Arizona Public Service

Dear Dispute Resolution Consultant: I have received your letter dated October 17, 2014 regarding the complaint from [redacted] and appreciate the opportunity to respond. At APS, we care about our customers and we value our relationship with them. Being able to resolve...

customer issues amicably is our goal and when any problem arises, we work hard to resolve it. APS differs from many other businesses in that our product is consumed before it is purchased. It is important, in an effort to keep operating costs to a minimum, that payment is received as quickly as possible. Although the bill provides a past due date that is roughly 10 days after receipt, the bill is not considered delinquent until 25 days after the bill produces. Once a bill passes the 25th day without payment, we begin the collection process and late charges are assessed. If the account bills the following month with a delinquent balance still owing, a shut off notice will either print on the bill or be mailed separately to the residence. The shut off notice advises the customer that the delinquent balance must be paid by the shut off date or the service will be subject to disconnection for non-payment. This notice also encourages customers to contact APS and establish a payment arrangement if additional time is needed to pay to avoid disconnection.  As you may know, APS is a regulated utility and is bound by the rules and regulations approved by the [redacted] ([redacted]). Through these rules and regulations, we have established deposit guidelines that are uniform and fair to all customers. These regulations state that APS may require a customer to establish or reestablish a security deposit if the service is disconnected for non-payment. It is important to note that security deposits are returned to residential customers once the account has had 12 months of service with no more than two late payments.   I have investigated Mr. [redacted] concerns and have found that he established electric service solely in his name at [redacted] in [redacted] on November 27, 2013. APS did not require a security deposit from Mr. [redacted] at the time he established the service.  On March 4, 2014, a letter was mailed to Mr. [redacted] residence encouraging him to keep the account current in order to avoid the need for a security deposit as he had two delinquent payments on the account. Unfortunately, APS received another delinquent payment in September 2014. Therefore, a second letter was mailed to Mr. [redacted] residence on October 1, 2014 informing him that due to another delinquency on his account, a security deposit of $460.00 was required and due on October 15, 2014. On October 14, 2014, a third party contacted APS to inquire about Mr. [redacted] account and was advised APS would need to speak to the customer of record in order to discuss the account. A deposit payment was not received so APS delivered a door hanger notice to Mr. [redacted] residence on October 17, 2014. The door hanger notice stated APS’s intent to disconnect service for non-payment if the deposit was not immediately paid.  Mr. [redacted] contacted APS on October 17, 2014 to inquire about the door hanger notice. APS advised Mr. [redacted] the door hanger was delivered to his residence due to the deposit payment not being received. APS further explained to Mr. [redacted] that the deposit is required to secure his account due to the multiple delinquencies on his account. In the spirit of customer service, APS offered to waive the deposit requirement on the condition the account remain current. Mr. [redacted] accepted APS’s offer.I contacted [redacted] on October 22, 2014 and offered to discuss his concerns. Mr. [redacted] indicated his concerns have been resolved and he has no further questions for APS. Again, thank you for the opportunity to address Mr. [redacted] concerns. Should you have any questions or if I may be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly at ###-###-####. Sincerely,  [redacted]APS Consumer Advocate  Cc:     [redacted]

Attn:  Dispute Resolution Consultant Re:     Complaint ID No. [redacted] / [redacted]  Dear Dispute Resolution Consultant: I have received your letter dated January 8, 2015 regarding the complaint from [redacted] and...

