Duke Energy of the Carolinas

Duke Energy is by far the worst utility company I have had the displeasure of interacting with. Since roughly 6 months ago the power goes out every time it does little more than drizzle and most of these outages last 4 to 6 hours. It is understandable for this to happen with bad storms or hurricanes but it goes out with just light rain. When you call for updates you have to deal with a useless automated system that doesn't give you an estimate of when the power will be restored until it has gone back on. The online system is barely functional on any device and provides even less information.

It is understandable that after Hurricane Florence homes would be without power for sometime, however, my home was without power for a week. When we reached out to Duke Power we were told three different things by three different employees; 1. Being that a transformer had blown and they were not sure which one and that they hadn't been able to find it. 2. That they had not even had a chance to assess the issue. 3. That they assessed the issue but were unable to restore power due to weather conditions (it was sunny and bright and 4 days after the hurricane hit). When we first called to make them aware of the power outage in our area they acted completely shocked even though online it stated 44 people had reported outages from our neighborhood. We were promised before the hurricane hit that employees from out of state were sent to make sure no ones power would be out more than a few days.

After initiating service at my new residence and paying the first bill, I set up auto-pay at the company's invitation. When my next bill reflected an unpaid balance, I called customer service and was told the process sometimes took a month and the current and past due amounts would be paid automatically when the current bill became due. A week before the due date, however, I received a "FINAL NOTICE" threatening to cut off service if the past due amount were not paid three days before the due date for the current bill. My only safe alternative at that point was to pay the past due amount immediately and incur the $1.50 "Convenience Fee" for same-day service. Had I been told the past due amount had to be paid before the due date for current service, I would have done so. Instead I was treated like a dead-beat by the company because of the incompetence of its own billing and customer service personnel.

We were told that we had to put in a digital meter to replace our analog one. The contractor of Duke Energy told us that we could not opt out and that a deputy was having to escort them to come and change meters if people refused. (Lie). So, we relented and had a digital meter installed August 28th, 2018. We just received our new bill and it was over a hundred dollars more since last month, plus our ac unit went out. That may be a coincidence but it just seems suspicious. Now they tell us that they will come back out and reinstall the analog but it will cost us $175.00 plus $11.00 dollars a month. After over an hour on the phone and multiple agents, they are going to review our bill as well. Be wary of them. They have unscrupulous business practices, and that is being nice. If there is a class action lawsuit, I would be willing to join!

What more does someone have to do when giving correct account information in changing email accounts and phone number? I think giving your Duke account number and your SS number should account for you not being a robot.

My power bills averaged about $150.00 last summer. Lo and behold they put in a new meter at the end of the summer and now my bills have skyrocketed! My bill this month is $418.00. They are totally screwing me and overbilling me. I have had my air conditioning checked and my hot water heater and both are fine. I even started cutting off my bedroom window unit every day and my bill went up $70 from last month. WHEN IS SOMEONE GOING TO STOP THESE PEOPLE??? There is nothing I can do because they are the only power company we can use. I am a single mom and I am going broke trying to pay my power bill. They are cheating every one of their customers and this has to stop. SOMEBODY HELP!

It has been over a year, since Duke Energy in Cashiers were suppose to come and finish the job... Diane, from Duke Energy at that time was the supervisor. She came by. Gave the ok for Duke Energy to come and do the underground connection. We did our part. Spent a lot of money and all I get from Duke Energy customer service is: "In two days someone will call you", two days=365 days... Diane, has retired and all I get from DUKE IS ZERO RESPONSE. Enough of this... Duke get on with your work.

Ever since the new meters were installed our bills have been OUTRAGEOUS! $506, $415, $308 to $220 & our bill has always been $90 - $150 (at the most). The highest ($415 & $308) were when we weren't even using the A/C yet. ($506 was the snow weather.) I have a feeling they are trying to recoup some of the money from the coal ash spill, we just went and checked our meter and they have lied on our Bill about how much we used as well! Scam company! Just waiting for some sort of class action lawsuit to pop up.

I've had a ton of issues with them too. Once I started going through the BBB, things got better. Try it.

