Appalachian Power Company

Review: I dropped a monthly electricty bill to Appalachian Power at Post Office on 2/1. late date for payment receipt is 2/6. The payment was not even processed until 2/10. It seems ridiculous that it would take 10 days for mail to travel and be processed. Even more annoying is payment processing center is in Canton, Ohio which is not recognized as a business address for Appalachian Power by Revdex.com. I do not feel I should pay the late fee and its corresponding impact on my credit rating! If mail indeed took 10 days to travel a few hundred miles, at least the original post mark should have carried some weight as to timeliness of payment.Desired Settlement: To not have to pay $4.38 late payment charge.

Business

Response:

The customer’s bill in question was due on January 28, 2016, however, Appalachian Power currently does not charge a late payment fee unless they payment is not received prior to the next billing date. In this instance, the next billing date was February 5, 2016. The company received the customer’s payment on February 9, 2016; therefore, a late payment charge billed.

If the customer elects to use the [redacted] to send payments, the company suggests allowing 7-10 days for the payment to reach the company. The company does not use the postmark date; instead, the company applies payments to customer accounts the day we receive the payment.

The late payment fee is valid. However, the company will grant a one-time courtesy removal of the late payment charge.

Appalachian Power offers several payment options to our customers including scheduling free payments on our website. Please visit [redacted] for more information.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Review: After observing what appeared to be large amounts of credit on my account, I contacted AEP's customer service reps on two occasions. Initially I was told the credit amount was correct and not to pay anything. The second conversation with a customer service rep revealed that the credits were in error. Appalachian Power had erroneously applied my ex-husband's utility payment to my new account and there is no indicaiton they would have caught the error if I had not contacted them. I was informed I would owe the arrears amounts, but since it was not due to any failure to pay on my part, and that my bills were incorrect, that I would be billed for a current amount and could make payments on the arrears amount ($253.80). In order to try to mitigate paying the arrears amount for a protracted period of time, I remitted a payment of $200 in early November. The only billing I received in November was a termination notice. I called on Nov 18 and was told despite the fact that this was company error, I would have to pay the remaining balance of the arrears ($53.80) plus the current billing amount for a total of $133.27 by Nov 22nd or my service would be terminated. I was also informed if I did not pay this amount on that date, the credit bureau would be notified of my "failure to pay". Seeing no alternative, I made the payment of $133.27 today. To add insult to injury, I had to pay through a system that charged me an additional $2.95 fee, ostensibly because I had "waited until the last minute". Had I any other options for electric service, I would terminate my business relationship with this company if I could.Desired Settlement: I want an official written apology from a manager at the least.

Business

Response:

A call center supervisor contacted the customer and provided the following response: Explained the late payment would not be reported to the credit bureau. Corrected this month's credit since not the customer's fault for credits being transferred to her account and then moved back to ex husband's account. Explained the credits were auto transferred by the system...Removed the $12 service connection fee to compensate the customer for inconvenience and having to pay through BillMatrix to avoid disconnect.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.Regards,[redacted]

Review: I have been out of work for the past 8 months been running late on power bill and now they forced a $304 deposit on top of my bill and was rude with me by saying "if you would pay your bill". I responded if I had the money I would have paid it and they have done the same thing to my sister forcing a deposit on active service. A payment of $790 was made sept 16th and 17th ($200 on 16th, $590 on the 17th)Desired Settlement: I request a credit of $304 be applied to the account

Business

Response:

Deposit has been requested in accordance with all applicable guidelines for the State of Virginia as customer has failed to maintain satisfactory credit. During the past 12 months, customer has failed to pay bill in full by next scheduled read date 11 times and has had service disconnected for nonpayment one time. Company declines to waive deposit. Company has billed deposit in three installments per Virginia requirements. Company asks that deposit be received as billed.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

I spoke to one woman when I called in and explained my hardship and that I was getting back on track and a $304 charge on top of what I already owed was impossible. her response was "well if you would pay your bill" and I replied I would pay my bill if I had the money I have two kids to feed and provide for and been out of work for 8 months and the electric has only been turned off once in the past 5 years I feel I should have another chance before having a $304 deposit forced on me!!!

Regards,

Review: I called AEP to ask why I did not received my bill and got told that it was the [redacted] fault. I then informed them that I have already taken care of that problem. Then I was treated rudely and I asked to speak with a manager, she told me there was not any available, that one would have to call me back. They never did. I then called back and got treated rudely again and asked to speak with another manager. He was even more rude and made me cry. At this point I was very upset and I was yelling. He stated that he didn't have to take any of this and I was being ridiculous. I asked to speak with someone higher and he stated there isn't any one higher then him and to have a good day, and hung up.Desired Settlement: I just want for the proper action to be taken and to hope that no one else ever gets treated like I was treated. I was treated as if I had no other options and I had to deal with being treated like I was not important.

Business

Response:

On 9/10/14 a company representative spoke with the customer and apologized for the lack of customer service [she] received during previous calls to the company. The representative informed the customer of the next bill reading date and advised the customer to call the company should a bill statement not be received by 9/26/14. The customer informed the representative the Post Office advised the problem should be corrected by now.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Review: I had been a customer of Applachian Power. I called in advance and asked how to transfer my account from [redacted] resided at [redacted] to my new residence [redacted]. I was instructed that I would only have a $12.00 transfer fee. Nothing mentioned if [redacted] transfers the account you will be charged $260.00 fee. I am a continuing customer my account at my old address was [redacted], my now new account which should have been transferred is [redacted] Appalachian power said "no you are a new customer" This is insane. They robbed me. They instructed me to call when I moved, I did and on 7/22/2014 they informed me that they could not do a thing. I had to pay them $260.00 even though there was mis-comminication. Further more I paid my bill in full even though I disagree about the $260.00 connection fee. Another new bill comes out and it literally states no payment in full of $260.00 they have Final installment of 86.00. I do not need to see another fee. I have never seen a statement stating the installment was paid in full. I asked for a Manager, [redacted] badge number [redacted] stated she does not know of any Manager, much less an address. I find this hard to believe. Poor customer service. I have asked them to send out a new bill stating I paid $262.95 in full on 7/22/2014. My new bill on [redacted] should state the credit along with what is currently due. It does not. I am contacting 10 on your side as well as Roanoke times. I am not paying more than is requested, further more I should not pay $260.00 new customer fee.Desired Settlement: Please advise, I will take further action.

Business

Response:

This is an Appalachian Power customer. Please forward to your contact in Virginia.

Thanks, [redacted]

Business

Response:

On 9/5/14 a company representative discussed the concern with the customer and agreed to refund the security deposit to the account and apply the deposit toward the current billing. The customer was also advised if payments are late in the future the deposit will again be added to the account. The customer was provided a contact number for the representative to help resolve any problems in the future.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Not a customer oriented company.

Review: In August I contacted AEP about going on a monthly budget plan and signing up for automatic payments. The representative that I spoke with set me up on the monthly budget and told me how to set up for automatic payments. She informed me my due date would change to the date of each meter reading, which was totally fine. I went to the website, filled out all the forms, and received confirmation that I had done so. Following that, nothing was withdrawn. I imagined it may have just crossed in timing. Then it didn't withdraw again. I was extremely frustrated, but let it pass as well. Finally, it happened a third time. I reached out, was told didn't qualify for monthly payment withdrawal (even though the first rep indicated that I could do so and nothing about the paperwork I filled out indicated I didn't qualify, in fact, it all led me to believe everything was fine). I asked for a supervisor, explained my situation, she was unable to help. Her manager called me, she was also unable to help. They advised me to set it up through my bank and that even if I had six months of on time payments I still may not qualify for automatic payments. Everything about this situation has been beyond frustrating. Almost everything comes out of my checking account automatically. I need this one to do so as well so that I stop forgetting about it. Money is not an issue. I even offered to pay for six months in advance to get this going. They refused to cooperate. If that wasn't bad enough, there is literally NO other electric company in my area, meaning they have a monopoly in our area.Desired Settlement: I would like to have my acccount set up on automatic payments immediately.

