Emigrant Funding Corporation

On June 28th, the customer contacted Citizens to start service and was advised a deposit would be required up front to start service in his nameThe customer stated Citizens was out to disconnect the service and he asked for extension until June 30th, the request was deniedOn Sept 5th, the next
contact (outbound call, generated from a callback request), the customer called for new service advising he moved in during the month of MayThe customer never called back to make the payment and put service in his nameCitizens showed the service was inactive due to the June disconnectionThe customer was advised of $of unauthorized usage, plus a lock fee and $deposit and $reconnection fee for a total of $for water only to put the service in his nameThese were charges incurred while he was living at the propertyCustomer stated he thought his landlord should have communicated disconnection to himThe customer was advised that same day orders are very limited and to call us back immediately after the payment was made to schedule turn on orderThe customer questioned the deposit and reconnections fee and the representative provided an explanation of the required feesOn Sept 6th 1st representative, the customer called stating he was waiting for Citizens to restore service and that he called to report the confirmation number, but was waiting for a call backThe representative advised that there was no notification the payment was received and that an order can be placed for the next dayThe customer was also advised that the amount received was for water onlyThe customer stated that service was supposed to stay in the landlords name, but now he is required to start serviceThe representative placed an order to turn on the water serviceThe customer advised of leaking valve in the meter pitCustomer was transferred to a senior representative On Sept 6th - 2nd a senior representative, the customer states that on September 5th the representative did not state the amount was for water onlyThe call was reviewed by a supervisor who confirmed the representative provided the customer with the amount to restore the water service onlyThe customer stated he wanted the water deposit back so that it can be used to start the gas serviceThe representative advised the deposit of $would be required to start the gas service, but the representative was able to lower the gas deposit for the customer to $150.00, but the water deposit would not be reversedThe customer was advised Contact Center opens at 7am and to call as early as possible to report that he paid the depositOn Sept 7th, the customer call to report that the service line was leakingAn order was placed and Citizens found the curb box in the street was leakingThe technician cleaned the curb box, turned the service on for the customerAn order was scheduled for the address to repair the leakThe leak was prior to the meter, so the usage didn’t register on the customer’s meter or increase the customer’s billThere were no delays found in the Citizens Energy Group processThe customer was advised of each required step to start serviceCustomers can select a callback from a representative when calling CitizensCallbacks are handled in the same manner as a regular callOnce a callback is selected by the customer, the customer’s call is held in place in the same order it was received and a representative will call the customer backAll interactions are monitored closely and we were able to verify the customer did place one request for a call back on September 5th and a representative called the customer backNo other requests for a callbacks were foundAt this time, the water service has been restored and the leak repairedTo restore the gas service the deposit amount of $is required, which was lowered from $Deposits are refundable after making consecutive payments as outlined by Citizens Energy Group terms and conditions

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that the response would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
I was told by your agent Kim that the meter itself was defective ( I have a voicemail confirming this)Now it seems the story is changingYou continue to dodge a very simple questionWill you submit to binding arbitration on this issue?
Regards,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that the response would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
Regards,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that the response would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
The water leading to the toilet was shut off from the valve for those monthsI don't believe the toilet had any large contributory factors with the usage because I have toilets in my house and have not used that toilet for monthsThe toilet flap was not sealing tightly, and the inner working parts were oldI purchased the replacement parts in Oct or Nov and the parts were replaced while I was on vacation some time within the above mentioned dates Nothing changed in my house to increase the use 2x the rateI have one person in my household and to use in a billing cycle is unheard ofI don't have any water around my house where is all that water? My summer bills are not this high and I really use extra water for my grassThe only thing that changed during the month of December was a water main broke in a connecting PUDBut this should have not affected my billI know someone had to pay for the spillage was it me? Regards,
***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made
by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have met with Citizens Energy Group representatives.I am still leery as we have only traded words at this point.I am told I will have the solution we described in words within to weeks.I know I am to make a decision through the Revdex.com in a time frame sooner than this.Can the time frame to accept the solution be extended until confirmation is received?Please let me know
Regards,
*** ***