In December 2013 I made a request to have my metering plan changed to a "Time of Use" program. On December 27 the old meter (one that could be read from the street) was replaced with a new one. On January 10 a technician came out and programmed the meter. Our billing period runs from approximately the 14th of the month. When we received our Dec/Jan bill it was for 2800/kwh - a full 25% more than ever before. The itemization shown on the on-line detail page showed we used 550 kwh during peak and 1,550 kwh during off peak hours. After determining that the difference between the total amount billed and the amount show on our detail sheet was the usage recorded on our old meter, we are left with the following "coincidences":

I am starting to feel that I might have better luck getting customer service from Progress Energy if I went outside and yelled "tech support" at the sky! For the past three years I have been trying to get the power unused, overgrown, abandoned power lines on my property turned off and the lines removed before they start a fire or someone gets killed driving farm equipment under them. I keep calling and I still have vine grown, tree touching sagging power (live) lines. I've had customer service mock me (yes, it's a hog house. Is that funny?), tell me the job was already done when it was not, and just simply blow me off by continually telling me they do not know when someone will do it, why they have not done it or what the hold up is.

I'm a father of four, and they cut my power for a system mistake. I need to say that I used the online payment for my power bill. So several months ago, I posted my payment online as usual. But after a month, I received a notice that they haven't received the payment, so I redid it again plus the previous month. But what happened? They sent me a letter saying that they needed a payment; otherwise, they would cut my power. I knew that it was a problem on their system so I paid a one-time payment. Anyway, the last couple of months, I had the same problem, but this time I only received a phone call, saying that I needed to pay at least half of the amount owed. So I posted my payment as usual, but last week when I was at work, my prego wife called me saying that there was no power in the house. So I knew that they cut it.

I am a very small business owner who has been closed since Dec. 22nd 2012. I will reopen in March of 2013. I use very little electricity since no heat, lights, etc. have been in use. The heat is turned off. Only the phone line and the line for the debit card machine are plugged in. I use a small portable refrigerator as well. Last month, my bill was $66.00 and I just received my new bill for $78.00. I called previously to inquire to what I thought was an exorbitant bill amount since the shop was closed during that billing cycle. The CS rep told me to read the meter, as if that matters. I told her there was no way I have used that much when my home bill was twice the amount and I live here. I asked her to have the meter checked. She declined saying nothing was wrong with the meter. Guess she is psychic. Now, I have to once again repeat the call to inquire.

I have 3 kids and I have asked Progress on many times not to turn off my power. But they are going to turn it off as of February 4th. I can pay the bill on Feb. 15th, but they don't care. They said, "Find a church or something to help you pay for the bill." I work 8:30-5:00, so it's hard for me to go to my church. If I miss a day at work, then my rent or something may be come short. So my kids and I will be cold for about a week and a half. Thanks Progress Energy for a family left out in the cold.

I arrived at home around 7pm on January 17th to find a notice on my door that between the hours of 10am to 2pm, there would be no power in my home. I might mention that this is a planned power outage so that they may connect a power transformer to the new townhouses they are building on the next block. My complaint is simple. If this is a planned outage, you would think that more notice of at least 48 hours should be provided so a person can properly prepare. Certainly when the largest ice storm of the season is coming in, and the temperature is dipping below freezing and the heat is needed. I might add that I need a breathing machine that yes, uses power, and I will not have that; oh and since there's no power and limited notice, I’m screwed!

Second security deposit? - My services were disconnected and reconnected in one day. I paid the amount of the bill and upon returning home my lights were off. Needless to say, I called Progress Energy to have the services restored. I made a payment at the pay station ($78.11). Not only did they charge the balance ($166.00), they charged for the service ($4.95), and also told me there was an $87.00 security deposit. I asked why and they said that’s because the service was disconnected, not even 24 hours. I asked to speak with a supervisor. He was a smart **, arrogant, not professional at all in handling the situation. I feel I’m being duped by this company in more ways than one. I can understand a re-connect fee, but another security deposit is crazy and there is still a deposit from the initial service. The residence has not moved nor has the account number or name been changed. This is unacceptable, crazy and simply unheard of and sadly we need electricity.