Business

Response:

Company records indicate the customer’s issue was resolved via a phone call to the company on 12/13/13 when online autopay was established thru the web application. A company representative called the customer after the autopay was established since a current and past due amount was on the account. The customer was advised to pay the full amount and then autopay would take place on the next billing cycle. The customer was informed at that time to make the account current. Apparently the Revdex.com complaint was filed by the customer before contacting AEP on 12/13. The issue was resolved the same day.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed aresolution.]

While the issue was resolved, please note that it was not resolved the same day as my first contact. I spoke with at least three people before the fourth person found a solution, which still did not correct the original misrepresentation but is satisfactory. In addition, further information provided in the response from AEP is inaccurate. I made the payment the day I originally called, which was prior to the 13th. Their website failed to pull the payment. Had someone not contacted me again today I would not have known it didn't pull from my account. As a large business with an energy monopoly in our area (literally, there is no one else from whom one vam obtain power), your website, customer service, and complaint resolution practices are beyond questionable. I'm extremely disappointed by this company and hope one day another company can come in and provide services.

Regards,

Review: I was having issues with my electric service blinking on and off whenever the wind picked up, especially at the beginning of a storm. On June 20th, 2015 at 2:00 P.M. the power started blinking on and off and then went out for a few hours. Upon the power coming back on I noticed my TV had no power and was blown. I called Appalachian Power to notify them of the problem and their representative told ''Don't get rid of the television set, we will send someone out because something is wrong with your service and we will replace the TV if it's on our end of the meter." He gave me what I believed was a work order number[redacted] I did not know anything about their product replacement program but was happy to hear them volunteer such information. I called the number various times throughout the following week, but only was able to leave a lady named [redacted] voicemail. I waited for someone to show up but no one came. On June 28th, 2015 at 8:00 A.M. the power blinked off and on repeatedly and I ran through the house unplugging everything. Two days later on the evening of June 30th, 2015 I noticed my Microsoft Tablet was Dead. I immediately called [redacted] back at 4:48 and she called me right back. She said that I had never requested a tech. to come out and look at my utility lines or meter. I gave her the work order number and told her about calling on the 20th. She said that number was a claim number. I told her about requesting a tech to come out and I thought that was happening when he gave me the reference number. She said '' The weather caused the power outage on the 20th and we are not in control of the weather and not responsible.'' I then proceeded in telling her about the tablet issue on the 28th and she said a service tech will have to come out and look at things, then she would know more about it. I asked her what was I supposed to do to protect my equipment, because I was using surge protectors and that didn't save my stuff. She said '' You should unplug all your equipment whenever a storm is coming or the power is going to go out.'' She said that's what she does at her home. I asked her how would that be possible to constantly sit with your hands on all plugs and not go to work or sleep. She said that a technician would be out soon and that in the morning she would come in and look at his report and call me back.. Approx. An hour and a half later he showed up and said he take a look at my service lines etc. I went outside and told him that I would do anything to help. He first did a visual inspection of the lines and noticed 2 things of concern. He said there were a large amount of vines on the transformer and that I didn't have the proper size line coming from my pole to the house. He then proceeded to pull the meter and install a testing device to check the amount of voltage. He said there was an unusual drop in voltage that he had only seen twice before and bad connections at the pole were the cause in those cases. He then proceeded in removing vines from transformer, which is located about 100 yards down the street. Then he came and set up at the pole just above my house and started inspecting the lines. He immediately removed the entire service line to my house and told me that the connections used at the pole were different from the style used at the meter and were susceptible to failure. I told him about the power blinking off and on during windy conditions. He said that sounds like a bad connection is to blame. I began inquiring about the product replacement program and asked if he needed to look at the TV or Tablet. He said that was not necessary, replacing the service line and removing the vines should take care of it. I started asking about [redacted],the risk management person I had spoke with. He said that she was a nice lady, but it was her job to weed out false claims and keep payouts to a minimum. He then jokingly said ''I bet her bonus is dependent on the amount of claims she pays out!'' I told him how I did not know anything about the replacement program and that it was their phone representative who told me not to get rid of the TV and if something was wrong on their side of meter it would be replaced. I also explained that [redacted] said that, because the weather knocked out the power, there wasn't anything that could be done. She told me that a tree or lightning had caused the outage. He said that was not true on either case. He explained that she was simply doing her job and trying to get me to believe I had no claim. He said that if that didn't work she would start by offering me a lesser amount and then slowly work up towards full replacement if necessary. He finished installing the new line and performed a couple of tests and said if I had any problems to call them back. Later that night large storm blew in with high winds and everything was fine and has been ever since. The next day on July 1st, 2015 I waited for [redacted] to call like she said she would. By 4:00P.M. I realized should probably wasn't going to call, so I called her. I got her voicemail saying she would not be back until July 6th, 2015. So I waited until the 6th and still no call. At 4:15 P.M. on July 7th, 2015 I tried to contact her again, but was only able to leave another voicemail. I decided to call Appalachian Power's customer service about the issue and they immediately transferred me to [redacted]. She pulled up my account and said the technician did not find any problem, so their would not be any help in replacing my electronics. I told her that in speaking with the technician he informed me that either the vines on the transformer or a bad connection was most likely to blame. I informed [redacted] that since the lines were replaced I have not had any issues. I told her that whatever they did fixed the issue and was clearly something wrong on their side of meter. She said that since he did not report something clearly wrong with line that they were not being negligent and would not help me. I told her that I was not trying to scam her and had no knowledge of the replacement program until their tech told me about it. I asked her to explain how I was responsible for their service damaging my equipment. She again told me I should unplug all equipment whenever a storm comes or power is going out. I asked how was that possible to know when the power is going to go out or the weather would be possible. I asked her to please record our conversation because I couldn't believe a person would not work, sleep or leave their home without unplugging all utilities. She said that is what she does ''everyday before I leave the house''. She then said that was only her personal advice and that she did not unplug the refrigerator or washer and dryer. I told her that I wasn't a electrical specialist and she was acting a representative of the power company and advise me that this was my responsibility as a consumer. She also stated that on days when the power was out she did not leave her home. Upon finishing with this phone call I immediately started trying to contact the Revdex.com.Desired Settlement: I would like to have my equipment replaced.

Business

Response:

The company received the customer claim of damage on 6-21-15 as a result of a “flickering” electric service on 6/20/15. A company representative discussed the claim with the customer on 6-30-15, at which time the customer was informed the power services issue on June 20th was caused by scattered thunderstorms in the area and AEP would not be liable for damages related the thunderstorms. At that time, the customer stated “flickering” problems were continuing at the residence.

On June 30, a company representative visited the property and did not observe any problems with company facilities serving the customer's residence. The connections at the site and the service drop were checked. Some observed vines were removed from the distribution pole and the service drop was replaced as a pre-caution. No other issues were observed at the site.

On June 20th, 2015 scattered thunderstorms along with remnants of tropical system Bill caused numerous outages throughout the weekend across the APCo service territory.