appreciate the opportunity to respond. At APS, we care about our customers and we value our relationship with them. Being able to resolve customer issues amicably is our goal and when any problem arises, we work hard to resolve it. As you know, APS is a regulated utility and as such, is bound by the rules and regulations approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). That said, APS works hard to balance the need for these rules and procedures while attempting to provide the highest possible quality of customer service. My investigation found that Ms. [redacted] made a payment of $50.00 on December 4, 2014 and on December 15, 2014 towards her APS Account. She made an additional payment of $25.00 on December 29, 2014. Ms. [redacted] makes her payments by using either the APS automated phone system (IVR) or the APS website. Therefore, Ms. [redacted] manually enters her payment information into the APS IVR or website.  Ms. [redacted] December payment in the amount of $25.00 was returned by her financial institution due to an invalid bank account number on January 2, 2015. As a result and in accordance with APS’s approved rules, Ms. [redacted] account was billed a returned check charge.  On January 2, 2015, Ms. [redacted] made a payment of $50.00 towards her account utilizing the APS website.  Ms. [redacted] contacted APS on January 3, 2015 and spoke with a supervisor to dispute the returned check and returned check charge. Ms. [redacted] indicated her bank did not have record of APS attempting to withdrawal the payment of $25.00 from her bank account. APS explained to her that her bank account does not reflect an attempt by APS because the bank account number she entered was inputted incorrectly. Therefore, her financial institution returned the payment and assessed a charge to APS which was passed on to her account. In the spirit of customer service, the APS supervisor agreed to remove the returned check charge from Ms. [redacted] account. I contacted [redacted] on January 13, 2015 to discuss her concerns. I provided Ms. [redacted] an overview of the payments made on her account. Ms. [redacted] then became very distraught and stated she feels APS is mishandling her funds which is the reason she contacted the [redacted]. I advised her I conducted a thorough investigation and found that her payments have been applied correctly towards her account. I offered to provide her with a statement of her account history which displays a breakdown of the payments and charges on her account. She declined my offer and stated she did not want to speak with me any further.  Again, thank you for the opportunity to address Ms. [redacted] concerns. Should you have any questions or if I may be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly at ###-###-####. Sincerely,   [redacted]APS Consumer Advocate   Cc:     [redacted]

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.
 

APS required me to gather account information to prove that they never attempted to draft a payment from my account which was rather time consuming but I was happy to comply. APS would not even acknowledge the fact that they could have made a mistake and remained indifferent about the fact that their policies are not customer friendly. I am waiting to find out if APS will accept the definitive proof that I have provided them showing that my bank has no record of an attempt by APS to draft payment from my account and that at any point in time there is more than sufficient funds available within my checking account to pay the bill that was due. This all comes back to the corporate culture within APS fosters an attitude that they are always right and can never make a mistake and that the customer is guilty until proven innocent. I was contacted by an [redacted] in APS's "customer relations" group which is very much a misnomer. She stated that she would follow up with me next Monday July 7th and give me the status of the information that I provided and whether or not that information in sufficient to warrant an exception to APS's archaic and unfriendly billing practices. The good part out of all of this is that APS has come to the table and has at least made an attempt at resolving my issue. The bad part is that I had to go to an extreme to get them to even talk. 

Regards,

I am so disappointed that APS is still not able to refund my additional payment sooner.  It has been outrageously long since they took the double payment and it has long ago cleared my credit union.  They should be paying me interest for as long as it has taken.  Being a senior, living on social security, this has been an extreme hardship on me.  My problems with APS started on May 16, when I ordered service from my home in California.  They kept rejecting my transactions, saying that I had provided them with the wrong account number, but NO ONE AT APS would give me an idea what was wrong...was it the Routing Number?  Was it a confused number?  I called and called many, many times in May and June, prior to arriving here, and asked if someone couldn't help me by telling me what was wrong....I was absolutely helpless...bad customer service, bad policies.

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

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I have attached a copy of the payment confirmation showing the payment was made on the account in the agreed upon time frame on 2/12/16. However, as of today 2/20/16 there has been no change on any of the 3 Credit Bureaus. I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved

Regards,

The billing and collection system used by APS is outdated and deceptive to its customers. My bill for services during June 2015 showed that I owed $391 to be paid by July 14th. Before drawing check from my checking account, on July 6th APS credited to my account a deposit of $400 as my account was in good standing and no longer required a deposit. Instead of using this $400 credit to settle my bill (as is usual and custom), APS decided to request a check from autopay on July 14th. When this check was returned, they charged a returned check fee, threatened me with having to make cash payments, and requested an alternate payment of $391! My account was never late and payment again resulted in a large credit with APS of ~$400.

