We Energies

On 11/20/14, and the days that followed, a We Energies customer
service supervisor worked with Ms. [redacted] to address her concerns. The
supervisor apologized for not cancelling the automatic payment withdrawal
before the November payment was taken. Automatic payment withdrawal has...

now
been terminated, and Ms. [redacted]’s account has been credited for the
cancellation fees charged by the bank. She has also been removed from the
budget billing plan as requested.
 
[redacted]
We Energies Customer Assistance

Ms. [redacted]’s account did have an extended pay agreement in place,
requiring a monthly installment of $30 in addition to current charges.  The 10/23 bill had a balance owing of $207.57
that was due by 11/12.
 
Ms. [redacted] met the income guidelines and was granted $389 from...

Wisconsin
Home Energy Assistance Program.  When an
account has been setup in a deferred pay agreement the EA funds are applied
towards the oldest arrears, helping to reduce the outstanding balance and length
of the plan.  This is exactly how the
funds were credited to Ms. [redacted]’s account.  
Prior to the EA credit the DPA had a remaining term of 25 months for the
balance to be paid in full.  When the EA
credit was applied shortened the installment length to 12 months.
 
The prior arrangement terminated by Ms. [redacted] assuming she didn’t need
to make her required monthly payment because of the EA credit, however, this is
incorrect.  A payment was still expected as
the EA funds are always applied towards the arrears balance when an agreement
is in place and not the current balance due.  
When Ms. [redacted] failed to make a payment the arrangement terminated with
the 11/21 bill.
 
As a courtesy the agreement has been re-established for the same terms,
$30 plus current charges and a payment of $214.56 ($184.56 + $30) is the
12/13/14 due date.  Should Ms. [redacted] fail
to keep the arrangement a down payment will be expected to reset any future
arrangements.

A deferred payment arrangement, or DPA, is an agreement
in which a customer with a past due balance agrees to make a down payment and
then pay a portion of the past due amount each month plus her current charges by
the due date of each month’s bill.  In
exchange for the customer...

establishing a DPA, we agree to not report the
remainder of the unpaid balance as past due as long as the terms of the arrangement are kept.
 
In her inquiry to the Revdex.com Ms. [redacted] writes, “their
justification is that I broke the payment agreement that I had set up …
therefore the entire amount of the payment agreement becomes due and is
considered delinquent.” That statement is correct: the agreement into which she
entered was that we would not report her arrears as past due as long as she
made the requested payments by their due dates. When the payment she agreed to
make on 10/28 did not post to her account by that date, Ms. [redacted] had broken
the terms of the DPA. Because of this, her arrears were subsequently reported
as past due.
 
 
[redacted]
We Energies Customer Assistance

Ms. [redacted] contacted the PSC prior to her contact with the RevDex.com.  The PSC reviewed her outage concern
and determined that the December 12th outage was due to a broken
insulator on the pole, which was unpredictable and not caused by any negligence
on the part of We...

Energies.
 
Ms. [redacted] stated that she believed high voltage
entered her home causing the damage to her ceiling fan.  Per the outage records there was no
indication of high voltage, and if that were the case there would have been
more customers calling the claims department. 
It was suggested by both the claims department and the PSC that Ms.
[redacted] file with her homeowner’s insurance for reimbursement

How in the world can WE energies expect people to sit around and wait 12 hours for gas service to be turned on? I understand someone needing to be home for safety reasons, but 12 hours ?! How many people do you know that can afford to take an entire day off work with 1 day notice? It is a ridiculous expectation and should be changed immediately. I thought the cable company was bad with 4 hour windows. But you give us no choice but to loose a days pay if we do not want to freeze this winter. This is pure bullying for your own gain. Shame on you WE Energies!