The investigation determined the company was not negligent and therefore assumed no liability. A denial letter and copy of the tariff was mailed to the customer.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.AEP I have read your letter and understand that you do not pay for problems caused by customers or their equipment. My situation was outside the realm of your letter. If you review my phone calls and listen to what your representatives told me to do, it is clear. Firstly, I did not originally call seeking compensation, I called to report my power blinking on and off. Your representative began asking questions and told me what I was experiencing was not a normal condition and ''Don't get rid of your Television, because I will send someone out to look at things, and if the problem is on our side of the meter we will replace your equipment.'' He then gave me a number I thought was a reference point to my situation that would be dealt with. After waiting for over a week, with no response, I was experiencing the same issue and this time damaged my tablet. So I started calling again and finally was called back by your rep. [redacted]. I asked why nobody had came out to fix the issue and she sent someone out that evening. She said I cannot pay on any claims until someone checks for problems and then sends me a report. She said she would call me first thing in the morning. In a couple hours the AEP tech. pulled up and I went out to meet him. He ran couple tests and completed a visual inspection and asked if my neighbors were experiencing problems as well. I informed him that no one currently lived in he other 2 homes so I did not know. He said ''The connections at the meter are fine but the type of connection at the pole was suspicious and since I was only experiencing trouble during windy conditions that would explain things." He went on to tell me the connectors used at the pole were a different type and didn't always perform as well. He also removed some vines and said they could also cause problems. He ended up removing the entire service line and replacing it and making all new connections. After completing this he installed a test rig in place of my meter and let me observe the readings. As he ran the test he showed me that now there was no drop in power with the new lines and equip. as there was before. He said when he first ran the test ,before performing any work, there was a considerable drop in voltage when running the test. He said this caused him to determine that I had a bad connection that was affected when the wind blows. I thought everything is fixed and we found the problem and took care of it. So the next morning came and went, still no call back from [redacted]. So I called her and received a message saying she would be out till the 6th. Well I wasn't very happy, but I figured things happen in life I'll wait and she'll call back. Well I was wrong, I had to keep calling her until I eventually called a different number and asked that person to patch me through. She told me there were no problems found at my residence and there was nothing she could do about my equipment. I suddenly began to realize that all evidence of a problem left with the repairman that day and either she was telling me a lie or this is how AEP handles damage claims. Send someone out, remove the evidence, then treat the customer like there stupid and keep telling them nothing was wrong and we always replace power lines and connections as a ''Precaution''. I have never heard of such a thing. They want me to believe the technician removed perfectly good line and connections for no reason at all, just a precaution. Whether you pay on claims or not, stop treating people like the stupid, and come up with a better lie. Regards,

Business

Response:

The company re-investigated the customer’s claim of damage. Company records indicate on June 20th, 2015 the customer reported a power quality issue. At that time, an assumption was made by company representatives the flickering light issue reported was occurring as a result of the remnants of tropical system “Bill” as severe thunderstorms eventually caused widespread outages for the entire area. Therefore, a crew was not dispatched to the customer’s residence to investigate the power quality issue; however, crews were dispatched to the area to address outages.

On June 30th, 2015 the customer conveyed to a company representative that flickering problems were on-gong at the residence. The customer also indicated a Microsoft Table charger was damaged after June 20th 2015. A company representative was dispatched to the residence. The service connections and service drop were inspected and abnormal voltage readings were observed at the service drop serving residence. A decision was made to replace the service drop and the connections since the representative was unable to determine the exact cause of the service issue at the customer’s residence.

AEP does not accept liability for damage related to storms, equipment failure or unknown cause. Therefore, the company would not be able to honor the customer claim of damage to the television. However, since the company failed to investigate the service issue reported on June the 20th and the customer experienced an additional loss, the company will honor the claim of damage to the customer’s Microsoft Tablet charger.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Hello, I'm sorry it took so long to get back in touch I've been out of town for a family emergency. Ape stated that they would not pay for the 47'' inch Visio plasma TV, but since they did not come out and repair the issue the Microsoft Surface 32gb Tablet would be replaced. They were asking for receipts for these products, but I have not been able to locate them yet with the other issues I've been attending to. Please forward this to them so they are clear that the second damaged item was a TABLET, not a charger. I will continue searching for any receipts I may have now that I'm back in town. Please contact me if their is anything else I should do. [redacted] has also left a message on my answer machine, but I didn't know if I should speak with her until I had contacted you. Thank You for everything you have done and have a blessed day.

Regards,

Review: I noticed an unexplained charge of $360 on my current AEP bill. So when I call, I am told I am being charged this becasue I pay my bill late. Granted that is true I pay my bill usually 2 weeks after it is due. For financial reasons I can not help that. I also pay their late fee. So now they want to charge me an additional $360 which is unfair. When I called about this and explained to them I was unaware of this charge and did not feel I should have to pay it. I was told they would not adjust this charge. I don't see how this is ethical business practices if they are already collecting a late fee.Desired Settlement: I want this charge removed from my account.

Business

Response:

The Company requested a security deposit in the amount of $360 to be paid in three installments per rules and regulations approved by the Virginia SCC. The deposit was requested in accordance with all applicable guidelines. The Company declines to waive the deposit and asks that it be paid as billed. A Company representative previously contacted the customer on 7/24/14 and explained the deposit billing and the reason for deposit.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

I do not feel it is fair to the customer who is already struggling to require additional money to be paid. I paid my late fees. Further more I did not receive a paper copy of the bill stating this would happen. I pay my bills online and did not see the message because it was hidden in all the legal jargon on the left of the bill. Who reads that anyway. If you are going to impose fees on some one, do it where it is for sure going to be ready. Like how you put TERMINATION NOTICE, in big bold letters to let someone know they are going to be terminated if payment is not received.

Review: To begin with I have always been pleased with the service that I have received from APCO in the past. I have always paid my bills on time and in full. On May 19, 2015 at approximately 11:00 pm after just turning in for the night my power went out. There was a bright flash outside and a loud bang. There were no storms or wind in the area that evening. My wife called the outage number and after having issues with the APCO automated system was finally able to talk with a representative in regards to our loss of service. The APCO representative said that they received another call on this outage. She said that she would process our request to restore the power. So like in the past when I had a power outage APCO always responded in a timely manner, I thought this night would be no different. I rode through my neighborhood checking to see who had power and who did not, as well as looking to see if any lines or poles were down. I found out that my house and the houses on my road were the only ones without power. All the lines and poles were intact, so I was thinking this would be an easy fix. My wife and I setup past 1:00 am expecting APCO to respond while worrying like everyone else, about the pains associated with trying to get ready for work the next morning without power. Everyone knows all too well what it’s like not having power, so needless to say we had a very restless night expecting an arrival of an APCO truck. This never happened. The next morning around 7:30 am when I was getting ready to leave for work APCO arrived. I asked the lineman while he was checking the lines and circuits why did it take so long to respond, since there was no bad weather. He responded by saying they do not come out after hours unless more than 25 customers are affected. He also said had I been a business, school, nursing home, hospital or had I called 911 he would have responded. I would think that because of the dangers associated with electricity and liability issues you would be required to come and check out the situation and not rely on the 911 system to make your decisions for you. I am a retired professional firefighter and I know how dangerous electricity can be and have seen firsthand what happens when it malfunctions. The lineman after finding nothing wrong with our circuit returned to the fuse, replaced it and restored our power within about 10 minutes. My power has been on since this date. After returning home from work and talking to neighbors that evening I was told by one that the automated system told them that power would be restored by 2:00 am.