This antiquated system of collection disservices customers, and allows APS to charge fees, even when accounts are not delinquent. Furthermore, their policy of threatening cash payments is childishly penal, making it harder for customers to pay, again feeding the late fee cycle. I can only assume that these practices are intentional. Whether fraudulent or not, in light of this company pouring millions of dollars in dark money into the [redacted] campaigns last year, it is not surprising that their business practices match their political strong-arming.

Beware!

This company lies and scams its customers. They add hidden fees, they are rude and they should not be in business any longer.

My mother-in-law passed away in early January. My husband and I paid the APS bill for the past 6 months while getting the house emptied, cleaned and ready to put on market. His mother was on the Equilizer plan so we were paying more than the utilities actually were for this period. So when the utilities were closed out of her name she had a refund of $459.49. Since my husband was not on the account, APS states they cannot make the refund in his name. My husband is the executor for her estate....still they cannot do it! This is unbelievable. Essentially if our bank will not deposit the check, APS has stolen $459.49 from us. We don't understand why APS cannot re-issue the check. John's mother had a refund coming from cancelled auto insurance policy and State Farm was able to do the name change with the proper documentation. My husband has spoken to 2 different customer service reps and same story. We are just simply very, very dis-satisfed with APS. If we had other options we would change utility companies!!!!!!!!! This is just unbelievable. In addition to this problem, we had changed the address to our names but for some odd reason we received a bill saying it was the final bill and the utilities were scheduled to be shut off on the 25th of July. Why would we get a final bill if the utilities were not shut off????

Living in an gated comunity in [redacted] Arizona, are they allowed to charge some of the people in the Park more than others for electric power?

Review: see Attached documentDesired Settlement: see Attached document

Business

Response:

Dear Sir or Madam, Again, thank you for the

opportunity to address Ms. [redacted] concerns. Should you have any questions or

if I may be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly at

the telephone number listed above.Sincerely,Traci D[redacted] APS Consumer Advocate

Review: APS has an equalizer plan where they can set a monthly payment. I have been having some financial troubles and they have gotten worse. With summer approaching I know my bill will be increasing. I requested to be put on the plan due to needing a fixed budget. I was informed I due not meet their requirements and no one would be able to offer me a set monthly amount. I have recently brought my account up to date but yes I have been late in the past and I have had my electric shut off. I can not believe that APS would not work with a customer asking for a fixed amount. No one who is having financial troubles will ever qualify for their equalizer plan they have it unattainable for those that really need it. I am not a new client, I have been with APS over 10 years. I would think they would be willing to work with me.Desired Settlement: All I want is to have my bills set on a plan so I know exactly what my monthly payment will be so that I can make arrangements while I am going through this hardship. If they can average out the annual amount that would be great.

Thank you for your time.

Business

Response:

Dear Ms. [redacted]: I have received your letter dated May 11, 2014 regarding the complaint from [redacted] and appreciate the opportunity to respond. At APS, we care about our customers and we value our relationship with them. Being able to resolve customer issues amicably is our goal and when any problem arises, we work hard to resolve it. APS understands that peace of mind is important to customers and that is why the Company developed the Equalizer Program. This program provides customers a convenient way to even out their energy bills so payments are approximately the same amount each month. The monthly payment amount is determined based on the average of the previous twelve electric bills, plus or minus any settle up balance. The Equalizer Program is a payment plan to be used as a budgeting tool and is not a cost savings plan. Therefore, there are requirements a customer must meet to become eligible to participate in the program. APS differs from many other businesses in that our product is consumed before it is purchased. It is important, in an effort to keep operating costs to a minimum, that payment is received as quickly as possible. Although the bill provides a past due date that is approximately ten days after the receipt, the bill is not considered delinquent until 25 days after the bill produces. As such, APS requires timely payments be made on an account in order to be eligible for the Equalizer Program. Additionally, a customer who has been disconnected for non-payment in the previous twelve months is not eligible for the program. My investigation found that Ms. [redacted] contacted APS on May 10, 2014 and inquired on participating in the Equalizer Program. APS advised Ms. [redacted] that she was not eligible to participate in the program due to her payment history and the disconnection of non-payment that occurred at her residence in October 2013. I spoke with Ms. [redacted] on May 14, 2014 and she explained to me she was hopeful to participate in the Equalizer Program to offset the high summer electric bills. Ms. [redacted] advised me she had an unexpected event take place which will cause some financial challenges for her. Therefore, she proactively contacted APS to enroll in Equalizer. As Ms. [redacted] is not currently eligible to participate in the Equalizer Program, I took this opportunity to educate her on the benefits of not participating in the program this summer. The benefit I believe to be the most advantageous to Ms. [redacted], is the payment arrangements that will be available to her if needed. APS offers payment arrangements to customers not enrolled in the Equalizer Program if they are experiencing a hardship and need additional time to pay their electric bill. That said, I offered to review Ms. [redacted]’s APS account in September 2014 and enroll her in the Equalizer Program as long as the electric service has not been disconnected for non-payment. Ms. [redacted] was appreciative of my offer and the information I provided. Again, thank you for the opportunity to address Ms. [redacted]’s concerns. Should you have any questions or if I may be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly at ###-###-####. Sincerely, [redacted]APS Consumer Advocate

