10 feet away from them. They then proceed to tell him that the other trunk they cut off was not the same tree, but a separate tree that was growing one foot away. The wood from the cut trunk is lying right in front of them and my roommate asked why the bark is the same if that's the case. They say the other bark is "a little tighter" and show him a cherry branch that has shed its protective coating and is white. Pointing up to the existing branches, my roommate identifies one that is identical to the one this guy is holding in his hand and he still insists it's an oak tree. He informed us he will not be removing the dangerous tree because it's not touching the lines. Of course, it's not; they cut it half down that was, leaving a dangerous half tree to contend with.

I called Duke Energy again and I was told, once again, a supervisor will finally call me. Today, a person named Henry **, a vegetation supervisor called me and said that Davies Tree Service told him it was two different trees and they are not going to finish cutting the dying leaning tree because it ain't within 20 feet of our lines." We are at our wits end. It is the same tree. They totally damaged it by cutting half of it and leaving the other half leaning and dying, and a dangerous situation for my neighbors and me. Had they just cut the limbs off near the lines, it probably would not be this unstable or leaning. If this thing comes out of the ground, it will cause some major destruction to homes and possibly human life. I think it would only take a heavy snow or wind to bring it down. Mr. ** has not come personally to look at it and neither has anyone else from Duke Power, but they send these people to totally destroy the tree and don't care enough about their customers but to send the same person. Of course, he doesn't want anyone to know what a horrible job he did. We just don't know what to do. We're really afraid this thing will hurt someone.

I proceeded to call Duke again; they stated there was nothing showing I spoke to anyone on Thursday. They told me to contact a consumer credit agency that they work with to get a payment plan in place. I contacted them. They cannot get me in for an appointment until May 7. I contacted Duke again. They tell me, "Sorry, there is nothing we can do, we need $831 or your power will be shut off Monday!" So much for helpful customer service. Also I questioned why there were separate charges for delivery and generation on each bill, and they told me it was costing me over half of my monthly bill (which average $550 Dec-Mar) just to get service from the pole to my house. I told them that was ridiculous. How could anyone afford these kind of charges? And they responded. "I know, I don't see how either." This is crappy customer service and, come Monday, I'm in the dark and have no heat.

I immediately called Duke Energy to ask about this and how they determined the charges. The representative advised me that they 'estimated' my usage for those previous months. That alone confused me because how can you estimate that and bill me for it. Well, I advised her that I couldn't pay that full balance and I surely couldn't live without lights. I was almost in a panic attack at this time. The only thing she could tell me was that I could make payment arrangements once it's past due. I advised her that I needed to handle it now because I couldn't wait until cut off time and still not have the amount of money they were requesting.

Well, I called the Utilities Commissioner and spoke with a gentleman there. I explained my situation to him and he said he would call me back. After 2 days, he calls me back and all he has to tell me is that he made arrangements with Duke Energy. Needless to say, I was looking for the charges to be cleared. I was even willing to take responsibility for some of the charges because I could have called and inquired about the low balance. He advised me that Duke Energy agreed to break it up in installments. Now, I'm having to pay an extra $100 per month ON TOP of my monthly charges. I'm paying almost $300 a month for power! To top it off, if I don't have it on the due date and I need to extend the date, they won't do it because I’m already on a payment arrangement!

Last month, my statement came on a Tuesday and it stated that I had the next day to pay or my lights would be off on Thursday. I literally had no money to put to this and tried to get it extended 2 days. They told me no and if I didn't have my payment in by 5:00 PM my lights would be cut off. I had to go to extreme measures just to keep my lights on. I couldn't afford for them to cut them off because I would have to pay the full bill to get them back on.

Imagine my surprise when I get my next bill three weeks later for $517!! Our usage was $168 but then there was a $25 reconnection fee, a $95 security deposit and $228 for a PAST DUE amount!???? The fee and deposit was unexpected, but I can understand it, but the past due balance? How is that possible? I called Duke and the lady said that whoever gave me the total before miscalculated and I have to pay that extra $228. If that's the case, then they could just say they miscalculated by $500 and make me pay that! The lady (sorry I didn't catch her name) said she would take what I owe and split it into 6 payments over the next 6 months and while I don't think that's fair AT ALL, I was going to do it, but then she hung up on me (I don't think on purpose - it was a nice conversation). I was on the phone either on hold or talking to her for nearly an hour. I don't want to go through this nonsense again. I paid my $168 which isn't even due until October 20th. Do I have to pay the $228? Any advice about this is very appreciated! Thanks for your help!!

Everyday they would tell me something different as to when i can expect service; although I made several complaints that my toddler has severe asthma and uses a machine for breathing treatments, which is accompanied by electricity, and also the fact that my husband is an insulin dependent diabetic and have to keep his insulin cold in the refrigerator, didn't seem to matter to the people who was out restoring everyone else and left us for the very end.

My power was turned back on seven days later! My frustration and anger with about the whole situation can't even be put into words; but one thing I can say as matter factly is, they don't take their time sending me a high bill every month and they sure wouldn't take their time turning my electric off it the bill goes unpaid. I am a paying customer just like everyone else and I feel that because I sincerly have critical care in my home, I should've been restored a lot sooner then what I was.

I'm sorry that Duke ever took over Cingery because they have proven to be very unreliable but unfortunatly, I don't have any other choice but to keep dealing with this shabby company.

$200.00 worth of food went to the curb because it spoiled. Each day I had to take my child over my family house so he could have is breathing treatment.