Customer received a disconnect notice on the 6/7/bill requiring a minimum payment of $or the service could be turned off without further noticeThe payment was not made and the water service was disconnected on 6/19/Customer called on 6/20/and was quoted a deposit for $
and reconnection fee of $25.00along with the past due balance in order to restore serviceDeposit RequirementsIn accordance with the Commissions’ Rules pursuant to IAC 6-et al, the Utility may require a Residential Customer or Applicant to pay a cash deposit as a condition of receiving or continuing to receive water service, if the Utility determines that the Residential Customer or Applicant is not creditworthy in accordance with the Commission’s Rules set forth in IAC 6-1-(as the same may be amended from time to time)The Utility may require non-Residential Customers or Applicants for water services who are determined to be uncreditworthy to make a cash deposit at any time to assure payment of bills, and as a condition of receiving or continuing to receive water servicesA non-Residential Customer shall be deemed creditworthy if it has no delinquent bills to the Utility for water services within the last twenty-four (24) months and, within the last two (2) years has not: (a) had service disconnected for nonpayment or (b) filed a voluntary petition, has a pending petition, or has an involuntary petition filed against it, under any bankruptcy or insolvency lawFor purposes of this determination, a contested bill shall not be considered delinquentReconnectionAfter disconnection of water service to a Premises in accordance with these rules, the Utility will reconnect the service to a Premises as soon as reasonably possible, but at least within one (1) working day after it is requested to do so, if: (1) all conditions, circumstances or practices which caused the disconnection have been corrected, (2) all unpaid bills for water or sewage disposal service have been paid, (3) the deposit, if required by the Utility in accordance with Rule above, hasbeen made by the Customer RECONNECTION CHARGE: $per reconnection In addition to the cost of excavation, after any water service is discontinued to any Customer serviced by the Utility for any reason, whether at the request of the Customer, or because of failure to pay water or sewage disposal service bills, there shall be imposed a charge for turning on the water service The deposit and reconnection charges were billed appropriately.The wastewater rate structure is such that the wastewater charges may be higher than the water chargesWater and Wastewater rates can be found on the Citizens Energy Group website

The customer contacted Citizens Energy Group via Customer Chat on April 6, 2017.  During the interaction, a payment arrangement was agreed upon and the terms of the arrangement we’re explained to the customer.  We advised the services would go into an Immediate Disconnect status without...

further notice if the payment arrangement defaulted.  After a couple of on time payments, the payment arrangement defaulted on July 10, 2017 due to the customer missing the payment due date on July 6, 2017.
 
The customer continued to have services after July 6th until the gas and water services were disconnected on July 28, 2017. Citizens quoted the customer the minimum amount due to restore the water portion of the account because the customer communicated they were unable to pay the total bill. Citizens had a thorough conversation with the customer related to the deposit and the reason a deposit was required and what the process was for refunding paid deposits. The customer has paid the bill and the services have been restored as of August 2, 2017.
 
With regards to the differences in due dates, Citizens has been unable to recreate the scenario the customer mentioned, but we will continue to look into and know if there is such error, we will take corrective action. In the meantime, due to the inconvenience this may have caused, Citizens has agreed to remove the deposit on the account.

Revdex.com:
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 would also like to add that I am very impressed by Randy's professionalism and the company making it a priority to service their customers. Thank you for your time.
Regards,
[redacted]

Mr. [redacted] was contacted by Citizens Energy Group by letter requesting access to change the meter due to the meter not registering usage. The customer contacted Citizens Energy Group on February 9, 2017 to schedule the meter change.  Citizens Energy Group completed the order on February...