Review: Paid bill online in September and believed that it went through. Received a bill in Oct. stating last month and this months bills needed to be paid, along with a late fee. Both were paid in full. Now receiving a shut-off notice for non-payment, unless a $460 deposit is paid. Second person listed on bill attempted to call and they refused to speak to her to resolve. Since bill was paid in full immediately, along with late fee; and an additional step of threatening to shut off power in an area where they hold a monopoly, our next step will be to call local news and see if they will pick up this story.

Hoping this company resolves this unethical business practice, before next steps need to be taken.Desired Settlement: Do not shut off electricity to a home where bill is paid in full (including clients already paying a late fee put in place to punish people), and remove bogus deposit requirement.

Business

Response:

Dear Dispute Resolution Consultant: I have received your letter dated October 17, 2014 regarding the complaint from [redacted] and appreciate the opportunity to respond. At APS, we care about our customers and we value our relationship with them. Being able to resolve customer issues amicably is our goal and when any problem arises, we work hard to resolve it. APS differs from many other businesses in that our product is consumed before it is purchased. It is important, in an effort to keep operating costs to a minimum, that payment is received as quickly as possible. Although the bill provides a past due date that is roughly 10 days after receipt, the bill is not considered delinquent until 25 days after the bill produces. Once a bill passes the 25th day without payment, we begin the collection process and late charges are assessed. If the account bills the following month with a delinquent balance still owing, a shut off notice will either print on the bill or be mailed separately to the residence. The shut off notice advises the customer that the delinquent balance must be paid by the shut off date or the service will be subject to disconnection for non-payment. This notice also encourages customers to contact APS and establish a payment arrangement if additional time is needed to pay to avoid disconnection. As you may know, APS is a regulated utility and is bound by the rules and regulations approved by the [redacted]). Through these rules and regulations, we have established deposit guidelines that are uniform and fair to all customers. These regulations state that APS may require a customer to establish or reestablish a security deposit if the service is disconnected for non-payment. It is important to note that security deposits are returned to residential customers once the account has had 12 months of service with no more than two late payments. I have investigated Mr. [redacted] concerns and have found that he established electric service solely in his name at [redacted] in [redacted] on November 27, 2013. APS did not require a security deposit from Mr. [redacted] at the time he established the service. On March 4, 2014, a letter was mailed to Mr. [redacted] residence encouraging him to keep the account current in order to avoid the need for a security deposit as he had two delinquent payments on the account. Unfortunately, APS received another delinquent payment in September 2014. Therefore, a second letter was mailed to Mr. [redacted] residence on October 1, 2014 informing him that due to another delinquency on his account, a security deposit of $460.00 was required and due on October 15, 2014. On October 14, 2014, a third party contacted APS to inquire about Mr. [redacted] account and was advised APS would need to speak to the customer of record in order to discuss the account. A deposit payment was not received so APS delivered a door hanger notice to Mr. [redacted] residence on October 17, 2014. The door hanger notice stated APS’s intent to disconnect service for non-payment if the deposit was not immediately paid. Mr. [redacted] contacted APS on October 17, 2014 to inquire about the door hanger notice. APS advised Mr. [redacted] the door hanger was delivered to his residence due to the deposit payment not being received. APS further explained to Mr. [redacted] that the deposit is required to secure his account due to the multiple delinquencies on his account. In the spirit of customer service, APS offered to waive the deposit requirement on the condition the account remain current. Mr. [redacted] accepted APS’s offer.I contacted [redacted] on October 22, 2014 and offered to discuss his concerns. Mr. [redacted] indicated his concerns have been resolved and he has no further questions for APS. Again, thank you for the opportunity to address Mr. [redacted] concerns. Should you have any questions or if I may be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly at ###-###-####. Sincerely, [redacted]APS Consumer Advocate Cc: [redacted]

