Appalachian Power Company

A company representative reviewed the account. The customer has lived at the premise since May and therefore, no previous winter usage is available for comparisonThe meter has been read each month since May The average temperature for the billing period in question was
degrees with an average high of degrees and an average low of degreesThe billing period was for days

Company records indicate the account was removed from the AMP billing option during a previous call, when the daughter inquired in regard to the difference between BUDGET and AMP billing optionsDuring a follow up inquiry the daughter was mistakenly advised the company could not re-defer the
previous payments made on the AMP plan and the representative initiated an equal payment plan on those funds
A company representative contacted the customer’s daughter on 1/29/and advised her, the company could defer the funds and will notify her when the transaction is completed

Company records indicate the customer expereinced an outage on 7/14/at 17:The outage was restored on 7/15/at 08:The outage affected customers and occurred during inclement weather conditions

Deposit in amount of $has been requested due to failure to establish satisfactory credit historyCustomer has failed to pay bill in full nine of the past twelve monthsPer Virginia rules and regulations, APCo has provided three installments to pay depositCompany has requested deposit in
accordance with all applicable guidelines of the State of VirginiaCompany declines to waive deposit and asks that deposit be received as billed

A company representative tried repeatedly to make contact with the customer to discuss his concerns without success as of 6/15/The representative sent a letter addressing the customer’s misconceptions about the Company's credit policies and metering / billing processes. It appears the
customer was unaware of deferred deposit requirements when payments are made past the due date each month. When there are two or more late payments on accounts that are either not currently secured with a deposit or where the existing deposit is insufficient based on current usage at the premise, a deferred deposit can be billed at any time and the amount is divided over a three month period. The customer was notified by mail with a deposit warning. Secondly, unpaid amounts on an account that has been closed will transfer to the customer's new account upon opening. Finally, billing is based upon actual meter readings each month and those readings are collected remotely by radio frequency. The representative reviewed the customer's billing and every bill since opening the account had been actual reads from the meter. The representatives provided contact information should any problems occur going forward

On 11/4/a company representative contacted the customerThe representative advised the customer that although a disconnect notice was not received; a representative did try to make contact by phone four days prior to 10/23, to advise of the 10/disconnect dateThe company would not reimburse
for the cost of a hotel because the disconnect was not an error, but as a courtesy the company would cancel the reconnection fee

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, 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,
*** ***

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 bureausThe company is reviewing the disputed close of service date

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
I have had service with AEP for over years, I have never missed a monthly payment I pay my bill late as I explained to them the way I get paid I have no choice but to pay it late and pay a late fee due to how my checks fall my mortgage gets paid on time before my utilities Again every month I pay my bill it's just late The bill is due on the 10th of every month, considered late on the 21st and a late fee is charged, I pay at the end of every month and again have never missed paying on a monthly basis including the late fee By time I pay my bill a new bill has arrived which is due the next month by the 10th The bill I received I could not even find where they said they so called provided me notice until a rep from AEP walked me through the entire bill and it was over to the left of a bill in a bunch of other notices that no-one ever reads It was not included as part of the notice to pay by date The bill I received which had a past due amount and a date it was due and the new charges that are due the following month The notice they state is not in compliance, it is not in a clear location for anyone to see The notice should have been at the top of the bill along with the disconnection notice where they tell you if your service is interrupted the fees associated with turning it back on Instead its on the 2nd page of the bill the left in smaller letters in a location where they put other things at like to sign up for electronic payments This is nothing more than a trick on AEP's part to try and collect deposits from people who have never had service interruption in an effort to pay for their expenses I have established history with them Just because I pay my bill late (and I do pay the late charges) they told me they charged the deposit out of fear I would have service interruption, well I have paid this way for as long as I can remember and have never had it interrupted Utility companies should not be able to just charge a deposit on an already outragious rated bill out of fear and also not clearly disclose a notice It should be a penalty evoked on those who allow their service to be interrupted And to keep that deposit for a year or even longer if you ever pay late it not in compliance If they would have made the notice more clear on the bill where someone could actually see it aI could have avoided this issue by calling them and explaining to them why my bill is always late I don't understand how they can get by with saying the notice they provided is within compliance when it's so obviously put in a location on the bill that they know no-one will see Also I can't say it enough My history with them is a late payer who pays every month with no interruption of service I have never had to pay bills at one time The prior bill is always way paid before the next bill is due In reality my bill is only considered late by about days, if the late fee is charged on the 21st then that is the late date and end of month is about days after that
Regards,
*** ***

The customer not only pays
'late' but has / day arrears and has paid on time only months in the
past 12. Company records indicate
payment plans have been entered into with the customer, and all have defaulted
No payment has been made on the account since 11/19/The Terms and
Conditions of Service approved by the WV PSC allow the company to
request an additional deposit should the payment profile indicate a credit
riskAt the present time, the customer's has a disconnect notice for $

