Emigrant Funding Corporation

Citizens completed the meter test and the meter test at 100.33% accuracy, which is within the range of a properly working meter.  Historically, faulty meters will under register usage on the meter. Citizens noticed after the toilet leak was repaired, the usage continued to be higher than the historical usage.  When the meter was changed due to the meter test, the usage returned to normal.  Based on previous experience, it appears there was an additional leak at the meter.  When the new meter was installed, the connection to the meter was tightened.  Tightening the connection has appeared to correct the additional usage.  The meter connection and gaskets are the property of the homeowner and the homeowner’s responsibility to repair.  The connections are tightened when a new meter is installed, so it was self-correcting.
Based on the findings, Citizens has processed an additional adjustment for an underground leak for the periods of December and January.  These are the 2 months with the highest usage after the toilet was repaired and when the meter connection was leaking. The additional adjustment is for $334.28, plus we removed $17.95 in late fees.  The account billed on 6/16/17 with the current charge of $89.93, plus the previous unpaid balance of $231.8, a total bill of $321.76 due July 6th.   After the second adjustment was processed, it leaves a 
credit balance on the account in the amount of $30.47.  There is no payment due for this month.  The next bill will be sent mid-July with a due date of early August.

We have reached out to Mr. [redacted] to schedule a face-to-face meeting concerning this issue.  We will gather the details and discuss possible solutions to providing sanitary sewers in the area.Sincerely,Randy

Mr. [redacted], After a review of the account, it was determined the final reading from the previous customer ([redacted]) at the address was incorrect.  The final reading resulted in zero usage for the final month, which is not normal for the customer.  When we read the meter the following...

month, this under read caused the meter to show usage on the meter, but the account was now an inactive account.  It appeared someone had been using the water without authorization when in fact the usage was from the previous customer. To correct this, we have removed all charges that were billed from the reading and all associated fees ($139.52).  Please accept our apologizes for any inconvenience this error may have caused and we appreciate your understanding in this matter.  If you should have any questions, please contact our Customer Service department at 317.924.3311.  Sincerely, Customer Service

We have reviewed the concern and found there is a mix up in the addresses that were submitted by the contractor who was building the homes in this development.  We are in the process of making a correction to the service addresses involved and will be notifying those customers that are...

impacted.  Until the correction can be completed, we provided Mr. [redacted]’s instruction on how to turn the water on at his rental property, but he was unable to turn it on.  On 11/29, Citizens sent a service tech to the property to ensure the water was active to the home and it was.  Since then, we tried to follow up with the customer several times to ensure that he has water service and we have been unable to reach him.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that the response would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Regards,
[redacted]  I never received a notice of disconnection until a note was plastered on my front door stating that my service was turned off.... this is the problems with monopolies and should be outlawed anywhere here in the United States because they think of themselves as Gods and can make up rules as they please and either you follow or they hold your service hostage and charge you an outrageous deposit. They call me un-creditworthy I have a very good credit score and after 17 years of never having my water service disconnect for non payment besides this first time and last time.  that means nothing to them apparently. I have owned my own business for 17 years and have not pulled up and ran way from paying anyone. They hide behind their rules passed only by people that are either paid off or in their back pocket.  I also feel because of my complaint I was put on the back burner to have my service reconnected it was around 7:30 pm and it took the guy less then two minutes to have the service back on. My business was closed for 3 day's which I take he blame for but if only I had people paid off or in my back pocket I could pass rules and have them pay me for lost wages..  This horrible experience with Citizens Group was not only truly upsetting but really sickening...

Citizens spoke with the customer today. He advised he has a plumber coming to fix the issue next week. He states they are using a product called Stop It. We advised we are not familiar with this product and reiterated the goal is to stop the water leak. We also advised we would give him additional time on the letter he received in regards to disconnecting the service.

On 12/1/16 Mr. [redacted] called after receiving his November 22nd  water bill with higher than normal usage.  From October 19th – November 17th Mr. [redacted] was billed for 43.8 units of water (read of 374979) while he typically uses anywhere from 3-7 units.  During the 12/1 contact he was...

given tips to determine if he had leak and it was also suggested he go read his meter and report back with the results.  Mr. [redacted] requested to cancel the service.  The service was canceled on 12/2 with a read of 374979, the same as the November 17th read indicating there has been no further usage. Mr. [redacted] called back on December 13th and spoke with a supervisor concerning his bill.  During that call Mr. [redacted] indicated the home was vacant and for sale.  Realtors had access to the home.  The supervisor suggested the possibility of someone flushing the toilet and it not completing its cycle and the water continuing to flow.  Mr. [redacted] has only been billed for the amount of water that has flowed through his meter. We understand the bill is much higher than normal for his home and we acknowledge that, however it is the responsibility of the customer to trouble shoot the cause of the increased usage and  Mr. [redacted] was advised of this.   If he finds there is a toilet that was running which he has repaired, and contacts us with this information within the next few months he would qualify for a leak adjustment.