Review: I currently spent over $150. for the month of December for electrict for a 800sq ft apartment with gas stove and hot water heater, only use of electric is lights which I did not have christmas lights or do I have washer and dyer in apartment for uses. I also paid $ 50.00 more in Janurary second so, that I would be caught until next pay day. This company has given me false information , phone call has been recorded of all the false information that was told about account information. Im suffering because im on a fixed income and I have talk to my bank because I was told at the beginning of my conversation with APS customer service representative that it was my bank fault which I called in view online that APS customer services and supervisor that were rude over the phone. I really need help is what I wanted the Mananger is the one who set up the pre paid account so, that I would stay on top of usage of electric and service with alerts reminders and call for any changes on account services.Desired Settlement: my account showing from when I spoke with one of aps representative Janurary 5 Monday , credit balance of 18.00 and 50.00 paid on Janurary 2,2015 one recieve, meaning posted on account, will bring account balance ia ro be $68.00 at that time, up to what ever should be taken out from the exact stating which is unknown because of false information starting the month of Decemebet until presently not correct balance is all wrong so, confusing information mishandle.

Business

Response:

Attn: Dispute Resolution Consultant Re: Complaint ID No. [redacted] / [redacted] Dear Dispute Resolution Consultant: I have received your letter dated January 8, 2015 regarding the complaint from [redacted] and appreciate the opportunity to respond. At APS, we care about our customers and we value our relationship with them. Being able to resolve customer issues amicably is our goal and when any problem arises, we work hard to resolve it. As you know, APS is a regulated utility and as such, is bound by the rules and regulations approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). That said, APS works hard to balance the need for these rules and procedures while attempting to provide the highest possible quality of customer service. My investigation found that Ms. [redacted] made a payment of $50.00 on December 4, 2014 and on December 15, 2014 towards her APS Account. She made an additional payment of $25.00 on December 29, 2014. Ms. [redacted] makes her payments by using either the APS automated phone system (IVR) or the APS website. Therefore, Ms. [redacted] manually enters her payment information into the APS IVR or website. Ms. [redacted] December payment in the amount of $25.00 was returned by her financial institution due to an invalid bank account number on January 2, 2015. As a result and in accordance with APS’s approved rules, Ms. [redacted] account was billed a returned check charge. On January 2, 2015, Ms. [redacted] made a payment of $50.00 towards her account utilizing the APS website. Ms. [redacted] contacted APS on January 3, 2015 and spoke with a supervisor to dispute the returned check and returned check charge. Ms. [redacted] indicated her bank did not have record of APS attempting to withdrawal the payment of $25.00 from her bank account. APS explained to her that her bank account does not reflect an attempt by APS because the bank account number she entered was inputted incorrectly. Therefore, her financial institution returned the payment and assessed a charge to APS which was passed on to her account. In the spirit of customer service, the APS supervisor agreed to remove the returned check charge from Ms. [redacted] account. I contacted [redacted] on January 13, 2015 to discuss her concerns. I provided Ms. [redacted] an overview of the payments made on her account. Ms. [redacted] then became very distraught and stated she feels APS is mishandling her funds which is the reason she contacted the [redacted]. I advised her I conducted a thorough investigation and found that her payments have been applied correctly towards her account. I offered to provide her with a statement of her account history which displays a breakdown of the payments and charges on her account. She declined my offer and stated she did not want to speak with me any further. Again, thank you for the opportunity to address Ms. [redacted] concerns. Should you have any questions or if I may be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly at ###-###-####. Sincerely, [redacted]APS Consumer Advocate Cc: [redacted]