I now work for a propane company and we provide 24/7 service to our customers. I don’t understand why the State Corporation Commission is allowing APCO not to provide their customers with the same service. Maybe they are not aware of this. I understand that when we have a weather event that sometimes there is going to be a delay in getting ones power restored. Nothing was going on that night. Why didn’t the representative that my wife talked to tell her that they would not respond until the morning? Why did the automated system make a bogus claim stating that power would be restored by 2:00 am when no one was responding in the first place? We as customers have nowhere else to go when it comes to power, you have the monopoly. It is unfair that we are at your mercy and you can treat us (the little people) like this. Homeowners pay more per kilowatt hour for power than any of your other customers in your network. We should get the first rate service! I hope other customers reading this are outraged as I have been and complain to the State Corporation Commission making you change your policy.

So to all APCO customers out there as it stands right now. If you are not lucky caller number 26 on the APCO power outage hotline, APCO will not respond!Desired Settlement: Change your current policy regarding responding to power outages and provide 24 hour service. This should be an industry standard!

Business

Response:

Company records indicate the customer experienced an outage on 5/19/15 @ 11:03 PM. The outages lasted 536 minutes. The cause of the outage is unknown. Since no immediate hazard was identified that would affect the safety of the public, the company responded to the outage during daylight hours in order to minimize employee fatigue. The electric utility industry determined that outage restoration activity is generally safer for employees and the public when performed during daylight hours. In this particular case, the priority level was not great enough to expose employees to increased levels of fatigue, since the company’s employees already experience long work hours. The company strives to provide reliable service to its customers, however, uninterrupted service cannot be guaranteed. On 6/4/15 a company representative discussed the company’s safety concerns and guidelines for outage restoration with the customer. The representative also explained the company failed to update the estimated time of service restoration from the initial “global” time provided to the customer.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

APCO’s response of 536 minutes sounds better than the 8.93 hours I was without power because APCO DOES NOT WORK AT NIGHT. In their response increased levels of employee fatigue and no immediate hazard to the safety of the public were stated. The person that we called to report a power outage at the Customer Solutions Center in [redacted] should have told my wife that we would not have our power restored until daylight hours. Also why did the recording at the Solutions Center make a false statement that our power would be restored by 2:00 am? APCO does not want you to know that they do not work at night unless they have to. If they did provide 24/7 service they would have restored our power within a few hours, like they state on their video Restoring Power. As I stated, there were no poles, lines, or trees down or damaged or any bad weather within 100 miles requiring additional crews or time to respond to restore my power. It was a simple show up and reset the fuse, like we do when a breaker trips in your panel in your home. My wife talked to an APCO person in detail after he called in response to my Revdex.com complaint. He told her that if they did provide this service that our rates would have to go up. I don’t know about the rest of you but lights, water, heat, air conditioning and refrigerated food are pretty important to me. Propane companies, heating oil companies and the local natural gas provider have 24/7 service. The water utility in the Roanoke Valley has 24/7 service. Someone will come out at night and at the very least assess your situation and decide what steps need to be done to restore your service. Since APCO is our only supplier and power is so important to our lives we should have 24/7 service from them. We all know that it is really all about the stockholder and paying out dividends. APCO has spent millions of dollars on boat landings at Smith Mountain Lake. Why didn’t they spend it on staffing response crews for power outages at night instead of cutting their crews to the bare minimum? Now everyone should be aware of the big fire at the many businesses at [redacted] and [redacted] only fortune 500 company and its upset CEO at APCO’S “unacceptable” slow response time this past week. It was frustrating to see on the news the local Fire Department could only stand around and watch until APCO showed up. Good thing that no one got hurt and no one lost their life. This was an immediate hazard to the safety of the public and APCO still dropped the ball. Had there been a faster response there could have been savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars, instead hundreds of thousands in losses. The spokeswoman from APCO was saying the slow response was due to the crews out working on the storm that passed through the area earlier in the evening. I bet most, if not all of the customers without power did not get their power restored until daylight hours the next day. I hope the CEO of the fortune 500 company that endured the fire does not think about moving the rest of his company to [redacted] because of this where the electric supplier probably does supply 24/7 service. In closing my hats off to the men and women at APCO that are out there working on the lines to provide us power. You are limited to what upper management will allow in additional crews and equipment to do the job right and provide the customer service that we use to get in the past. APCO is focused on excellent stockholder dividends and not excellent customer service where it should be.

Regards,

Review: I had services with AEP in 2010, but filed a Chapter 13 due to overwhelming debts. On July 9, 2012, I lost my job with [redacted] Center which caused my Chapter 13 to default. I thought that since I had included AEP with the chapter, that this bill would have been covered to percentage allowed. I moved in with a friend and did not have a need for electricity since the services were in her name.

On February 4, 2014, I moved out and called AEP to establish services in my name. On the original conversation I was told that I needed to pay $50 to get services established. The next day, an agent called from AEP stating that they could not established service because an old account had been transferred to my new account and I owed over $2,000 before services could be established.

I immediately informed them that this amount had been included in my Chapter 13. Unfortunately, I called my the Bankruptcy Court and my lawyer and was notified that no payment had been made. Now faced with the reality that I owed this bill, I recalled AEP to make out payment arrangements based upon my low income of now $920.00 per month.

They refused to compromised and insisted that $505.00 be paid before 2/19/14. My service was disconnected on 2/19/14 and I went to Dept of Social Services Roanoke to apply for fuel crisis assistance. I paid $150 and the Dept of Social Services talked with AEP and an agreement was made to void the down payment required and work with me as long as my monthy payments were made on time.

Before the end of February, I received another bill for $209. I applied for assistance with Social Services and they contacted AEP with voucher to pay $347, which was applied to my account on 3/12/14. Over the weekend, I received another bill from AEP for $1,750 demanding payment by 3/26/14 or disconnection. I emailed the company after several attempts to get through with an agent and received a reply back that there was nothing they could due but urge me to make payment arrangements even after knowing that my monthly net income is $920 and my rent is $575.00.

This morning I called to speak with collection agent, [redacted], who stated that they would work with me to pay $454.53 by 3/27/14 and then for the next 6 months I would have to pay $221.26 in addition to my monthly usage. My monthly usage for the month of February was less than $27 and March usage was $66.00

Simply math was tell you that a person making $920 monthly cannot afford this arrangement. I just wanted your company to be away of this tactics based on a certain "percentage" table and it is unfair to transfer an old account dating back 3 years ago to my current account and threaten to disconnect my services at my new home.

I told them that I am willing to make payments of $125 toward balance due, but they refused and used tactics to force me to accept their offer of $454.53 this month just to keep my service on.Desired Settlement: Look at my monthly income and be reasonable. This bill is dating back over 3 years and was just recently transferred to my new account in March, even though they called me about it on February 5, 2014, stating I could not get service unless $505 was paid. I have paid $505 and I'm stressed out over their lack of concern and disregard to the obvious. AEP is the only service we can use in this area.

What a poor sense of caring about customers who strive to take care of a past due account. But the amount they are demanding is more than I or any other citizens with income less than $900 could ever pay. Why agree to work with Department of Social Services to waive deposit, accept payment of $505 and then turn around next month and demand another $454? I cannot pay car note, car insurance, medical prescriptions, verizon phone services and EAT!!!