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 as I see the credit has been applied to my account. 
Regards,
[redacted]

We received a call from [redacted] on October 14, 2016 asking for service at [redacted].  The service was being turned on for an inspection.  Mr. [redacted] asked for temporary service and we informed him we could not turn service on and back off on the same day.  We...

indicated we could turn on the water at the meter pit only and then the inspector could turn on at the meter pit to do the inspection.  Mr. [redacted] agreed to this.  We informed Mr. [redacted] he would need to contact us again when service should be disconnected.Mr. [redacted] called back on October 28, 2016 and was turned off on November 2, 2016.  The final bill was for $28.79 which was for .12 units of water (very small amount used) at a cost of $5.65 and sales tax of $0.39 with an additional charge of $22.75 for Sewer.  The billing is correct based on the service dates and notification from customer to disconnect.  We understand most of the charge is from Sewer charges and will agree to credit the account $11 and split these charges with the customer.  This credit will be provided to the customer as a refund check as the bill has been paid in full.  Sincerely,Randy

The building at [redacted] was sold by Ms. [redacted] on 8/17/16. I have verified this with the County Assessors Office. Therefore, the charges for unauthorized usage have been transferred to the owner of the property as of 8/17/16. A refund check in the amount of $257.00 has been issued...

and will be mailed to Ms. [redacted] the week of 3/12/17. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused Ms. [redacted].

The customer's gas and water services were disconnected for non-payment in May 2017.  The customer contacted our office to advise that she had recently filed for bankruptcy protection.  We found that initially Citizens wasn't listed as a creditor, but the customer did make a change...

and included Citizen's as creditor.  In June, a portion of the delinquent bills in the amount of $556.12 were allocated towards the bankruptcy case.  The customer then paid the water portion of her account to have the water service restored.  At that time, the gas portion of the service remained off due to non-payment.
The customer was given a quote, to restore the gas service, in the amount of $249.50 for the past due gas portion, a $44.00 reconnect fee, and a $290 deposit.  A full deposit is required as a result of the bankruptcy filing and the disconnection of services.  Citizens will work with the customer to restore the gas service.  If the customer pays a portion of the deposit, $150.00, $194.00 for the gas balance, and a $44.00 reconnection fee a total of $388.00, Citizens will bill the customer for the remaining portion of the gas deposit, $140.00.  This will allow her to be eligible to set up a payment arrangement once she receives her next bill.  The customer may contact our office at 317.924.3311, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to Noon.

I spoke with [redacted] and explained the $194 credit showing on the account was due to over payment on the budget.  The bill showed the correct balance due if the account was removed from budget and when we refunded the over payment of the budget we failed to notify you of what impact it would...

have on the account balance.  Due to this error I am applying a service recovery of $194 to bring the account balance down to zero.  I apologize for the inconvenience this issue has caused.Sincerely,Randy

I left a message for Mr. [redacted] with my contact information.  The amount of $498.76 was transferred to [redacted] Ave from his wife's old account on 2/8/16.  We have verified the marriage date of 2/1/13.  Charges from 2/1/13 through 7/24/13 total $204.78 and would be...

collectible from Mr. [redacted].  We will remove $293.98 from the account on [redacted] Ave and place them back on [redacted] St for Mrs. [redacted]. 
We would be happy to set up payment arrangements for [redacted] St for this amount.
Sincerely,
Randy

I spoke with Mr. [redacted] and explained we provided an adjustment on his account based on our Terms & Conditions approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.  The adjustment is for one period from actual read to actual read which we provided the adjustment on the largest...

bill.  The adjustment is 50% of usage over the normal usage.  The total usage for May was 54.87 and the normal usage is 6.46 leaving a difference of 48.41.  We provided an adjustment of 50% on the 48.41 ($157.36) of $78.68.  Mr. [redacted] indicated the associate did not inform him the adjustment would be 50% and I provided an additional $25 service recovery for this discrepancy. 
Sincerely,
Randy

Thank you for the inquiry.  Mrs. [redacted] indicates she wasn’t receiving the bills for her account at [redacted]. for seven months.  Our records indicate there is no record of any contact from the Mrs. [redacted] inquiring as to why she wasn’t receiving a bill.  We found...