Review: We have live electrical wires down at our house. The wires are resting on a fence about 5 feet from our pool. Sporadically the wires will spark. We called We Energies and be we're told the operator had limited time for the call And he hung up. We called again and they said someone should be there in an hour and a half, if not call back. We called back and they said 3 hours, no one came. It has now been nearly 48 hours an no one has responded to the live wires by our pool. They continue to tell us that because of the dangerous nature we are being treated as a priority, but they cannot provide any further details. We need our power turned off as this is a fire risk!Desired Settlement: We want our power turned off so the scene is safe! We also want We Energies to change how they handle these situations in the future.

Business

Response:

We Energies crews, contractors and support personnel have worked safely

to restore electric service to more than 125,000 customers who lost power when

intense storms raked southeastern Wisconsin on Monday evening, June 30. This is

the fourth worst storm in our history and one of the worst storms in terms of

customers affected and impact to our electric distribution system since 2005.

Review: I contact We Energies several times They want me to pay $163 every month I get 816 every month My rents 575 I get SSI Every month that I paid $163 I can't afford it My monthly billing plan is $133 They said I had credit in my Account These people don't want to work with me at all I get 816 every month. Ask these people could do work with me And they refuse to. I need help. They sad I have a credi And I refuse to use itDesired Settlement: Fix the payment agreement I want to pay $133 I apply my credit to my bill

Business

Response:

Ms.

[redacted]’s account was enrolled in budget billing ($133) that included a monthly

installment of $30 for a total amount owing of $163. When enrolled in the budget

program there is a set monthly amount, based on the customer’s 24 month average usage

history. Budget is an option that is

offered to customers to help them manage unexpected heating or cooling expenses

while paying a set amount each month. Any difference (debit or credit) between the budget and the actual bill

amount is set on the side as a “settlement balance” and will adjust monthly depending

upon the bill amount. Whenever

there is a credit in the settlement balance the customer is allowed to use that

credit towards their monthly bill. There

is no set enrollment period to remain on budget and the customer may choose to

terminate budget at any time, with the understanding should there be a debit

amount in the settlement this balance is brought forward and considered due,

same if there is a credit this is applied towards the account. With a debit amount an extended pay agreement

is always an option that is available if the customer is unable to pay the

balance in full.Upon

reviewing Ms. [redacted]’s account it appears that she has spoken to a customer

service representative who, at her request, terminated her budget, bringing

forward any credit from her settlement balance. The remaining account balance has been setup in a DPA to be billed in a

monthly installment along with her current charges. The budget program is always available should

Ms. [redacted] decide to re-enroll into the program.

Review: Originally scheduled a 24 month payment including a down payment to keep account activated. This was done on an automated system and the language indicated that I had set up a monthly payment to be debited from my account over the course of 24 months. Assuming the charge was coming out monthly I did not see I had missed the first payment until I got my next bank statement. I received an automated call letting me know that my service was going to be terminated. At that time the customer service reps were unwilling to help me reestablish that service according to the original plan, and said they can't be responsible for automated system arrangements. Next I established a day to make a large down payment and resume a second 24 month agreement which they set the wrong date according to our agreement and turned off the service a day earlier then the agreed upon date of service. When I called to complain they said they would need to listen to my original conversation to confirm that the date I agreed payment for was correct. After being on hold for almost 20 minutes he came back to say he couldn't review the phone call but was willing to counter offer a lower payment (which was still higher than the original agreed upon payment) to reestablish service, and that he would be charging me a re-connection fee. I want a copy of the original conversation with the agreed upon date for payment to maintain service. The problems it created, not just financially, but practically for all individuals in the house was enormous. I never received any confirmation about the agreed upon plan for the original automated service, or the arrangement over the phone with the customer service rep. Finally today when I made the payment online and called to confirm re-connection I was told they didn't accept online payments in this situation. So I had to cancel payment, and call and make 2 separate payments over the phone, one of which there were glitches for and ended the call before allowing me to finish payment. I am hoping I don't get tripled charged. All the people I have worked with, especially the agent who came to the house to disconnect the service, were unhelpful and careless. I will be an advocate for competitive energy service suppliers in Wisconsin for here on out. Having lived in Texas with multiple energy providers the costs and service were far superior to what I have experienced with We Energies.Desired Settlement: I want to go back to the original 24 month payment plan that I was on and be forgiven the first late payment as I was under the impression it would be debited directly out of the account on a monthly basis. I also believe procedures and policies should be in place that better harmonize the online "my account" system and the automated over the phone service and in the personal rep services. They are not working in concert. The additional upfront cost of having to reestablish the service and 24 month plan was enormous, where as it was manageable with the first agreement.