Review: I have paid my bill religiously and perfectly on my property. On September's bill, it noted that I back owed $1079 with no explanation. After contacting APS, they told me they had screwed up for several years and were actually billing me for a different unit and not my own and they were going to back bill me for previous charges. Huh? I informed them that I have copies of all my bills, all show that the meter is attached to my address and I've paid all those bills 100%. They told me it doesn't matter, that it was a mistake on their end and I owe them the money. They sent me a copy of bills from another meter that they say is mine and claim that's proof of my charges. I explained I have the same set of bills that shows different charges for my address, so how do I know what is true.

Either way, I let them know that I bill my tenants based on charges, as well as file my taxes based on profit/loss statements on this property. So, if they were able to prove they screwed up, the ripple affect of charges and damages to me for their error are significant. I would have no way of re-charging past tenants for their errors, this would also require I pay an employee to refile for everyone and then attempt to collect. In addition, I will have to have my attorney re-do the 2013 tax filing for this property, as well as amend my personal taxes. The damages I will incur from their admitted error, if real, would incur more damages than the original amount.Desired Settlement: Option 1: They can honor the billing they have been sending and I have been paying for the past 12 months, eliminating their attempt to, likely falsely, adjust my past bills.

Option 2: If they can prove the statements I've received for the last 12 months are false, they need to reimburse me for the financial damages I will incur from their admitted error, which I estimate between collections, [redacted]ountant billing, likely uncollectible losses and my own billing time…to be in the neighborhood of $[redacted]0 to right this error. If they choose to go this route, depending on the actual time spent, I will have to bill at $500 an hour for my time, which is my verifiable hourly fee for contract work.

Business

Response:

I have received your letter dated September 19, 2014 regarding the complaint from [redacted] and appreciate the opportunity to respond.

At APS, we care about our customers and we value our relationship with them. Being able to resolve customer issues amicably is our goal and when any problem arises, we work hard to resolve it.

I have investigated Mr. [redacted]’s concerns and have found that he established electric service to his property located at [redacted] on November 22, 2011. In August 2014, APS inspected the meter providing service to Mr. [redacted]’s property and a neighboring property. APS found the meter providing service to Mr. [redacted]’s property was truly providing service to the neighboring property and vice versa. Therefore, APS made the appropriate adjustments and notified the appropriate department within APS to correct Mr. [redacted]’s and the neighboring property’s billing.

On September 11, 2014, APS completed the corrections to Mr. [redacted]’s billing. Although the switched meters had occurred from the time Mr. [redacted] established service, APS only corrected his billing for the prior 12 months as a courtesy to Mr. [redacted]. This correction resulted in additional charges to Mr. [redacted] in the amount of $890.03. Additionally, APS has placed a collection hold on the [redacted]ount allowing Mr. [redacted] until September 29, 2015 to pay the rebilled charges.

I contacted Mr. [redacted] on September 25, 2014 to discuss his concerns and he requested I contact him again on October 1, 2014 as that is when he returns home from out of town. I will be happy to contact Mr. [redacted] again on October 1, 2014 to discuss his concerns.

Again, thank you for the opportunity to address Mr. [redacted]’s concerns. Should you have any questions or if I may be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly at ([redacted].

Sincerely,

APS Consumer Advocate

Consumer

Response:

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.

The APS Agent that said she would contact me on Wednesday, October 2nd, to discuss this matter did not attempt to contact me as agreed.

