Washington Gas Reviews

In May of 2010, my gas was turned off. When I called Washington Gas, they sent a person out to resolve the problem. That service person informed me that the meters were crossed in their system and when the person in the unit below me moved out and turned off the gas, they turned my gas off instead. I was told that they would uncross the meters in their system. After this, I tried to pay my bill for the next three months (online) and I received the message that my account had a positive balance and they would not accept a payment. After three months, I received a bill for $705.00. I called and asked for an explanation in October 2010 and was told that it was a mistake and they would straighten it out.

In November 2010. I received a bill for $758.00. I called again and spoke to Carla (employee ID: **), who tried to tell me that the bill included the cost of new meters. I do not have new meters. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was given Jake (employee ID: **), who told me that the $758.00 included the money I should have paid if the meters had not been crossed. I stated that Washington Gas has already received payment from the tenant who moved out and my paying them would mean they are getting paid twice for making a mistake and crossing the meters. He said that what I pointed out was true. I demanded proof that they have refunded any money paid by the tenant who moved out (and I believe left the D.C. area), before charging me for services they have already been paid for.

I was told that their billing department would send me an explanation of my bill. My bill is getting higher and higher every month while I get a different story each time I call. I want to get this straightened out before it becomes a huge problem or they turn off my gas because they have not straightened this out. I have no confidence in their treating me fairly or following through with what they have said. It is ridiculous for them to expect to be paid twice, once by the tenant who moved out and again, by me. They want to profit from the mistake they made of crossing the meters.

I have been on the phone with Jason the rep, for about 30mins while typing this up and still no one can get someone out today and they have no way to get me to one of the managers. I asked if they have a number for the main office downtown DC and he said no that it is only a walk-in office, yeah right. I would like to see something done about this because I should not have been inconvenienced this long and it was not my doing. Washington Gas is a trip!

As a result of this, me and my family has been forced to stay elsewhere because we can not cook and fortunately the weather has not been as bad (cold, cold) but we would like to stay in our own home. We have to go and get clothes and return the ones that are worn so that we won't clutter up or crowd up anyone else's space where we are staying. Also, we are spending much more money because of this (gas to work, prepared food and housing cost). We also are sleeping on the floor and on a small couch, which has caused aches and pain all over our body.

I called and complained to one of their supervisors and he said that there will be no more than $65 a month and no more security deposit. Of course, after I agreed to pay the $185, wrong, the following month I received another 120 dollars bill for security deposit and the $65 . I had to pay again because they threatened to cut off the gas. Now they have a new charge of 123 dollars a month in the middle of summer. Can anybody do something!

I explained to them that I had filed bankruptcy and I had the paperwork to prove that they were included. A Washington Gas customer service person said that the charges were from 2007. I told him that I was living in Virginia in 2007 and the bill was not mine. The customer service guy told me that I never turned the service off. I told him that I did, but nonetheless, I was not living in Maryland in 2007. They have cut my gas off and I have two children living in the house. My gas usage in the house is never over $30 a month, which I paid every month. I need to know if I can file a lawsuit.

He asked for my info, including my social security number. When I had provided all the info, he informed me that in order to complete the set up, I would need to go to the Washington Gas office in person and bring two forms of ID plus proof that I owned the property where gas service was requested. I had never heard anything so absurd and told him so. In reply, he insisted that this is a requirement for all potential customers. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told that they were busy and couldn't come to the phone.

In short, I could not get past this incompetent person even to make a complaint. It is clear that Washington Gas has no interest in providing even acceptable customer service and ironically does not seem to even want new business. It's too bad it has a monopoly in this market; otherwise, companies like this would not be able to stay in business.

Our second statement, which had the 12-month energy use graph was completely different. These bills are for the exact same months in question. Washington Gas is overcharging us by 91 therms (around $170). The customer service is horrendous. No response to repeated emails and letters, 25-minute wait times on the phone. I reported this to the Maryland Public Service Commission. Despite an email promise that Washington Gas would not turn off the gas before this was resolved, on Friday someone came out to turn off the gas. Washington Gas uses fraudulent, illegal tactics, which rip off consumers.

Our bills doubled during the winter, and this bill should not have. Nevertheless, I asked what we need to do to get on this budget plan. James said that he could not give us an amount yet but that "we will send you information about our discussion and you will need to call us back." I told James "Ok, but we have $300.00 to pay on our debit card." James said, "We would need to take any payment until the documentation comes in the mail. You call us, when you get the information." We said ok and we waited.

One month passed, and on June 12, 2009, our gas was turned off for non-payment. We were alarmed because we were waiting for some form to fill out, but it never came before our service was interrupted. My home has both electric and gas. Gas is only used for cooking (two times a week), hot water, and heating the house in the winter. For cooking purposes and hot water, we can't understand why it is so high. I have never received a bill so high, just for cooking purposes (two times a week).

On June 16, I called again, because the service was now off and we needed to know why. That's when we were told for non-payment. We said we were going to pay something last month, but we're told not to make a payment. And now, they turn my gas off. They did not keep their promise to send me something in writing regarding a budget plan. But they quickly turned off my service.

We were then told that if we made a payment of $700.00, we could have the utility turned back on. I informed the company that we don't have that kind of money and we were waiting for something in writing to establish a budget plan. I said I only have $450.00 to give them right now. I was told that once that's paid, to call back and give them the confirmation number and the service will be turned on and that they will establish a budget plan for the remainder of the balance.

0n 6/19/2009, I paid $450.00 as promised, and my service was not connected. I am now told that the company cannot turn on my service in one day because of scheduling. This should have been clearly stated when the arrangements and payment were made. I feel like I am being jerked around by the utility company, because they can do and say whatever they want without any responsibility for their comments or actions.

I borrowed money from friends to pay the $450.00, expecting to have service for the holiday weekend. It was not happening. Not only was the customer service not good, but the representatives we spoke to were rude. He was informative but rude. No member should be treated in this manner. This is a service we need and should not have to deal with this rudeness.

I also smell gas around the furnace where it is a light smell. When I called the emergency line, they told me to hang up and called the regular number. When I called the regular number, the operator gave me a very hard time even after I reported smelling gas. I asked to speak to a supervisor and she told me it would be some time before I could get one. She then came back to the phone as if she were playing games and called the emergency line so I could make a report for smelling gas. After I initially called, smelling gas was one of the first things that I said. I had been on the phone almost 30 minutes or more. I was given a very hard time. I was told to call back after I got home around 7:00 to report the gas leak. I had explained to the operator that a responsible adult in my home reported the gas leak to me and I called it in. She still gave a hard time.