Business

Response:

Over the course of 15 months there have been 5 extended payment plans

that have been re-established for Mr. [redacted], allowing him the opportunity to

pay his current charges in addition to a monthly installment

Review: I noticed on my credit report a negative account from WI Electric POWER. Account number [redacted]XXX from 12/01/2012. I have always paid my bills on time, I was never notified of a late or overdue payment and I have written WE Energies several times with no response. I did also attempt to call them in March of 2013 and I was told that the bill was from somewhere in Oak Creek, WI. I informed them that my ex-husband have at one time lived in Oak Creek but I had never lived there and definitely did not have an energy bill put in my name there. The operator did not understand and then instead of assisting me with the situation, he asked for my new address and then sent me a bill! WE Energies are reporting false and negative information to the credit bureaus which is negatively affecting my score. They have refused to assist me in any way despite my numerous attempts to rectify this situation.Desired Settlement: I would like for WE Energies to delete the trade line from all three credit bureus regarding this bill as this account is not mine.

Business

Response:

On 12/21/12 we received a phone call from a female who

identified herself as [redacted]. The caller provided the identity

information we had on file and requested service in her name at [redacted] as of 12/18/12. That account was open until 7/31/13 when a

subsequent tenant called to start service. We have no record of any other

communication from Ms. [redacted] while her account on [redacted] was open, but

four payments were made during that time period.

Review: We Energies is stating that I owe money to them for a place whereby I never lived in that place, And the people that I have spoken to have made threats and like to bully, plus do name calling in order for me to send them money to pay a bill in which I have never lived at this place ever.

The one thing the place where We Energies is claiming I lived at it has been over five years and I have never received a bill from We Energies from at all.

I would say this is a scam by We Energies in order to collect money from me and seeing that the scam is an mistake made by We Energies that a person in the billing department is trying to gain more and to make threats and bulling someone out of their money by having We Energies make faults claims again those who never live in a place in the first place. They have been told this over and over again.Desired Settlement: I would like to see WE Energies make an pubic apology that We Energies is trying to scam people out of their money and to make this apology, by placing an add on TV, Radio, News Papers across the whole State of Wisconsin that the practice will stop, and they will publicly look at all billing and collections to solve the scams that We Energies has done, and admit to doing bulling and making threats to any of We Energies costumers that it has made these bulling and threats too. plus all adds have to be on the air and in all Newspapers for a 30 days.

In addition I am to receive a letter of apology for We Energies and my credit rating will be restored if my credit rating has been damaged by We Energies threat that it has made to me in the past. We Energies must also State that I never lived in the place where they said I lived when in truth I never lived in that place at all.

WE Energies has to do all negotiations with me only and just one person from WE Energies only.

Business

Response:

On

3/23/11 he called to start service at [redacted], located in the

[redacted] area as of 4/01/11. Per

Mr. [redacted] he ended up renting at a different address. Mr. [redacted] states that We Energies is holding him responsible for a past due balance, claiming that he never lived at the residence

Review: I [redacted] in Milwaukee back in 2009 named [redacted]. per landlord conditions, I had to call and put the electricity bill under my name before I even established the LLC. I contacted WE energies and did so and called back again to switch the billing under the corporation. The business was only open for 7 months and was forced to shut down due to financial hardship. We energies never stopped my service and kept billing me even though I relocated to [redacted]. They forwarded my file to a collection agency that keeps harassing since I filed a dispute with the bureaus. it drastically affected my fico score and I can't get approved for a any loans.Desired Settlement: a deletion of the collection from the credit bureaus.