that when the account at [redacted] was established, the old mailing address was left active, so the bills were being sent to an old address at 8[redacted].  Mrs. [redacted] did reach out to our office on 3/3/18 via online.  She requested to start a new account in her name only for [redacted].  The request was denied as she has an outstanding bill in her name from a previous address.  There was no inquiring for not receiving a bill from us.  Ms. [redacted] is a co-applicant on her husband’s account and has been since October 2015.  A co-applicant has full access to discuss the account with a representative at any time.   Our records indicate the gas service was disconnected and the meter was locked on 3/27/18 at 10:05 a.m. When Citizens service personnel complete the work orders in the field, the work orders are date and time stamped.  On 4/17/18 at 12:47 p.m., we visited the property a second time and found the gas service was turned back on and the original lock had been removed, so the gas service was turned off a second time and a different style of lock was installed on lock the meter.  Once the service was disconnected it is necessary to pay all fees associated to the disconnect/reconnection of the service, including any deposits.   Mrs. [redacted] called and requested to speak with a supervisor on 4/18/18 and a supervisor called her twice on that day.  The supervisor left a message for Mrs. [redacted] on the first call.  A second call to Mrs. [redacted] was made later that day and the supervisor was able to speak with her. The gas service was restored on 4/23/2018 at 9:38 a.m.   We understand Mrs. [redacted]’s frustration and as a good will gesture, Citizens will waive the deposit of $165.00, but the relock fees will remain as Citizens did disconnect the gas service on both occasions.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that the response would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
 I understand that the meter was not readable in January that is not in dispute. what is in dispute is that by only estimating my bill at 1.01 CCF for that month caused a higher than normal water bill in February. The reading in February is not in disputed only the associated sewer charges for the month February. If the January bill had been accurate or estimated higher than my February sewer bill would have been the standard charge of $37.66. Because of the water adjustment in February is caused an above normal water and corresponding sewer charge. The water estimate for non readable meter should not be so low as to cause an abnormally high sewer when the meter is once again readable. The standard rate is #37.66 for 0-4 CCF. In January I was charger $37.66 for 1.01 CCF usage and February I was charged $51 for a reading of 6.86CCF which includes water ha was actually consumed in January. I did not consume 6.86 CCF in February. I consumed 7.86 CCF for January and February. This is blatant over-charging and it needs to stop.
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that the response would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
I was given a different explanation from Citizens Energy Group that the problem was likely due to "dial creep" whereby gas pressure builds and causes the meter to inch up.  I don't believe the meter was incorrectly read in May or that it would have only been discovered with the meter read in August.  I believe this "dial creep" issue causes customers to be periodically overbilled.  I don't have a problem paying for services I use, but I don't believe I used the 1.16 therms of gas I was billed for or that the meter was misread. Citizens has been good about re-checking the meter and sending a representative to determine if there was a leak, but I believe that if there is a "dial creep" error occurring, something should be done to correct that so that customers don't end up being overbilled periodically.  This has happened to me every summer.  Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that the response would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
I have contacted numerous plumbers in reference to this leak and every single plumber has stated this is not the responsibility of the homeowner and they will not conduct the work. I have absolutely no way of fixing this leak and Citizens is threatening to shut off my water. I am out of options. I am still awaiting a response from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Committee who is investigating this issue. 
Regards,
[redacted]

A bill was mailed to Mr. [redacted] at [redacted]. on 3/4/16 indicating a past due portion of $151.05 was due and services may be disconnected after 3/21/16 if payment was not received.  An order was routed to collect on 4/1/16 and gas service was disconnected at 8:21 a.m.  We received...

a payment for $200.00 on 4/1/16 and was applied to the account after the gas service was disconnected.  The system automatically cancelled the disconnect order but the service was already disconnected. 
When Mr. [redacted] contacted us on 4/4/16 we created an order for 4/4/16 to reconnect the service but unfortunately we were unable to reconnect the first time due to not have access.  Another order was created on 4/4/16 and service was reconnected on 4/4/16.  There were no additional fees charged to the account.
An additional payment was received on 4/5/16 and the current bill is due on 4/23/16. 
We appreciate your patience as we worked through this issue.
Sincerely,
Randy

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that the response would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[I feel like the issue hasn't been resolved.  It has been over 30 days for the meter be reviewed to determine if the meter was faulty. If you check the last couple of months my water bill has remain low and hasn't been high since the meter was changed.  This means there was something faulty in the meter.  I refuse to keep paying a high water bill.  Just called last week in regards to new bill and the water bill was 25 and the sewer costing $97.  I was advise that the sewer bill was higher because if reflection of last year summer months when everyone was using water and so I am responsible to help pay for those charges.  Then customer service rep also said that it is reflecting for my water leak.  The representative said two different things and  I didn't use water or anything or fill a pool or water my grass, so I shouldn't not be subject to someone else usage.  I would like this to be resolved so that I can move forward.  
Regards,
[redacted]  [redacted]