Business

Response:

Company records indicate the customer disputed the final bill of $2,011.36 at the same time of a new request for service. The customer was advised at that time the balance stood as the account was no longer included in the bankruptcy. The customer was also offered a payment plan to pay ¼ of the “old” debt plus a deposit for the “new” account with additional arrangements for the remaining balance. The customer paid the amount offered by obtaining agency assistance of $347.00 and making a payment of $158.00 on the account. The final bill was then transferred to the “new” active account and a payment arrangement of 6 months was offed for the remaining balance. The company cannot change or offer any additional arrangements on the account.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

AEP is asking what is impossible for me to pay on my budget. I have told them and also informed your agency that my monthly income is $900. With my rent being $595 per month, that leaves me with only $300 to pay my utility bills, eat, and live. I offered them $120 each month in addition to my monthly bill until I could get this additional transferred amount paid. I received a one-time crisis assistance from the Dept. of Social Services, however, I cannot obtain assistance from any other resources because they will not help with a delinquent bill that has an enormous amount transferred from 3 years ago. My regular monthly usage for February was $27 and $68 for March. I am not denying that I owe AEP this amount since it was not covered in my original bankruptcy, however, with my current income, I am willing and able to pay $120 in addition to my regular bill. AEP continues to look at some type of set guidelines instead of being reasonable to work out the situation with a customer who is offering everything possible to pay this debt. AEP instead DEMANDS that I pay $441 or they will disconnect today. Where would I get this money? I'm out here every day looking for an additional part-time job to help me, but at this time I only have a part-time position.

With AEP being the only source of electricity for the state of Virginia, it is simple to see that I am unable to afford this demanded amount which would leave me homeless and out on the street. I find it serious when a company doesn't care about its customers and refuses to review this account and accept what is reasonable on my budget. I don't have $441 per month to pay for the next six months, but I am willing to pay $120 plus regular monthly usage. I don't believe that AEP is being fair to lower income families. Again, where in the world would I get the money. I'm working every day and thank God that I am single instead of a mother with a family.

I plan for this to be made public and wish to reject this unreasonable offer simply because I don't make that kind of money and I have willing stated what I can afford. I have signed a one-year lease with this landlord, so if they cut me off, I will loose my apartment and worse be forced to be on the street.

Regards,

Robin Macklin

Business

Response:

The customer’s situation is regrettable, but unfortunately, the customer owes the debt. The company thoroughly investigated the current matter and resolved the bill is owed the company. APCO can legally and ethically expect debts owed the company be paid before the company agrees to renew service to an applicant. The customer previously agreed to pay $347 on March 27, but failed to honor the agreement. The account has been disconnected for nonpayment. The amount required to restore service is $1,735.90.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

See attached correspondence from Department of Social Services and AEP. When I established service, AEP did not mention anything about a past due account until 2/4/14. Their correspondence to Dept. of Social Services indicates that they would waive deposit if I PAID ON TIME. AEP waited until March to add this old account to my current account. and now they expect $1735.90 to turn back on power. I never agreed to pay what I could not afford. They made their decision based on a calculation of 6 months but again, they did not uphold their word to me or Social Services. I told them what I could afford and this is outrageous

Regards,

Review: I went through my bank to pay my electric bill. The money was deducted from my account & I thought the bill was paid. I got a disconnect notice from the power company & called my bank to see if there was a problem. They called App. Power & told them a cashiers check had been sent & the bill was paid in full. The power co said they had not gotten the check & that they planned on disconnecting my power in 3 days. The bank personnel tried to resolve this & the power co. wouldn't budge. We asked if the bank could issue a new cahiers check & have the power co to make sure they didn't try to cash the first one. NO! We then asked if we stopped payment on the 1rst check would I have to pay a fee for that check, if they did try to cash it. They said I would. The power co. would not do anything to help me even though I have had this commercial act. for over 25 yrs. Had they cashed both checks I would have been out $2,300.00.Desired Settlement: I have never dealt with a less flexible company. I paid the bill over the phone. If they cash the check that comes in I think they should have to pay me interest and return the money to my account. " Perhaps one day the power companies will experience the same down swing as giant phone companies did once cell phones became so popular". It would serve them right!

Business

Response:

On 3/11/15 a company representative contacted the owner of the business to discuss the recent payment issue. The representative provided an explanation for the issue and as of 3/11/15 the payment was resent by the bank and the account was credited with the proper amount. The representative reassured the owner the account would not be disconnected for this issue and provided contact information should any future issues arise.

Review: My electric is always turned off when the downstairs neighborhoods move away or don't pay their bill. This has happened to me numerous times over a period off 6 years. The power Co. is always turning the wrong meter off. Each time I have complained about this issue. They come 9 plus hours later to turn my power back on. My food goes bad in the frig. The problem has not been fixed. 6 years later they are still turning my power off. This time is different because it is Christmas time and it is cold I had no heat. I do work but I receive food stamps to feed my family. I went shopping for food for Christmas dinner, My power was turned off the food went bad. I do not have money to go by more food. I did not have much money for presents so the highlight of Christmas day was going to be the Christmas meal. I always have paid my bill on time. Never has there been a late late fee or a disconnection from me. I want compensated for my food and the stress this has caused me over the years. I am fed up.Desired Settlement: I want to be compensated for me food and unnecessary stress.

Business

Response:

Previously the company denied the customer’s reimbursement claim for loss of perishable food items.

A company representative contacted the customer on 12/30/14 to verify the electric meters were switched as claimed by the customer. Company records indicate the customer’s power had been off approximately four hours on the day of the mistaken disconnection of service - not nine as the customer had claimed. This was not enough time to have caused damage to refrigerated goods. Simply, as a point of comparison, the Department of Social Services denies any food damage claims to clients on SNAP benefits for outages less than eight hours.On 1/6/15 the representative visited the site to check the meters. The representative observed that it appears the landlord mislabeled the meter bases. The landlord owns the meter bases. It is the responsibility of the landlord or contracted electrician to accurately label the meter bases. APCo has no way of tracing internal wiring and does not get involved in any way with wiring or switchgear beyond the meter. The company connects company owned meters according to the labeling at the meter bases. Hence, mislabeling of a meter base is not the fault of the company.Company records indicate the customer had not contacted the company regarding switched meters until the December 15 incident. Currently, the company is addressing the switched meters in the company’s billing system so the mistake doesn't happen again. The account is also being reviewed to determine if the customer is entitled to any credits.The company denied the damage claim because (1) Not enough time passed for food spoilage to take place, and (2) Accurate labeling of the meter bases is the responsibility of the landlord - not APCo. It is unfortunate that this happened, but Appalachian Power Company does not assume any liability in this situation.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Regards,

[redacted] Preston I understand that I am fighting a losing battle and that it is "the responsibility of the landlord to label meters correctly. However there is some statements that are not true. The power was not restored within 4 hours. Nor was it restored by the electric company. My power was turned off around 10am I placed calls to the main company in Ohio and the local co. about every hour. My room mate turned the power on by resetting the switch in the meter the we thought was not ours, hence the power came on. That is how I discovered the meter cross. This was almost 5 pm. I know this because I needed to go to work at this time. I also called them and told them that they do not need to come out to restore power because I did it myself. They need to check the phone records. The other issue I have with the response is that there have been no reports of this incident until 12/15/2014. This has happened to me since 2009. I called the main company in Ohio, not the local co. 12/15/2014 is the first time I have ever called them with any issues because I did not have the local number. I was using the number on my bill, which is the main company. They need to check those records. As far as SNAP benefits goes, I did not try to get any assistance from them because I was not aware that I could. So like I said before, I understand that I am not getting anywhere with this situation. This company is more powerful than I. So, I give up.