I still do not [redacted]ept their explanation of "they've been billing me for the wrong unit for 3 years" and now they are going to back charge me for previous charges. I've paid my bills, as sent, reflecting my address and have stayed current during all of this time. As far as I'm concerned, I'm paid in full [redacted]ording to my billing and records.

I again request that APS discontinue this harassment over their own alleged errors. This has now gone on for 90 minutes of my time to deal with their alleged error to which I will be billing for my time. Continued time spent will be billed at my posted rate of $500/hr.

Regards,

Business

Response:

I have received your most recent letter dated October 7, 2014 regarding the complaint for [redacted] and appreciate the opportunity to respond.

As you may know, APS is a regulated utility and is bound by the rules approved by the [redacted]). These rules, known as Service Schedule 1 “Terms and Conditions for Standard Offer and Direct access Services” state that when an error is found to exist in the billing rendered to the customer, APS may correct the error and recover or refund the difference between the original billing and the correct billing. In accordance with this rule, APS corrected an error which caused Mr. [redacted] to receive bills for energy consumption recorded by a neighboring meter in August 2014 and issued him a corrected bill on September 11, 2014. The corrected bill included rebilled charges from August 2013 through August 2014 and resulted in additional charges totaling $890.03.

APS understands the inconvenience a customer endures when receiving a corrected bill such as Mr. [redacted] has and therefore, APS provides customers an equal length of time (number of months) to pay the rebilled charges. Although the error in Mr. [redacted]’s billing began at the time he established the service in November 2011, APS only corrected his billing for the prior 12 months and is providing him 12 months to pay the rebilled charges. APS has placed a collection hold on Mr. [redacted]’s account allowing him until September 29, 2015 to pay the balance of $890.03.

At Mr. [redacted]’s request, I contacted him twice on October 1, 2014 to discuss his concerns and each time I received a fax tone. Therefore, I was unable to speak with him or leave a message. I successfully contacted Mr. [redacted] on October 13, 2014 and discussed his concerns. Mr. [redacted] requested APS honor the original bills sent to him and not hold him responsible for the rebilled charges. He stated his belief that because the original bills listed his name and the correct address on them that APS cannot revise these bills due to an APS error. I attempted to explain to Mr. [redacted] that APS can make corrections to bills when an error is discovered. APS has an obligation to bill a customer for their actual energy consumption, including correctly billing a customer for their actual consumption when an error is found that caused them not to receive a bill for their actual energy consumption.

Thank you again for the opportunity to address Mr. [redacted]’s concerns. Should you have any questions or if I may be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly at ([redacted].

Sincerely,

APS Consumer Advocate

APS took 52 days from the date of inspection to connect me to my solar grid. It took the technician under 10 minutes to perform this procedure. I can only wonder why it took so long? Was it the fact that I was going to be sending them less money or the fact that I didn't go through their suppliers services? This timeline does not seem reasonable to me. I did not contact the company through the course of this in fear that it would only extend the time line. I am at the mercy of the supplier due to the location of my home.

Current customer of Aps. They shut off power to my home in dead summer in Arizona. Climates reach well into the 100+ degrees daily. My bill is current and up to date. I called Aps they confirmed my bill was paid in full and up to date. But states because there was never a deposit on the account they shut my power off. And are now asking for a $380.00 deposit.

I have a newborn baby at home and I'm curious to see what Aps will do to resolve this issue. Going to contact an attorney if this issue is not resolved today.

Review: I signed up for the E3 program with APS and approved. From 8/14/13 to 8/30/13 I had service #[redacted] at the above address. I did not get the 65% off my service and APS charged me way too much for taxes and other junk fees, I never agreed to. I need an extension to pay for I just got a new job, I don't get paid until the 20th.Desired Settlement: A credit for the % due to me E3 and crdit for junk fees on my bill. Send corrected billl to : [redacted].