20, 2017.  Mr. [redacted] contacted Citizens Energy Group on February 23, 2017 stating our service person changed the yoke and transmitter.  Customer states the valve before the yolk is now leaking continually and that there was water everywhere when our service person left.  We asked if there was damage and the customer stated it was down to a drip and 2x4’s and towels are under it, but was unable to fix it because he was unable to shut the water off.  We sent a leak order on February 23, 2017 and identified the Stop and Waste valve was leaking.  We attempted to leave a caution tag (which notifies the customer of said issue in writing) but the customer would not accept the tag. We recently spoke with the technician who changed the meter on February 20, 2017 and he indicated the meter was changed and touchpad removed from the outside of the house.  The yoke was not changed during the visit and there was no leak before or after completing the order.  The customer may file a claim with Citizens Energy Group and the claim will be handled by our claims department, however based on the information provided by the service technician that visited the home as well as the terms and conditions , the repair of the Stop and Waste valve is the responsibility of the customer, see below.  As indicated below in rule 7.1 of Citizens Energy Group’s Terms and Conditions, Citizens Energy Group owns the meter and the customer owns and must maintain, purchase, install all meter pit facilities.  The customer is responsible for repairing any leaks on their portion of the service line (from the property line into the customer’s home).  7.1 Ownership and Size of Meter and Pit. All Meters shall be owned, installed, removed and maintained by the Utility. The Utility shall determine the kind and size of Meter to be used in connection with any Service Pipe. Except as provided in Rule 7.3, all Meter pits, Meter pit covers and other materials comprising the Meter pit facilities shall be purchased, owned, installed, removed, and maintained in a safe manner by the Customer. Repair to or replacement of missing or damaged Meter pit lids for public safety reasons shall be made by the Utility, but at the Customer’s expense. Each Customer shall pay a fee for installing a Meter as set forth in Appendix A of the Utility’s Rate Schedules.

I apologize for the delay.  We received a request from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission as well for this customer.   We responded to the IURC as follows:  Ms. [redacted] contacted us on 1/23/2017 to inquire about the increase in usage for her water bill.  Ms....

[redacted] indicated she was out of her home beginning on 12/29/2016 and for the entire month of January (billing period 12/14/2016 - 1/16/2017).  Ms. [redacted] indicated her toilet has been running for months.  The bill was estimated in December due to snow covering her pit.  Ms. [redacted] typically averages 4-5 units per month.  We estimated her to use 3.64 units in December.  When we read the meter in January it's possible she was being billed the difference of what was underestimated in December due to a possible running toilet.  Ms. [redacted] also mentioned she recently had the toilet repaired while she was gone in the month of January.  We read the meter 1/16/2017 and also re-read the meter for the customer on 1/24/2017 and the reading was correct.  If the toilet was running and now has been repaired she should see a decrease in her water bill.Sincerely,Randy

The customer had higher usage in the May 2017 billing period, usage of 21.07, the February 2017 billing period, usage of 8.4, and the September 2016 billing period, usage of 15.63.  In looking at historical usage, the customer recently used between 2 and 3 consumption per month. With the...

sporadic spikes, it’s typical of an issue with a toilet.  Sometime a flapper goes bad or the handled needs to be replaced or adjusted on the toilet.  Even the slighted malfunction can cause an increase in the bill.
 
The customer indicated he had a plumbers check the property for leaks and found none.  If it’s a toilet leak, the handle can stick and the toilet run for several hours or days until the toilet is used again or someone moves the handle.  Not all plumbers find this because it happens sporadic when the plumber isn’t present.  To avoid future fluctuations, they customer may want to replace the interworking of the toilets.  This will help with those sporadic spikes in water consumption.
 
We did send someone to chagne the meter and replace it with a new meter.  After the meter was changed, we tested the original water meter and found it was under registering the actual usage that was used by the household.  This indicates the customer’s bill would have been a lot higher if the meter had been working properly, but it continued to under register what was actually used by the household. 
 
When a water meter goes bad, the register function will slow down or it will stop working all together.  Rarely does a meter speed up or over charge.  In looking at the usage prior to September 2016, there are many months when any water usage showed on the water meter.  A typical person can use between 3 to 4 consumption of water per month.  In this case, there were many months where less than 1 consumption used for the household.