Review: We have been without power for 18 hours, while our neighbors just a mile down the road never lost power and the surrounding mountains and hillsides are lit up with houses with electricity. A drive around the county yielded not a power crew in sight and a majority of the homes in the area appear to be operating as normal. An advertisement by Appalachian Power stated power should have been on by midnight, yet here we are still out in the cold.

We recently suffered a death in the family and had to remove their information from billing and essentially start over with Appalachian Power. To do so, we had to agree to pay many hundreds of dollars in the form of a deposit, which when coupled with the electric bill itself has been troubling. Though we were allowed to break the deposit up into payments, the payments themselves along with the actual power bill is nothing less that absurdity. A recent news segment for our area's news station highlighted the unusual nature in which Appalachian Power does business and the unfair business practices mandated too its clients with an elderly couple thousands of dollars in debt to Appalachian Power with little recourse in their own plights.

There are suppose to be anti-monopoly laws in this country, yet what option do any customers in the area have other than Appalachian Power? There are none. And thus Appalachian Power has an unusual power to operate when and at their descretion with little other option for the consumer but to accept their business practices or go without power.Desired Settlement: To change their business practices and to take the fact customers are without power seriously instead of dragging their feet.

Business

Response:

This customer is served from a substation located 15.5 miles from their residence. There are 5 sectionalizing devices between the residence and the substation. The customer's residence is located near the end of the circuit and is within a short distance from other customers who are served from different sources. These customers could have power while others are out of power. The sectionalizing devices used on a circuit work like a breaker box in a residence. When trouble with one circuit in the residence is detected one breaker will "trip" or "open" to prevent loss of power to the entire residence. This is the same scenario experienced on a large distribution circuit. Depending on where the fault occurs, some customers may have power restored more quickly while the fault is isolated to another location. As for the outage on November 27, 2014, Appalachian Power had thousands of customers out of power. The company worked diligently from Wednesday to Friday evening to restore all power as quickly as possible. Following is a public update provided by the company during storm restoration efforts.

Appalachian Power Storm Response Update

Thursday, November 27, 2014 – 10 a.m.

Weather

Heavy, wet snow fell across parts of Appalachian Power’s southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia service areas yesterday, damaging electric facilities and leaving more than 22,000 customers without electric service.

Response

Workers have restored electric service to 15,000, or more than two-thirds, of the customers affected by yesterday’s snow storm. More than 200 line workers and damage assessors from outside the area are assisting local crews in the restoration effort.

Crews will work through Thanksgiving Day, and expect to have service restored to customers in most areas by late tonight.

In Carroll and Floyd counties, where the heaviest snow fell and caused the most extensive damage, there are still 330 individual locations at which crews must make repairs. Most customers in these areas will have service restored by tonight. However, complete restoration will continue into late Friday in areas with heavy damage, in remote areas, and in outages cases that affect small numbers of customers.

Outages

More than 15,000 customers affected by the storm have had service restored. As of 10 a.m., approximately 7,000 customers remain without electric service. Counties with the largest number of outages include:

Carroll (VA): 1,227

Floyd (VA): 2,524

Grayson (VA): 977

Montgomery (VA): 1,341

Wythe (VA): 125

Mercer (WV): 199

Review: This complaint is related to a previous Revdex.com Complaint number Revdex.com [redacted] filed for me regarding AEP's inability to provide adequate reliable electric power to a residence that we both own. After filing the first complaint, the Revdex.com stated that they could not honor the previous complaint because the AEP Account was not in the name of the person that filed the complaint. So I am re-filing this complaint about the same issues again. The AEP account is in my name. We have lived at this residence since 2006. Since then there has been at least one major, if not more, occurrence annually when power has been lost to this residence due to weather or faulty engineering from AEP. Even as recent as the last 24 hours, we have momentarily lost power again for a few minutes while the power spiked or went off and on causing us to reset all appliances in the house. During the recent storm that occurred in the last week, we were out of power from Thursday June 13 until Sunday June 16th. During this time we lost over 350.00 in perishable items, and had to vacate our home for two days due to lack of electrical power. Again, this has been at least an annual occurrence since we have lived in this residence. The service on this street has been so unreliable that we are considering leaving this neighborhood. The desired outcome is to demand that AEP provide a much more reliable power network to service this area. It was stated in the local Press the day after the storm that the majority of the power outages in this area were due to "downed AEP power poles." I believe AEP owns the right-of-way for the placement of these poles. It is their responsibility to keep the right of way clear. And if they can not keep the power poles up during inclement weather, then they need to bury the cable. Regardless of what the solution is, AEP has had at least 7 years to correct this problem, and each time we get a Band-Aid that does not even enable AEP to provide quality power for 48 hours before we start seeing problems again. The status quo is simply not working. These outages result in the loss of significant loss of household perishable items, and major inconveniences to my family. Having power lines down in the neighborhood for 3 days does not make me feel that this is a safe place to be either because of these failures. In the last two years we have seen a significant increase in the number of households buying power generators for their homes. To me this is just one more sign that the power from AEP continues to degrade so badly that homeowners are having to seek power from other sources. What does that say about the customer service level from AEP?Desired Settlement: Either maintain the right of ways where AEP has chosen to place their poles and network, or bury the cable to prevent future loss of power due to inclement weather. Also, AEP should consider reviewing their engineering to provide a higher quality of power service delivery that does not continue to result in power spikes and loss of power causing minutes of loss of power to our residence.

Business

Response:

A detailed response was provided to the SCC fro the same concern. The customer expressed concern with frequent outages for the past 25 years and requested the overhead lines buried in the neighborhood. The customer also requested an estimate for underground service to an existing residence. During the previous 3 years the customer experienced 6 outages; 1 was attributed to trees inside the R/W, 1 equipment failure (substation) and 4 were weather-related. The four weather-related outages occurred during major storm events. Four of the six outages also occurred during 2013. The company plans to patrol the distribution “tap” line serving the customer's residence and clear any danger trees observed by the end of June 2013. The company cleared the 1st protection zone along the primary distribution line beginning at the substation during 2012. The entire circuit was cleared during 2008. The company plans to clear the entire circuit again during 2013. An estimate of $781.37 was provided to the customer to convert an existing overhead service to underground.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted]. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. MESSAGE FROM BUSINESS: A detailed response was provided to the SCC fro the same concern. The customer expressed concern with frequent outages for the past 25 years and requested the overhead lines buried in the neighborhood. The customer also requested an estimate for underground service to an existing residence. During the previous 3 years the customer experienced 6 outages; 1 was attributed to trees inside the R/W, 1 equipment failure (substation) and 4 were weather-related. The four weather-related outages occurred during major storm events. Four of the six outages also occurred during 2013. The company plans to patrol the distribution “tap” line serving the customer's residence and clear any danger trees observed by the end of June 2013. The company cleared the 1st protection zone along the primary distribution line beginning at the substation during 2012. The entire circuit was cleared during 2008. The company plans to clear the entire circuit again during 2013. An estimate of $781.37 was provided to the customer to convert an existing overhead service to underground. My response: First, I have not yet received an estimate of $781.37 from AEP so I can't confirm its existence. So currently there is nothing for me to consider. Second, while I am glad that AEP can confirm that there have been six outages in 3 years, AEP's memory is lacking. In May or June of 2012, there was another major outage for several days again causing significant loss and inconvenience to my household. A few hundred dollars of perishable foods was lost as did happen this time. My family had to relocate to other more expensive living arrangements because of the extreme heat from the weather while AEP repaired downed power lines. There is nothing mentioned about the multiple times that power to my home is interrupted causing all electronics to have to be reset or restarted. Coincidently, while I have been setting here responding to this message, I lost power for about 15 seconds....the reason I can continue is because this PC is attached to a UPS under my desk that was purchased because of the poor qualify of the power stream to this residence. Third, AEP admits that the last time they cleared the main line right-of-way was in 2008. The rest of the time AEP provides band-aids while I remain exposed to yet another outage. Fourth, AEP says nothing about plans to bury or in some way provide improved protection of its power network distribution so that even if I bury the line to my house it will probably do nothing to improve the level of service I am receiving because AEP only maintains their right-of-way every 5 years by their own admission which is insufficient to keep the network up and running. The reason we continue to lose power when we have weather conditions is because AEP is "not" maintaining their right of ways, and is not considering other alternative proposals. I see nothing in this response that addresses how AEP intends to increase the frequency of their review of the right-of-ways if they intend to keep their network above ground. I can only assume that AEP has no intention of exercising that option. So in summary, I am still looking for the estimate on burying the cable to my home and an improved response from AEP on how they intend to prevent power outages from occurring twice a year confirmed by their own analysis, each time costing me about 400.00 for other living arrangements or to replace perishable items. Regards,[redacted]