I paid with a check and it took 5 days to get there in the last 8 months. It took one day every month to stop the electricity from being turned off. I paid electronically the next day the check appeared and they cashed both. How convenient. I made an electronic payment and I was told I could ask to have the second check credited back to my account. What a bunch of hogwash. It's a shame a company so big is so damn greedy. After 6 years, you would think they would give you a break. I hope all your employees and executives enjoyed the $247.00 you got from me while my family starves.

I had been living in the same house for ten years, at the time, with my mother and sister. Since then, they both have died; my sister's name was on the bill all this time, but I am guidance to the house and bills through my lawyer since the death of my sister. I had called the company about budget bill. They found out about my sister and said I would need to change bill to a living person’s name (my fault). They are charging me $468.00 to have my electric bill put into my name and a new service connection (new account number). Due to the situation, I think the company is ripping me off. They were going to turn my lights off if I did not pay part of the deposit. My bills are paid on time. Thank you.

My light bill was due on 8/23/2012 in the amount of $104.80 so I went online last night to make the payment (as I have always done). Well, the Easy Pay system was down, so I called the Easy Pay 866 number. That too was down! The problem is, it was at night so all the pay stations in the area were closed! So I stayed on, refreshing the page, and calling the number for about 2.5 hrs. The system was still down. So, I finally talked to someone there who was in the "outage department." I'm still unsure how I got to them, but anyways.

My electricity was disconnected for the first time ever and I was charged $124 for a so called security deposit and $30 reconnect fee, not to mention the amount of the bill that was due. The kicker is my bill was not due until September 7th. When asked about the $124, I was told they charge the security deposit just in case it happens again. I have never had my services disconnected before and they would not have been disconnected this time if I wasn't being ** by the only electric company in town. If I had my way, Progress Energy would not be receiving my money. They can get away with overcharging because electricity is much needed. I paid the full amount they were asking and an hour later, no services. When I called back, they stated they have until 12 midnight to restore services. They did not hesitate to disconnect so they should not hesitate to reconnect. Progress Energy is the worst company I have ever dealt with!

My service was disconnected yesterday after I was told I had until the 9th of August to pay my bill. I didn't make an issue about it because I just got paid and I was going to pay it anyways. I got home after 9pm so it was too late to pay it. I ended up going to stay in a room and I called and paid it at 9am this morning. I got home at 7pm and my power was still off. I called and put in my info. It said that if the amount I had just paid this morning was not paid by the 9th, they were going to disconnect my power! So I pressed the options to be connected with a CSR. I waited a total of 43 minutes on hold before I gave up and hung up. I called right back and pressed all the options to be connected with a CSR and I waited a total of 35 minutes before I gave up.

My experience with Progress Energy is regarding me making a payment as agreed. I made a payment arrangement to pay my bill on 6/25/2012. As agreed, I went to my local Food Lion and made the payment in cash on 6/25/2012. Today, I called to make another payment arrangement and was told that I could not make any arrangements to pay for up to 6 months because I failed to keep my agreement. I gave them my receipt number and they told me that they could see that I made the payment on the date agreed upon, but that they didn't receive it until 2 days later because I paid at an unauthorized payment location? Excuse me? How do we as the consumer know if the payment location is authorized or unauthorized? Who even thinks to ask a question like that?

Power got turned off at 12 pm. At 2:10 pm, bill was paid in full and was told power would be restored shortly. I called at 5 pm, explained I have a son with a serious asthma condition and needed the lights on shortly and didn't understand why it was already 3 hours later! They said maybe I will have them back on by midnight. My husband called again as soon as he brought the children home and was told by the supervisor, "Not my problem, deal with it!" We have had Progress Energy for 10 years, never late, never had power turned off until now. The service we got from them was way past horrible!