We contacted Ms. [redacted] and discussed the account with her.  Assistance was applied to the account in February and when we spoke with her in April we incorrectly indicated additional assistance would be applied.  We worked with Ms. [redacted] and placed her account of budget.  We paid the...

first budget payment of $41.33 for the customer as a service recovery.  Ms. [redacted] indicated she was happy with the resolution.
Sincerely,
Randy

We have verified the customer's concern and found an error was made when the representative made the work order to restore the service causing the restoration of service to be delayed. Please know Citizens Energy Group takes the customer's concerns seriously and are taking steps to ensure error...

don’t continue to occur. We appreciate the customer notifying us of the error and a supervisor has already spoken with the customer, but plan to following up again on August 21st. Due to the error and for the customer’s inconvenience during this time, Citizens Energy Group has also processed an adjustment to the customer’s account.

The account and consumption history for Ms. [redacted] at [redacted] was reviewed in early 2016.  Service was started September 5, 2015 and used 20 CCF's on average per month.  On November 20, 2015 we advised of leak testing techniques for the meter and toilets.  On February 24,...

2016 we sent a letter to Ms. [redacted] notifying her of the need to change the meter to an electronic reading device meter due to a stuck pit lid causing difficulty accessing the meter.  On March 1, 2016 an order was placed to change the meter and was completed on March 8, 2016.  The technician accessed the pit and found water in the pit and pumped the pit out to access the meter finding a gasket leaking on the meter.  The technician repaired it as a courtesy.  On March 24, 2016 an underground leak adjustment for 3 billing cycles was completed (normally calculated on 2 billing cycles but due to an estimate increased to 3) for the account.  The adjustment applied to the account for $288.22 was based on our Terms and Conditions.The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission also received a complaint concerning this location and ruled the issue unjustified.  We have followed the Terms and Conditions and provided the appropriate adjustment I believe.Sincerely,Randy

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined the response would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Both in February and March, I did not receive an e-mailed bill prior to the due date. They keep showing system screenprints. The only way I viewed my bill was by going out online. The only one they show a copy of is the one they sent 3/20, after I paid it, and well after the 3/1 date when I should have received it.  The issue seems to have been resolved as of April, but I am tired of them acting like I am crazy and got a bill those months (when the statement should have been sent), when I didn't. I have yet for them to confirm what the issue was and acknowledge that indeed, though the system shows it, I never was sent one.
Regards,
[redacted]

I spoke with [redacted] and explained we show two recent payments returned by the banking institution indicating no account found.  It appears some information was incorrect and/or missing.  We discussed the deposit charged to the account due to the returned items and I agreed to remove the...

deposit for $50 at the new location and credit the return fees.  The deposit has been removed and a credit of $25 has been applied to the old account leaving a current balance of $42.09.  A final bill will print once services are removed from the customers name on 9/1/15 with additional charges.[redacted] agreed with the adjustment and indicated this would take care of her issue.Sincerely,Randy

We were able to review the content of the original call from Mr. [redacted] that was made to our office made on September 23, 2016. Mr. [redacted] called to discuss concerns of not receiving a timely bill from Citizens Energy Group. We found the account showed an old mailing address for Mr. [redacted] and he...

was not receiving the bills timely. The representative updated the mailing address immediately and advised Mr. [redacted] that she would remove the late fee that had accrued on his account. The reversal of the late fee of $9.89 was completed the same day. Mr. [redacted] then discussed any available options to help him in paying the balance due for his account. The representative provided two different payment agreements that were available. • Option 1-an agreement that was $60 a month, plus the current bill, which would be due by the due date on the bill. An initial down payment of $60 would be required to start the payment agreement. • Option 2-an agreement that includes the estimated future charges for the account plus the past due amount spread out over several months. With this type of agreement the customer determines the due date and the amount due is the same amount each month until the account balance reaches zero. An initial down payment of $60 would be required to start the payment agreement. Mr. [redacted] agreed and selected option 2, so we explained the following steps in the process for the payment agreement: • the initial down payment of $60 would need to be paid the same day to ensure the agreement is active • the monthly payments would be $167 per month for a 7 month period • even though he would receive a regular monthly bill from Citizens showing current charges, he should continue to pay the agreement amount until the account was paid in full • the payment agreement would expire in April 2016 or sooner should the account balance reach zero • the due date and duration of payments (bi-weekly or monthly payments), which was selected by the customer, would be due on the 15th of each month and the payments would be scheduled to be made on a monthly basis • after the initial down payment of $60 due on September 23, 2016, the next payment would be due on October 15, 2016 Our records indicate the initial down payment commitment of $60 wasn’t paid by the due date of September 23, 2015, so the payment agreement wasn’t honored. Mr. [redacted] did make a payment of $100, but the payment wasn’t received until October 2, 2015. When we spoke with Mr. [redacted] today (June 3, 2016), he indicated that Citizens Energy Group intentionally held his payment and caused it to be delayed. We explained holding payments goes against Citizens Energy Group’s practices and that payments are not handled in our office, but rather a processing center and it would be impossible to single out one payment. Today during our discussion with Mr. [redacted], we offered to waive 3-months of the late fees billed to his account as a one-time courtesy. The credit is for the amount of $9.81. Mr. [redacted] disconnected the call. We have honored our commitment of waiving the late fees and processed an adjustment to his account for $9.81. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you