Business

Response:

Mr. [redacted] called us on 10/21/08 to establish service in

his personal name at [redacted] as of the following day, 10/22. From

that point until he called to close the account on 2/3/10 he contacted us

several times to discuss usage and payment arrangement options, but our records

do not show that he asked to change the account into a business name during any

of those conversations.

Review: I WAS ON A BUDGET REPAYMENT PLAN FOR $77.00 PER MONTH. PAYMENTS OF A EST. AMT $85.15 CAME THROUGH TO WE ENERGIES. HOWEVER IT WAS MISAPPLIED TO, AND FUNDS DID NOT GET APPLIED TO MY ACCOUNT. SO EACH MONTH THAT THE 77.00 WAS DUE 85.15 WAS SENT IN YET IT WAS NEVER APPLIED TO MY ACCOUNT. WHICH LED TO MY BUDGET PLAN BREAKING NOT BEING MY FAULT.Desired Settlement: I'M REQUESTING THAT THE BUDGET PLAN SET ON MY ACCOUNT BE BACK IN PLACE FOR $77.00 MONTHLY DUE TO WE ENERGIES MISAPPLYING MY PAYMENTS.

Business

Response:

I spoke with Ms [redacted] and confirmed that the misapplied payments were now correctly applied to her account. I also explained that the payment plan she had been enrolled in was established through the Energy Assistance Agency. I told her I would see what could be done to reinstate the agreement. I was advised that the agreement will be reset beginning with the next bill which is scheduled for April 28, 2014. I called Ms. [redacted] today to confirm but had to leave a message.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. However, I would like to request a document in writing via mail or email stating that the plan will be reinstated as advised 04/28/2014.

I, like many others, have difficulty paying their utility bills each year. Unfortunately, we would not qualify for any help to pay it either. On Thursday we paid $500 towards our bill. That was everything we had left out of our checks. My husband then called WE Energies on Friday to make them aware of the payment and to see what we could do to not get disconnected. The guy he talked to said we had to have $700 or it would get shut off. I went on to assume this was $700 total we needed and that I only needed to find $200 more. I borrowed $300 from people and paid that on Friday. My husband then called them back to notify them of the additional $300 payment. Low and behold, they wanted a total of $700 more in addition to the $500 we had paid the day before. So now I needed to come up with another $400 or I was getting disconnected the next day. I cleaned my brother out of his paycheck but we got the additional $400. This is what my issue is. On my disconnect notice, it states we had to pay $1012 to keep from disconnection but when we called them, the amount needed was $1200! They are a monopoly so we have no choice but to try to give them what they want even if they just increased our amount needed by practically $200. Not to mention, everyone we dealt with was rude and offered to options for us. Yes, we are behind because we struggle but that does not make us [redacted] under people's feet. When asked to speak to someone higher up than the person we were talking to, we were laughed at and they wouldn't put one on the phone. I am also sick and tired of paying the "low income assustance" fee that is tacked onto everyone's bill every month to help pay for low income people. Why should I be forced to donate my money to pay for those people so they can get their bills paid and not worry about disconnection when I have to worry and can't get any help? This is forced donation and I wish more people knew what this fee is for.

Review: Inaccurate credit reporting. Reporting the account closed, when that is not true and only opening the account to report inaccurate 30 day lates.Desired Settlement: Remove the account from credit report as it is obviously not reported accurately.