Review: I have lived at my residence since 1988. I have had Appalachian power since then and before. I have always payed every month some sort of payment, not missing a month. I work two jobs, trying to keep above water. I bring home around 700 dollars a month. No one helps me. I get paid every two weeks. My first check goes on my car insurance and other bills due immediately. Plus I have to eat and gas to get to work and my second check which is at the end of month I pay the electric bill. I know this makes my bill late but I cant help that. Do to the recession my hours have been cut, sometimes I don't bring home 700 dollars. During the winter months Janurary, February, and march my monthly bill can get over 300 to 400 dollars. So to help pay this I am put on monthly budget of around 200 dollars a month and it suppose to be in December I pay them the difference of this budget or they may owe me. This is my anniversary month.I got my recent bill and on it they attached a 366 dollar deposit because I have been late several months. This 366 dollars is not for energy used, its because I have been late but I have payed my 200 dollar budget payment everyo month but its late. I paid on 8/4/2014 $200.37 , making the previous total balance 357.29 and the current electric charges is 91.11. So together I still owe 449.40 but I will pay my budget of 200 dollars for this bill bringing my total owing them is 249.40. My calculations by December I should owe them around 200 dollars.But now they have attached this 366 deposit to my bill and this is not for energy use this is for me being late. Now my total bill is $644.49 with the 366 dollar deposit. This is going to make it ten times harder to come up with the require monthly payment of 322.26 a month 122 dollars for the deposit installment of 366 dollars, so at my December anniversary I will owe alot more than the 200 dollars I calculated to be my anniversary amount. My question how can they do this when I am making my budget payments this was the arrangements.Desired Settlement: I would like Appalachian Power to take off the 366 dollar deposit. I can not afford to pay this. Again this is not for energy used its because I am late. I have kept my agreement of 200 a month for the budget payment. I will pay the difference for this year come December but only for what I owe them for energy used.

Business

Response:

Customer is on budget billing and has failed to pay the bill in full twelve out of the past twelve months. Customer has paid only when disconnect notices for the past due balance were issued. Deposit has been requested in accordance with all applicable guidelines for the State of Virginia. Because customer pays something every month, Company will waive deposit this instance and asks that account be made current by due date of this month's billing which is 9-15-14. Failure to pay bill in full each month may result in addition of deposit to the account again at a later date. If this occurs, Company will not remove deposit a second time.

Budget billing is not a fixed contract to pay a set amount each month. Bill amounts fluctuate due to increased rates and increased consumption. For this reason, it is imperative that full payment, not partial payment, be received each and every month. Company has removed customer from budget billing for failure to pay bill in full each month. Account balance, after removal from budget and removal of deposit, is $326.40. Company asks that this amount be received on or before 9-15-14.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Review: A.E.P. is trying to make me pay a 442.00 deposit for being 2 days late with my payment. I am on a fixed income, and I pay all my bills after the third of each month. I have called A.E.P. and explained all of this to them. And with my high heating bills there is no way I can pay an extra 442.00. I'm old and have breathing problems and on oxygen at night.Desired Settlement: I think they should wait until after the late payment date on the bill, before they add both bills together and then try to charge a huge price for being a few days late. Thats robbing people without a gun.

Business

Response:

Deposit has been assessed in accordance with all applicable rules and regulations for the State of Virginia. Company declines to waive / remove deposit. Company has billed deposit in three installments and asks that deposit be paid as billed. It also should be noted that Company waived deposit five months ago (December 2014) and warned customer at that time that future late payments may result in deposit being re-assessed.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.I strongly disagree with AEP's billing practices. It's misleading, you have a set date to get your bill in and if it's not in on that date they have a set late fee - like a few dollars. Not four hundred and forty two dollars. AEP is scamming poor people out of thousands of dollars. It's time we all stood up and be counted. There's poor people who is on a fixed income. Who doesn't draw much over four hundred dollars a month. I'm speaking for myself. I cannot pay four hundred and forty two dollars that I don't owe.I think scamming old sick people is illegal and should be handled like any other crime.

Regards,

Review: My account with AEP has been unfairly targeted with continual disconnection threats for only being 11 day past the due date.

AS stated above, my account w/ AEP has been unfairly targeted with continual threats of disconnection. Last month I was only 9 days past the due date and only owed $99.00 and was threatened with disconnection and a deposit was levied against my account when I have NEVER been disconnected in the 14 years I've done business with them. This month, my due date was on Aug. 24th and as of today (9 days after due date) I have once again been threatened with disconnection for a $110 power bill. They also show I'm 30 days in arrears for this bill, when it was only due on 8/24 ..9 days ago. I have tried in vain to get this problem explained to me, and I get the same continual runaround that says they are going by the billing date..not the due date. Which is absurd..why have a due date then? They tell me that I'm not being treated any different than anyone else, but that is not true. I have knowledge of other people that are seriously behind on their bills and are not having this done to them. I AM ONLY 9 DAYS PAST MY DUE DATE FOR 2 MONTHS IN A ROW AND AM BEING THREATENED WITH DISCONNECTION. And this is just ridiculous.Desired Settlement: I would like the unnecessary and unfair deposit requirement removed from my account. Once again, my service has NEVER been cut off in 14 years of service. I have honored every payment agreement that I've ever made with them. And I would like to be treated fairly and not threatened constantly with disconnection for only being 9 days past my due date. Which is ridiculous...even Banks give you 30 days from the Due Date before there is a late charge.

Business

Response:

Deposit has been requested in accordance with applicable state guidelines. Disconnect notices have been issued in accordance with applicable state guidelines. Customer has failed to pay bill in full nine out of the past twelve months. It appears, customer is not paying bill in full, but is waiting to receive a disconnect notice and then is paying the minimum amount required to keep service on, rather than full account balance. Company treats late payments in similar manner to bank policy stated in complaint. Per terms and conditions of service, residential bills are due when rendered and are considered past due if not paid in full by next scheduled read date which is approximately 30 days. In addition, Company has billed deposit in three installments per applicable state guidelines. Company declines to waive deposit and asks that bill and deposit be paid in full.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

AS I expected their response, does not address the main issue. I WAS laid off and then took a job at a much lower salary and have been struggling over the last 2 years, BUT, I contacted them and made PAYMENT AGREEMENTS with them, which I paid as agreed...ALL ACCORDING TO THEIR STANDARD POLICIES AND GUIDELINES (as they like to say) But my payments to them was and is NOT the issue. They are simply using that as a diversion from their deceptive and misleading practices by focusing on my payments.