We lived in our home for a time and moved out. Owed a bill in our name, my mom and dad moved into our home while we moved to Fla, we owed a big Bill again in our name. Well the [removed] a few weeks ago added the bill to my mom me power bill and cut her lights out, we had to pay 500 bucks to get it back on for them we was told in VA it was legal for them to add it cause of our last name thinking the same people live their and that's not the case.we live In south Fla now, APP is a [removed] joke the little kids they have working for them are dumb [removed], why add my bill to my moms bill that can not be legal. We are talking to a lawyer and he told me they can not do that. Guess it's a fight I will not win but I will send this to every news place on the SS VA SIDE OF the State so people will know what type of crooks they truly are. After Jan of this year when they charged every APP home in the area double of 6 times the amount of there true Bill people should know they are a bunch of [removed]. Thank u

Customer's usage is similar for the same period, previous years. From December 26, 2017 through January 8, 2018, the average temperature was 16.9 degrees compared to the historical average temperature for this period of 34.6 degrees. When temperatures drop significantly, home heating systems will...

run longer and work harder, using more energy in the process. A typical house would have required 85 percent more heat energy (BYU) than for the same period last year.  With heat pump supplemental heat, the total electrical energy (kWh) required could be 3-4 times more. The customer is all electric.  An extended cold spell will increase electric usage for heating and water heating. If the customer has a heat pump, less efficient supplemental electric resistance heat automatically comes on when the outdoor temperature is below 25-30 degrees.  Although this is part of its normal operation, supplemental heat uses 2-3 times as much energy to provide the same amount of heat as a heat pump's compressor. All meter readings for the premise are actual readings.     READING    NUM                        DATE       DAY   USAGE                                             ...⇄ _ 01/22/18   34     7664       _ 12/19/17   33     4242     _ 11/16/17   29     2255     _ 02/21/17   29     3154     _ 01/23/17   34     3963     _ 12/20/16   33     3640    _ 11/17/16   29     1803    _ 02/22/16   28     4938    _ 01/25/16   4       613    _ 01/21/16   31     4751   _ 12/21/15   33     3661     _ 11/18/15   29     2141     _ 02/23/15   32     6394     _ 01/22/15   34     5113       _ 12/19/14   31     3797

Company records indicate there was a 5 month period (delay) between when the initial check was issued and the customer notifying the Company that the check had not been received. Once the customer informed the Company the check had not been received, a technical issue with the vendor further...

delayed the issuance of the replacement check. The company’s vendor is in contact with the customer and a new check was printed on 6/12. A company representative will continue to follow up with the customer to make sure the check is received.

The Company tested the meter on 1/20/17 with two maintenance personnel from the apartment complex present.  The customer was not able to be present at the time of the test.  The meter tested within acceptable limits. A Company representative contacted the customer and provided the results...

of the test.  The representative also explained the causes for the usage. The customer indicated satisfaction with the Company’s action.

The customer's electric service was disconnected for nonpayment on 5/26/2015 and the account closed. After an unsuccessful attempt to avoid the debt by switching account names, the customer was extended a generous payment plan which included an additional 11 months to pay off the balance. The...

customer defaulted on the payment plan. A second payment plan was provided on 7/1/2015, again for 11 months. The plan also defaulted. In addition to these two defaults on the current account, the customer's previous account at this address had two additional defaulted payment plans in less than the past 12 months prior to it's being disconnected for nonpayment in May. Based upon this history of defaulted payment plans, the Company respectfully declines to grant another payment plan on the account at this time.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response 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.Both of the provided phone numbers are "CARD SERVICES" by [redacted].  There is no method of accessing any sort of information whatsoever without providing a [redacted] credit or debit card number.  I am not able to contact an operator.  These phone numbers do not put me in contact with anyone at [redacted] who is capable of providing me information regarding my refund. 
Regards,
[redacted]

A company representative reviewed the customer’s previous 26 month billing/usage history.  The usage/bill increased during the billing period of 12/7/17 to 1/9/18 as a result of the on-going arctic blast in the area from mid-December into January.  The Billing was for 33 days of usage,...

also.  The customer is eligible for AMP which would be $253.00 each month. The meter was tested 12/8/2005 and installed 2/27/2006. The meter appears to be accurate as it fluctuates with usage. The current bill is higher than January 2017, but this is due to the extremely cold temperatures. Following are comparable usage history: Date            Days          KWH           01/0918        33              4476 01/11/17       34              3677 01/12/16       34              2946   12/07/17       34             1770 12/08/16       30             2491 12/09/15       30             2296

Refunds are held for 30 days to ensure no payments will be returned to the company. After 30 days, the credit is sent to [redacted]. Appalachian Power cannot provide the exact date the refund will be mailed to the customer, but it should be mailed within 7 – 11 days after the date the company send the credit to [redacted] The customer must contact [redacted], with any questions about the refund. If the customer has additional questions in regard to specific details about the account, please contact the company 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling [redacted] or online at www.AppalachianPower.com. [redacted] asked that the customer allow 2-3 weeks, with delivery. If the refund isn't received in approximately another week call APCO at the 800 number in the previous paragraph.

The customer contacted the WV PSC on 1/10/17, also.  The Company responded the service was connected on 1/19/17.

Service in complainant's name was previously disconnected in accordance with all applicable guidelines for the State of Virginia. Company declines to enter into arrangements on outstanding debts and deposits before providing service. At this time, Company does not have an application for new service...

from this complainant.