Business

Response:

As with the similar credit reporting concern raised by Mr.[redacted] earlier this year (Revdex.com File [redacted]), please review the followingtimeline: 6/1/15 – Bill issued for $179.02, due date: 6/22/15No payment received.6/30/15 – Bill issued for $419.71 (179.02 of which was pastdue), due date: 7/20/15 Nopayment received.7/30/15 – Past-due balance reported to credit bureaus. If Mr. [redacted] can provide a record of payment(s)submitted between 6/1/15 and 7/30/15 we would be happy to review theinformation. If he cannot, the information submitted to the credit bureaus wascorrect and will not be changed.Our credit department contacted Experian to ask why theystopped reporting Mr. [redacted]’s account after February 2015, but Experiancould not explain the stoppage. They have, however, advised the reporting errorwas on their end and the report will be corrected. We also checked withTransUnion and were advised they had no such error in their records, so Mr.[redacted]’s report should be accurate, including the past-due notices fromJanuary and July 2015, within the next 30 days. [redacted]We Energies Customer Assistance

Business

Response:

As noted in our original response, We Energies has correctly reported Mr. [redacted]'s credit information. The account being listed as closed was the result of an issue at Experian. We have verified today, 9/25/15, that Experian has corrected Mr. [redacted]'s report.

Consumer

Response:

Review: My new ceiling fan in excellent condition was working prior to 12-12-14. This fan is only approximately two years old and is rarely used - mostly used in the summertime. I came home to my fan light turned on which was not on when I left the house Friday morning. (I keep all lights off due to being on time of use). I actually thought someone broke into my house. I operate the fan and light with a remote. I tried to turn the light off through the remote and learned that it was inoperable. I then checked the fan and found out that it was not working either. At this time, I noticed my microwave and oven clocks were flashing. I called We Energies immediately and discovered there was a power outage. I filed a claim and they stated they were not at fault. I am certainly not at fault for this damage. I was at work when this happened. I want this fixed at their expense. The cost of the fan including electrician was very costly. They are expecting me to claim this on my homeowners insurance. These types of claims are what drive up insurance costs. This is not my insurance company's liability. We energies needs to take responsibility for the damage.Desired Settlement: Repair at We Energies Expense.

Business

Response:

Ms. [redacted] contacted the PSC prior to her contact with the RevDex.com. The PSC reviewed her outage concern

and determined that the December 12th outage was due to a broken

insulator on the pole, which was unpredictable and not caused by any negligence

on the part of We Energies.

Review: I just received my current we energies bill dated 11/21/14. Prior to this bill, I was on a "payment agreement" plan with we energies. Since I personally didn't make the payment due on 11/12/14, I was kicked off this plan. The payment that was due on 11/12/14, was paid by the WI home energy assistance program. The payment that was due on 11/12/14 totaled $207.57, and energy assistance made a total payment of $389 on 10/30/14 (but it wasn't received/processed by we energies until 11/11/14). As you can see the payment was paid on time. Now they are threatening me with legal action and requiring a huge deposit to continue service.Desired Settlement: I would like to be put back on the "payment agreement" that we agreed to on 9/3/14, since I did nothing to be kicked off this plan, because the current payment was paid on time.

Business

Response:

Ms. [redacted]’s account did have an extended pay agreement in place,

requiring a monthly installment of $30 in addition to current charges. The 10/23 bill had a balance owing of $207.57

that was due by 11/12.