Business

Response:

My electric bill came at the beginning of December, I couldn't pay out until the next Friday when I got paid. It turned out it was a shut of notice and they turned my power off. That was my bad not opening up my bill on time. Note I have been a customer for over 6 years and this id's the first time I have had a hic-up like this. So I call and see what I have to do to get my power back on and all that fun stuff. All the sudden I owe over 800 dollars, because I was on the equalizer plan and was on the hole. Ok fine, I ask if I can make payments because I couldn't pay that in full and my rent at the same time. They transfer me and we make payment arrangements, 3 payments every 2 weeks in the month of January. That's kinda fuct up to all want it all in the same month but I wanted to get the payments over with as soon as possible too. So I made all of the payments on time according to our agreement. Then they shut of pin power yet again. They say I owe a $495 dollar deposite and they stmt a notice about it. I tell them I made payment arrangements because I could afford to pay all this money at 1 time. Why didn't they tell me about this deposite [redacted] then? Oh that's right so they can add on another fee for turning it back on. I hate APS and I always ask them if there is another electric company I can go through. They are a very corrupt company, and all about profit. They put in requested every year asking to raise rates on consumers just so they can profit. If they have equipment damaged by mother nature they make sure that expense gets passed on to the consumer so they can profit. [redacted] is the best they are humane and they work with you without sliding surprise fees and huge deposites because they are integral and truly want to do good. Unfortunately APS has monopolized certain areas and there is no choice except to move to a area where electricity is supplied by the only electric company with integrity [redacted].

They have lost many payments that me and my family have made..and demand more, they have threatened to turn off our power..but yet we have payed every month.

Review: In the past two months my power has gone out seven times for a duration of two minutes to an hour. This happens when we get wind or rain.When I called today on 09/04/2014 I was told that they saw all of my outages but that it was just unpredictable. I then asked to talk to a supervisor and was left on hold and then hung up on.Desired Settlement: I think they need to better the service being that I don't have the option to change providers. They also should compensate me by crediting my bill for the inconvenience.

Business

Response:

I have received your letter dated September 12, 2014 regarding the complaint from [redacted] and appreciate the opportunity to respond.

At APS, we care about our customers and we value our relationship with them. Being able to resolve customer issues amicably is our goal and when any problem arises, we work hard to resolve it.

I have investigated Mr. [redacted]’s concerns regarding the power outages he has experienced at his home located at [redacted] in the previous two months. I found that all of the power outages Mr. [redacted] experienced in the past two months were due to inclement weather such as storms. APS makes every effort to provide continuous electrical service to our customers. However, it is not always possible as elements beyond our control have a direct relationship in affecting electrical service.

While APS realizes the inconvenience our customers endure during power outages, APS’s approved rules and regulations, known as Service Schedule 1, Terms and Conditions for Standard Offer and Direct Access Services Section 5.3.1 states, “Company shall not be liable to the Customer for any damages occasioned by Load Serving ESP’s equipment or failure to perform, fluctuations, interruptions or curtailment of electric service, except where due to Company’s willful misconduct or gross negligence.”

I called Mr. [redacted] on September 19, 2014 to discuss his concerns and left a message. I will be happy to discuss Mr. [redacted]’s concerns if he would like to contact me directly at (602) 250-2280.

Again, thank you for the opportunity to address Mr. [redacted]’s concerns. Should you have any questions or if I may be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me at the telephone number listed above.

Sincerely

APS Consumer Advocate

Consumer

Response:

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.

This is my problem, APS thinks they are not liable for a failure of APS equipment that results in my family and I powerless during any high winds and storms. It' a shame I don't have the option to change providers due to the failed service they provide at a premium price.

Regards,

Business

Response:

I have received your most recent letter dated September 20, 2014 regarding the complaint for [redacted] and appreciate the opportunity to respond.

APS certainly understands the impact power outages have on our customers and their families. As one can imagine, power outages are an inconvenience to APS as well. While it is impossible to guarantee uninterrupted service to our customers. APS is continually evaluating our entire system by performing systematic patrols and making necessary improvements in order to prevent outages and provide our customers with the best quality service possible.

Thank you for the opportunity to address Mr. [redacted]’s concerns. Should you have any questions or if I may be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly at ([redacted].

Sincerely,

APS Consumer Advocate