Appalachian Power Company

Deposit charged and billed in accordance with all applicable rules and regulations for the State of Virginia. Deposit has been requested for failure to maintain satisfactory credit as defined in Virginia SCC approved terms and conditions of service. Company records indicate eight out of the previous...

twelve billings have failed to be paid in full by next bill date. Company declines to waive deposit. Deposit has been billed in three installments in accordance with rules and regulations for the State of Virginia. Company asks that deposit be paid as billed.

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.
[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.] I am dissatisfied because they are providing a service that you have to have . I thinks it unfair that they are charges extra deposits base on credit score or late payments.  It not like you can chose of electric companies. I sure I not the only one. I would like a copy of VA SCC law they are referring to. I will pay the bill, because I don't have a chose,, because I have to have electric so all in all they will be holding $486. as a deposit.
Regards,
[redacted]

The Company has mailed required notice in accordance with all applicable guidelines for the State of Virginia. The Company declines to enter into additional arrangements and asks that past due balance be received immediately. The Customer has been in contact with APCo management and various...

supervisors. Please find attached a portion of the response provided by APCo management:.
Mr. Customer,
I no longer have responsibility for APCo residential customer service. However, I did make an inquiry on your behalf and was advised of the following:
1. A considerable portion of the balance owed was transferred your former account at XXXX Avenue. Service was discontinued on there on May 25, 2014 and our records indicate that you defaulted on a previous pay agreement on that account in the past 12 months. Based on current policy, you would not be eligible for another agreement due to the multiple defaults incurred.
2. I am told the returned check did not cause the pay agreement to default, since the pay agreement did not default until July 17, 2014, nine days after your check was returned on July 8, 2014. Failure to make a valid payment by the agreed upon date resulted in the pay agreement default.
3. As of today, our credit department advises you have yet to make restitution for the returned check.
Under these circumstances, I am afraid there is nothing I can offer of assistance. I will forward this response and your email to a supervisor in our Customer Solutions Center in order to make them aware of your concerns.

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.

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.

In order for same day reconnect, full arrears and reconnect fee must be paid by 5pm M-F. However, the customer has an option to pay a higher reconnect fee between 5-7pm for same day reconnect. There is also an additional reconnect fee available for weekends and holidays.
8/21/14
1:04pm Company...

disconnected the meter for non-payment.
5:25pm – Customer was made aware that $628.02 was required for reconnect and to turn off main breaker.
6:50pm – Customer was made aware that $628.02 was required for reconnect and to turn off main breaker.
6:57pm – Company received a $500.00 payment.
7:04pm – Customer was made aware an addition $119.02 was needed to restore the next business day and to turn off main breaker.
7:12pm – Company received a $99.00 payment.
8/22/14
12:16am – Company received a $20.00 payment and company issued a reconnect order to restore service the same day 8/22/14.
9:28am – Company attempted to reconnect the meter. Company was unable to reconnect the meter because the customer’s main breaker was on causing a load on the meter and making it unsafe.
6:22pm – The customer notified the company that the main breaker was in the off position and the order was released for the next business day 8/25/14.
8/25/14
12:28pm – Company reconnected the meter.
Upon review of the account, the company understands how the customer could be confused by the information provided between 8/21/14 and 8/22/14. However, customer was made aware of the requirements for reconnection, at least three times, before making a payment. Because the full payment was not received until 12:16am on 8/22 and because the main breaker was on when company tried to reconnect service at 9:28pm on 8/22 the order was rescheduled for the next business day. The customer was offered and elected not pay the amount required for a reconnection on a weekend or holiday.

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. Each month the bill was late, I was penalized with a late fee.  By adding a deposit, I'm being penalized twice for the same infraction.  Regards,[redacted]

I spoke with representative at local AEP office, we are in talks still regarding this matter.    
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]

On 10/21/14 a company forestry representative contacted the customer and advised the company needed the signed tree replacement contract returned that was emailed earlier in the week. The representative inquired as to what species were chosen for replacement (5 white dogwoods). The representative...

advised that an attempt would be made to have the trees added to the fall planting which should be occurring in the next couple weeks. The representative contacted the company’s tree replacement contractor and inquired about adding the customer's trees to the schedule. The representative agreed to follow up with the customer once an answer is received from the contactor.

Revdex.com:
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]
I have documentation that the disconnection notice was not until November 3rd . I sent the information to the company as well.  If if needs to be sent again I can do that.  the dispute is not about the amount owed.  BUT THE SERVICES WERE TERMINATED BEFORE THE DATE PER THE NOTICE WE RECEIVED AFTER THE DISCONNETION.

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.

Deposit charged and billed in accordance with all applicable rules and regulations for the State of Virginia. Deposit has been requested for failure to maintain satisfactory credit as defined in Virginia SCC approved terms and conditions of service. Company records indicate eleven out of the...

previous twelve billings have failed to be paid in full by next bill date. Due dates are established per Virginia SCC tariffs and are based on bill date. A review of Company records indicate customer bill date was not changed a year ago and has not been changed in last 18 months. Due dates may vary 3-5 days depending upon holidays and weekends. Company declines to waive deposit. Deposit has been billed in three installments in accordance with rules and regulations for the State of Virginia. Company asks that deposit be paid as billed. The company did provide notice on the August bill showing deposit warning.

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,
[redacted]

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.

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

The deposit was requested due to the customer’s failure to maintain or establish satisfactory credit. The deposit was charged and billed in three installments in accordance with all applicable guidelines of the State of Virginia and the Virginia SCC. The Company declines to waive the deposit.

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]

Deposit assessed in accordance with all applicable state guidelines. Deposit has been assessed for failure to maintain satisfactory credit as twenty four out of the last twenty four billings have failed to be paid in full by next scheduled read date. Company declines to remove / waive deposit....

Deposit has been billed in three installments per Virginia rules and regulations. Company asks that deposit and all outstanding debts be paid immediately.
A copy of the Virginia Deposit Terms and Conditions of Service as approved by the Virginia SCC is attached.

Here we go again! No power.Feel like I’m living off grid.

Electric service to Rockcastle Wv has never been very reliable since I moved here in 1986.
But as of late it’s been one power failure after another.Power failure during Thanksgiving 2017,Christmas eve2017, and 1-13-18.Whatever the problem with this line is why can’t it be remedied?