"Therefor Duke is free to renegotiate its contract with Checkfree to get rid of this absurd, outdated, and very dangerous requirement. If Duke cared about its retail customers, it would do so immediately. I've disenrolled from your online services and will have to pay your bills electronically through another service provider I use. Sadly, I won't be able to arrange an automatic debit, which I prefer, because of your outdated business practice. An automatic debit arrangement would have been easier for me and more efficient for Duke."

If I find the time and motivation, I'm going to report Duke's consumer privacy practice in this area to the Indiana Department of Consumer Affairs. Your policy (and it's yours, not Checkfree's) is wrong. I would appreciate it if you would elevate this issue to a decision-maker in your company. Duke needs to understand that people DO NOT want to provide their Social Security numbers to anyone, for any reason, because of the epidemic of identity theft in our country. People do not trust any assurances from any business that customer information will be securely protected, because such information is compromised on a regular basis. Read the news.

On Aug 4, 2008, at 12:10 PM, customerservice@duke-energy.com wrote: "Thank you for getting back with Tonya. My name is Michelle and I am an e-Bill supervisor. I understand you feel it is a violation of consumers' normal and reasonable rights to privacy but unfortunately the social security number is a requirement of CheckFree for enrollment in our e-Bill service. I apologize for the inconvenience. Mr. W., feel free to reply to this e-mail if you have any other questions and I will be happy to help you. Have a nice day!"

On August 2 2008 at 23:12:09 GMT-04:00 Steve Weiser wrote: Ms. S., thank you for your response. Checkfree does not need my social security number in order to perform their role in this process. They do not need to verity my identity or ensure that my enrollment is as accurate and secure as it can be. I'm not interested in using Checkfree for anything and was unaware they are involved. They should not be concerned about this. If my account is debited and the funds are good, your bill is paid. If not, then you would seek payment from me just as you would any other past due account. You are at no greater risk than a customer who mails you a check every month. Please have your manager contact me so we can discuss this a little further. Again, it is a seriously outdated and risky practice for any large company to require social security numbers from its customers. Among other things, I think it is a violation of consumers' normal and reasonable rights to privacy."

On Aug 2, 2008, at 5:09 PM, customerservice@duke-energy.com wrote: "Dear Mr. W., Thank you for contacting us through our Web site in regards to your e-Bill Inquiry. Mr. W., I apologize for any inconvenience. Unfortunately, you will be unable to enroll in e-Bill without providing your social security number. Our vendor Checkfree requires this information to verify your identity and to ensure that your enrollment is as accurate and secure as it can be. However, your account is already enrolled in e-Bill through another Web site. If you are unable to remember the Web site, please contact Checkfree and they may be able to assist you with this matter.

On August 1 2008 at 17:40:44 GMT-04:00 Steve W. wrote: I'm trying to sign up on your slow and cumbersome website for an
automatic payment plan. I am now getting a message as follows: "We're sorry. We are unable to generate an identification code for

your Duke Energy e-Bill service. Please click this address customerservice@duke-energy.com to send a message to customer service to resolve this problem.

Also, your online process requires a social security number. This an outdated business concept; I do not give my social security number to anyone for any reason, ever, due to the epidemic of identity theft. However, I did enter a 9 digit number during the above process, so that should not have generated an error message. I'm surprised that your company is trying to collect social security

numbers from its customers.

Duke Energy is collection consumers' Social Security numbers, which is plainly unnecessary for the business purpose they describe, and is an egregious violation of consumer privacy. Duke blames Checkfree, with whom Duke has entered into a business arrangement. Therefor Duke is free to renegotiate its business arrangement with Checkfree if Duke chooses to do so. Given the epidemic of identity theft, no business should insist on obtaining social security numbers from consumers, especially a public utility which has no legitimate business argument for doing so.

The meter is on the outside of the house so no excuse to why the meter was not read. On the bottom of the bill it states to save money they are estimating instead of sending a meter reader to get the reading. Also, upon transfer of utilities into tenants name Duke stated they estimated that reading. How in the world can you estimate and beginning and final meter reading. The customer service reps are disrepectful and argumentative. I am in the process of moving forward with a complaint to PUCO. I have several tenants and properties where Duke is estimating bills instead of acually reading the meter.

This is very costly and expensive. Duke is providing a service and charging an estimated amount of bill for the purpose of overcharging the customer. This economic loss is in the thousands of dollars.

Neither the disconnection nor the final bill were taken care of as requested. Our lives put in danger as the electric was still live and we were in the property trying to save items after the initial flooding.

When I called to enquire I was told not final bill would be created as our account was delinquent. I gave them the account number I had and the CSR argued that was not my account. I assured her it was as my name was there and I had made payments under my name and that account number. Allshe wanted to due was argue about whose fault it was my payments went to the wrong place.

I faxed her a copy of my account as printed from Duke's account page as well as electonic copies of payments made from me to the account. No further contact was made.

Today, 3-26-08, I rang and spoke with 2 other reps who again wanted to argue about there being 2 accounts with my name but not wanting to take responsibility to help resolve the issue. So there will still not be a final bill as requested and still showing as delinquent.

I am very frustrated in this company's refusal to take responsibility and assist in resolving an issue such as this. I need to get everything resovled, pay the final bill and move on to recover from losing almost everything in our home.

As a result of not turning off the power my life, as well as those trying to help me rescue belongings, was put in jeopardy. We could have been severely injured or killed as there was still quite a bit of water in the property and live electricity.

Secondly, by having multiple accounts the payments I made have been applied to the wrong account thus showing in whichever account is the coorect one that I am delinquent.

Thirdly, the longer the wait to turn off the power as requested 1 week ago, the more I will be charged. The fact the house is damaged I am afraid usage will reflect incorrectly and be more than actually used in the few days from the end of the last billing cycle and the day we fled the property.