Citizens Energy Group has verified the customer’s e-bill for March was generated on 3/01/2018 and was sent to the email address on file [redacted].  Attached are the records showing the date and times the March and April e-bills were sent.   For March, Citizens shows the...

e-bill was sent on 3/02/18 at 12:06 p.m. and the delivery status shows that someone using the listed email address opened the email.  We have also included the message that was sent with the March e-bill.  On 3/20/2018, a duplicate email and e-bill were sent to the customer per her request.    For April, the billing date for the account was 4/02/2018.  After Citizens generates a billing, the bills then goes through a validation process to ensure the bills are accurate prior to mailing/emailing them no later than the next business day.  In this case, the bills were released for mailing/emailing the morning of 4/03/2018 and the customer received the e-bill on 4/03/2018 at 11:07 a.m.  Citizens believe that it was a coincidence that the customer called about the same time that the e-bill was sent.  Also know that our Contact Center Representatives/Supervisors have no way to interfere with the external automated process used for the e-bills.

The customer’s water meter is inside the home and Citizens uses a remote reading device that transmits the reading from the meter inside the home to the outside of the home. Since April 2017, Citizens has been unable to obtain a reading from the meter reading device due it being broken. When we are...

unable to read the device or meter, Citizens will estimate the customer’s usage and send a letter to the customer asking them to contact our office with a date and time that is convenient for them to schedule a repair as the customer must be present while Citizens makes the repair. Citizens sent the customer two letters to make them aware of the situation and the need to make an appointment to correct the condition. The first letter was mailed on 8/4/2017 and the second letter was mailed on 9/1/2017. If the customer fails to contact us after the first letter, the second letter will include a notice of disconnection for the impacted service. The customer failed to contact us to schedule an appointment and the water service was disconnected on September 19th. After the service was disconnected, the customer contacted our office and spoke with a Supervisor. The Supervisor worked with the customer to schedule an appointment for the next business day as all appointments for the day had been taken. She also made an exception and made arrangements for the customer to have a 4 hour appointment window, with a 15 minute call ahead because all of the 4 hour appointment windows for the day had been taken. We were able to change the meter and correct the issue. The Supervisor also provided the customer with credit to her account for the inconvenience of not being able to schedule a same day appointment.

We contacted Ms. [redacted] regarding her account.  She was confused on how the budget program worked, thinking that the amount of her budget would pay her actual charges and she felt she had over paid.  She was not aware that any actual charges the budget payments did not cover would carry...

over to the next budget year and if the actual charges were less, the credit carries over to the next budget year.  This variance can reduce or increase the budget for the following budget year.  She was also confused about her sewer charges, thinking that she paid sewer through her property taxes so she was deducting this from her actual charges.  In addition she was deducting the water charges and she didn’t understand she now gets a combined bill.  She has copies of all her bills which we went over with her.   In summary she was only adding up her gas charges for the last year and subtracting all the payments she made in the last year which is why she thought a refund was due. We went over all charges and payment to show that her account balance is correct.  She wanted time to go over all the infomation and asked us to follow up with her next week to answser any additional quetions she may have.