The Issue is their deceptive NEW practice of setting a DUE DATE, and then when the customer is 9 days past that threatening them with disconnection......but then saying that the customer is 30 days PAST DUE when in actuality they are only about 9 days past the due date...AND THEN USING THIS DECPETION AND FALSEHOOD TO THREATEN AND PENALIZE THE CUSTOMER....with DISCONNECTION AND A DEPOSIT.

AEP IS GIVING A DUE DATE, THAT'S THE DATE THE MONEY IS DUE...YOU CANNOT THEN SAY A CUSTOMER IS 30 DAYS PAST DUE 9 DAYS LATER. THIS IS THE PREMISE THEY ARE USING TO CHARGE ME THIS DEPOSIT, TO THREATEN ME WITH DISCONNECTION. AND IT IS MISLEADING, DECEPTIVE AND JUST PLAIN WRONG.

AND THEY HAVE NOT ADDRESSED THIS ISSUE. And sadly they will get away with this, nothing will be done and the deception and abuse will continue. But I can guarantee you this I will be contacting the State Regulatory Commission and the newspaper, television, social media, and whomever else I can contact. I've already started informing the Public of this, so no one else will be tricked into having to pay the DEPOSIT or being told by AEP that they are 30 days past due when they are not.

Regards,

Review: I had been an Appalachian Power customer from November, 2006 until August, 2014, and I had an account ([redacted]) with Appalachian Power from November, 2006 until August 19. I requested Appalachian Power to close my account first on August 19. In the same time, I informed Appalachian Power of the last meter reading I was responsible for. Appalachian Power ignored my request. I repeated my request to close my account on August 21, and asked them to send me a final bill reflecting the electricity that I used after the last reading, as well as a letter of credit, since during the time I was an Appalachian Power customer, I always paid my bills in a timely manner. Instead of using the actual reading, however, Appalachian Power chose to use an estimate that was three times (2.956 times, to be exact) the actual usage. I paid by the due date the amount I actually owed. However, Appalachian Power is insisting that instead of the actual reading, their estimate is the number that should be used. On October 3 it sent me threats to refer my alleged debt to collection agencies, which I have good reasons to think it did. Moreover, it included moralizing passages about doing my duties and paying what I owe. Appalachian Power is much more forgiving when its own employees fail to cancel an account after only one single request or do their duty to truthfully inform other agencies of my bill paying history.I want Appalachian Power to explain what reason it had to doubt that I ceased to use electricity at that address on the morning of August 14, and that the meter reading was as I stated. It is extremely offensive what Appalachian Power is implying there. Why does Appalachian Power think it proper to make me pay for something I did not use, instead of charging the person who did? I also want to know why Appalachian Power chose to damage my credit report, failing to disclose that for the eight years I spent in that apartment, I had been paying my bills regularly and on time, and that on this occasion I also paid my fair share of the bill, though I refused to pay for something I did not use. Appalachian Power has abused its position to give credit information about its customers to effectively libel me.Desired Settlement: I want Appalachian Power to stop demanding that I pay for something I did not use, and promptly remove the alleged debt from my account. I want Appalachian Power to notify the collection agencies that it had erroneously referred me to them, and ask that they remove any reference to my alleged debt from my record. Have each of them send me a credit report to show that it was done. Finally, I want Appalachian Power to send me a letter of credit, as I originally requested in my August 19 e-mail.

Business

Response:

The account was not sent to an outside collection agency or the credit bureaus for collection as the customer claimed. Due to the small amount left owing on the bill, $8.21, it will not be sent for collections or the credit bureaus. The company is reviewing the disputed close of service date.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Appalachian Power did not address the concerns I brought up

in my complaint. It misrepresented the issues, instead. Appalachian Power

threatened me on October 3 with referring me to collection agencies. I assumed

that by November 21 it did carry out its threat. If the amount is too small to

be referred to collection agencies, I do not understand why the company

threatened with such an action in the first place. Furthermore, contrarily to

what Appalachian Power claims, the closing date is not in dispute. Appalachian

Power wants to use the date I had a chance to contact it for the first time,

instead of the date I actually ceased to use electricity at that locality. This

is fine with me. What is not acceptable, though, is that Appalachian Power uses

its estimate, as opposed to the actual meter reading. The estimate is almost

three times the actual usage. The apartment management had routinely neglected

repair, so by the time I moved out, only a few light bulbs used electricity.

The actual reading is consistent with this. I want an explanation why

Appalachian Power rejects the actual reading in favor of its own inflated

estimate. Appalachian Power did not explain why it treats me as if I were a

dishonest person who is willing to lie, in order to gain $8.21. I find this

extremely insulting. For eight years, I always paid my bills in a timely

manner. I also paid, by the due date, the bill for my actual usage. Appalachian Power did not explain why it uses

an estimate, when the actual reading is available. By the same token,

Appalachian Power did not explain the basis of its expectation that I pay for electricity

I did not use. To my knowledge, Appalachian Power is the only electric company

to serve the [redacted]. This monopoly means that if it does not change

its stance, Appalachian Power will get the unjustifiable money in the end, when

I try to open a new account, since to my understanding, its policy is not to

provide electricity, unless all outstanding debts are paid.

I want Appalachian Power to stop demanding that I pay for electricity I

did not use, and promptly remove the alleged debt from my account. I want Appalachian Power to apologize for gratuitously

questioning my integrity. Finally, I

want Appalachian Power to send me a letter of credit, as I originally requested

in my August 19 e-mail. Regards,

Business

Response:

The company removed the debt.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. I would like to thank the Revdex.com of Western Virginia for its assistance with this matter. I am fully aware that without your assistance, this matter would not have reached a satisfactory resolution.

Regards,

Review: I set up service when I moved to [redacted] in Dec 14 I was informed during that time a account was set up with me name earlier when I had no knowledge of it as my social was used to open accounts with other companies I have a police report I filed during that ti me after informing them of this I was treated very rudely by the customer service rep and after asking to file a complaint they refused telling me since aep is the power company in my city I had no choice but to go with them and do as they demand I feel as I have not only my police report I also have my lease agreementioned during the time this account was set up proving I didn't even live in the city.Desired Settlement: I just want the amout adjusted to remove the fraudulent amount and for me to pay the normal amount as I have family here who require breathing and life support equipment.

Business

Response:

The company asserts the concern expressed is an attempt to avoid disconnection of service. The company verified the complainant as the tenant at the premise(s) of the disputed accounts before the recent account was opened. Other information, such as assistance pledges and payment patterns across all accounts support that the disputed account(s) and current account belong to the same person. The email address the company has on file for both the disputed service and active service are identical. All three accounts have an extensive history of using BillMatrix to make fraudulent check payments using closed bank account numbers. The only “good” payments the company has received were from state and federal assistance save one payment for $125.50 paid on 12/04/2013. The payment was applied to accounts spanning 13 months of service. The company, to date, has not received any payment which was not rejected for the “new” account.

The company has extended the account due to medical need.

At this point, the only resolution is for the customer to pay the bill. The company will accept only a cash payment.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

I am basically being called a liar by this company I spoke with them and informed me they spoke with my new and current landlords to verify this alleged past information they refuse to provide me with any of this information.

Regards,