Communications Electronics, Inc.

Southside Electric Cooperative reply to consumer compliant *** On *** ** ***, *** *** and *** *** (the members) initiated a membership with Southside Electric Cooperative (SEC). At the time, their credit rating required a deposit which utilizing the
kilowatt/hour usage at the location was established at ***. The applicants agreed to the terms of acquiring service and SEC agreed to split the security deposit into * installments, with the first installment (***) payable at that timeOn *** * ***, The *** *** *** *** (***) delivered the member’s monthly bill to SEC as undeliverable due to “No Mail Receptacle”. SEC inadvertently re-mailed the bill to an incorrect addressOn *** ***, the *** returned the bill as undeliverableOn *** *** SEC called the members in regards to the unpaid bill and as courtesy disconnection notice. Upon calling the number provided by the members (***), we were informed via recorded message from the member’s phone provider, that the number was “temporarily out of service”On *** ***, having exhausted all known contact options provided by the members, SEC disconnected service for nonpayment The members account was closed and a final bill sent for *** for unpaid energy usage*** *** contacted SEC on *** and began a dialogue, in which the address was corrected and the members provided us with an in-service phone numberThe members account was reopened and the power reconnected on ***. At that time, they were billed for ***. This included the *** for energy, *** for security deposit (*** of *** total), *** for the membership fee, *** for connect fee and *** late fee In acknowledging that both the members and SEC made errors that resulted in the bill not being delivered, I have agreed to waive the fee of ***, the connection fee of *** and I will lower the security deposit from *** to *** The Department of Social Services has pledged *** towards the bill and the members have also received *** in state cooling assistance. SEC received a payment of *** from DSS, so the members currently have $23*** in pledged support from DSS and *** in state cooling funds for a total of $*** in assistanceWhen the members get their bill in ***, they will be billed for the remainder of their electric usage which is ***, their member fee of *** and the deposit, for a previous amount of $***. If the state cooling funds and the DSS pledge are honored, that amount will be paid by those assistance funds and the members will have a credit balance of $*** that will be added to the current bill for electric usage from *** * thru the next bill calculation date (should be *** *)Today, I called and spoke to *** ***, I apologized for the address error and the disconnection of service. We reviewed all the issues with the account. He stated that he is OK with the previously stated arrangement. I have provided him with my direct phone number and asked him to contact me when he gets his next bill in *** and he said he will

We have contacted Ms. [redacted] and gone over her account. We have agreed to lower her monthly budget amount to 140.00 and she has agreed to that plan.  We have also offered to change her billing cycle date and have kept an open dialogue with her to provide the best possible assistance.  Per...

her conversation with Supervisor [redacted], she seems satisfied with our actions to address her concerns.

Member was reconnected the same day (12/29).  Amount to be reconnected at that time was [redacted], which included the past due bill of [redacted] and associated fees, including a $** collection fee, a $**.00 reconnect fee and a security deposit installment of [redacted].  As a courtesy, SEC reconnected...

the service for the [redacted] and agreed to bill out the associated fees.  The notes on the account do not discuss payment of the current bill.

Per SEC records, Ms. [redacted] initiated service with SEC in
1995.  Her signed member application contains the correct address and SSN
for Ms. [redacted].   We spoke to Ms. [redacted] on Dec 30 2016 and informed
her of the amount due.  On Feb 22, 2017, we faxed her the...

documentation
supporting her outstanding bill.  This information was faxed to her at [redacted].  SEC's Terms and conditions state:IV. REQUIREMENTS FOR
SECURING ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTIONSERVICEA.…Any person or entity owing a debt to the
Cooperative shall not be allowed to join in the Cooperative or
receive service from the Cooperative until the debt has been paid in full or
arrangements satisfactory to the Cooperative have been made for
the satisfaction of the outstanding
debt.In our opinion, member debt
to the cooperative for service provided never expires unless properly
discharged by a bankruptcy court. As we understand it, the statute of
limitations for debt applies to contacting individuals for debt collection purposes
or suing for debt. SEC is doing neither.Any individual who wants to establish
service at this location is welcome to apply. 
All applicants are required to undergo an ID check and may be required
to pay a security deposit. SEC may also require the applicant to present a
genuine lease agreement or like document that indicates they or those listed in
the documentation are the sole occupant/s of that location.