I tried to set up a landlord agreement with Progress Energy. What that would do would allow us to pay one deposit and connect my empty apartments with power so we could get them ready to rent. The complex consists of 60 units with about 17 empty units at this time. Progress Energy wanted to charge me a basic $500 and them $40 for each unit on top of that, totaling $2,900. Now we already have 43 occupied units that they have large deposits on so they would be double dipping, so to speak, by charging me on the occupied units. So I rejected their offer and will continue to turn one unit on them, charge the deposit to the next unit and so on. Now all of the units in the complex are the same two-bedroom, one-bath but all of their deposits are different. I have never seen a utility company base their security deposit on the prior tenant's utility usage. That's like the insurance company basing your insurance on a car's previous owner, hoping it wasn't a teenager.

I have been living at my address for one year. I live in a low-income apartment with my 6-month-old daughter. The company that manages my apartment pays a portion of my power bill. I never received a bill, so I called Progress Energy each month for the first few months to see if I had a balance remaining after they paid their portion. And I had no balance. I assumed that Progress Energy would send me a bill if owed anything. I gave them my mother's address, because I cannot receive mail at my physical address.

My bills at Progress Energy (PE) used to be between $50-$80 a month. On the month of April of this year I got an energy bill for $451 for one month’s energy use. My apartment complex said they were not at fault. PE said they were not at fault. The second month it went down to $125. They ran tests and replaced parts but again no one took blame. Keep in mind I had made no changes in my apartment, purchased no new electronics or anything. I was also told this happened in the previous winter with a very high bill and nothing was done. So twice now, with the same apartment, a high energy came out and no one is accepting blame. So I was stuck getting on a payment plan that took six months to pay off for either PE or my apartment’s neglect. I am now an angry, unhappy and dissatisfied customer; if I could I would go back to Duke Energy where they value their customers.

I have dealt with Public Utilities in other areas of the country and I have never seen a company with as many rude employees as Progress Energy. They intentionally misinterpret regulations to suit their whims. I have had the phone hung up on me by 3 different Progress Energy representatives. I lost one of my bills once and called Progress Energy and the customer service associate would not even tell me my account balance so that I could pay my bill. Does the state of North Carolina do any type of regulation with Progress Energy? It appears that they are allowed to treat their customers like **.

I did not have a payment issue on my account since 2005, and now I am having one right after the other. I started receiving the bill late. I thought maybe it was troubles at the post office, and so I set up payment over the internet. The routing number I gave them I thought was the same one I gave PSNC which works, but did not work for them. When I called to find out what the issue was, they told me it was "user error". I fixed it online, but I was not aware that once you sign up for online pay, that you would stop receiving a paper bill. Next thing I know, I am being told that my bank refused payment, so now, I had to pay by cash, money, or cashier's check. My bank never refused payment because I never made one, because I never got a bill. I shut down the internet pay immediately. Now, I have a ding on my credit, and have to purchase a money order at the post office because they won't take my check or online.

I originally wanted to open an account for my rental unit. I was informed that I would have to pay a deposit. I have no problem with paying a deposit, however, I did not have the money to pay when I was informed that there would be a $150 deposit required. I said that I will have to call back when I have the money. Progress went ahead and set up an account and charged me the deposit and only gave me five days to pay the entire amount. I did get a letter but it states that I have until the end of the month to pay this. This morning, my power has been cut off for apparent lack of payment. I called Progress and was first told that I was correct, then no one else would agree with me. I was talked over, talked down to and called a liar. I was made to pay the deposit and then charged a $30 fee to reconnect the power. I did not approve or ask to be billed for the deposit. I did say that I want to get this done when I do have the money. That is not what happened. All I want back is the $30.

My lights were disconnected due to my thinking it was paid. When I went to my budget book to look for the receipt in order to have them turned back on, I found the bill with the money still inside. I could not believe that somehow, it had not gotten paid. We then had to catch up the full bill amount and pay a $15 reconnect fee. I totally understood and agreed with that and paid that amount and the power was restored. What I don't understand or agree with is that in 10 business days, we have to pay a $562 deposit or they will once again disconnect our service. My husband and I are both unemployed. He has drawn all of his unemployment funds and I go to college online (which requires power). We were told to go to local charities to get the money.