Review: I currently own a duplex. When I purchased the duplex, I signed and sent in to We Energies an owner agreement that automatically switches over the service of one side of the duplex into my name. I currently live in the other side of the duplex. In the duplex, we have (1) well, (1) water system, and (1) water pressure tank. That system is currently connected to the electrical system on the other side of the duplex that I currently rent out (per code requirements). I specifically signed an owner agreement with We Energies so when a tenant moved out, I wouldn't be without services and we wouldn't end up with no water. I currently have a 2 month old that requires being bottle fed. I have a reverse osmosis system that I have connected up to our water system that is controlled by the water tank that is on the other side of the duplex. We need the RO water to give my daughter bottles through the night. I called We Energies to see why the services were not switched over to my name automatically and was told that they didn't have my owner agreement on file. I specifically sent this back to avoid this issue over 3 years ago now. I spoke with a [redacted], a supervisor to see what we could accomplish about getting services back on the other side in a timely manor so I can use my RO system to fill my daughters bottles during the night feedings that she requires. She repeatedly told me there is nothing they can do for me and was not willing to work with me to get a tech out here the same night to get the services turned back on. In which case I gave her the option to reimburse me for having to drive 15 minutes to get my daughter filtered water to be able to fill her bottles up. She then said that she will not do that. I asked if it was a case that she couldn't do, and she said no, that she just wouldn't do it at all and would not get a tech out to our place until the following afternoon. I responded with, "This doesn't help me to get my daughter who is 2 months old, her bottles that she requires during the night." I am very unsatisfied with the level of customer service that I was give and was repeatedly told that my duplex should have been set up better. I felt insulted seeing that a property can not have more than 1 well system on it and is only controlled by (1) water system and there is no better way to have a duplex set up.Desired Settlement: I would like people to know that when they call We Energies, they are not willing to do any level of customer satisfaction no matter the situation. I thought having a 2 month old that needs her bottles would have been enough reason to get prompt service but We Energies obviously has no compassion for their customers.

Business

Response:

Mr. [redacted] is the current owner for the property located at

[redacted] Mr. [redacted] resides in the [redacted] unit and the

other side the duplex appears to be tenant occupied.

Review: As I was trying to refinance my mortgage, I found out that my credit score dropped 60 points from my last known score.

As I dug deeper, I found out that WE Energies has erroneously reported my 30 days late!

I then went online and saw I had amassed $800+ in utilities bills with them.

I thought, how could this be? I normally pay it as I get it I looked though all our bills for the last 3 months, and did not see ONE statement from WE Energies.

I immediately paid the past due balance of $569.xx which left $306 or so left that is due February 27th.

I contacted WE Energies to remove the late, and they refused to, as they tried to put the burden of proof on me by saying I have online account access.

I request paper billing for a reason, and that is to track what I have out there.

The CSR didn't care, all she wanted me to pay the $306 that was due 3 weeks from the day I called.

Today, 2/6/2015, I paid the remainder balance that is not due until 2/27/2015 and have a zero balance.

This was a complete embarassment to me and my family on a mistake that WE Energies made and guess who paid the priceDesired Settlement: Removal of 30 day late payment from ALL credit reports along with refund of any late fees.

Business

Response:

We have mailed paper bills to Mr. [redacted] each month

since he started service on 5/30/13. At no time has a bill been returned to us

by the post office as undeliverable, including during the recent period when

the account became past due. If he is having problems with mail delivery we

recommend that Mr. [redacted] contact the post office.

Review: We energies has alleged a return back payment on April 16, 2014. I have checked with my bank, and they never returned anything. When We Energies was asked for proof of a return payment, they only provided some email saying it was done. No legitimate proof that any check was returned. I have asked them to take off the return bank fee if they cannot provide proof and they have failed to provide the necessary documentation. Because I have attempted to resolve this issue so many times, they have double the charges to my account, which is unacceptable.Desired Settlement: Remove the eronus bank fee, returned check fee and the "balance of 05/09/2014" that represents the total of the two fees off my account and adjust it in the amount of $48 off my balance.

Business

Response:

Mr. [redacted] is the customer of record at [redacted]. Payments in the amounts of $146.73

and $133 were received and posted to his accounts on 4/17. On 5/12/14 both payments were reversed as

being unable to locate. Fees were

accessed only to one account ([redacted]) totaling $24.00.

Review: Lack of notice prior to disconection.....Had got service turn on then two months later they shut us off again.....Desired Settlement: By law thay notifie credit bearue ... thay could undo but I know that's probley not possiable....

Business

Response:

Mr. [redacted] has been the customer of

record at [redacted] since 05/05/09 and is billed monthly for gas service

only.