Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative

Revdex.com:for the first complaint that I made back in February those bills that they mentioned in the past was because my parents were living and my dad would turn the electric heat on! I NEVER used rhe electric heat this past winter!! They said everything from I used the electric heat and I told them I did not because I have a gas fire place to I need new pipes which I got years ago to I need a hot water heater and I got one lsst august to my my well pump was working hardIf it was the well pump the bill wouldnt have came down to in april or mayMy current bill I went to the office to get someone to check my meter and the guy couldn't figure out why the readings for july were mostly in the redHe asked how often I do laundry and I told him every weeks and he also asked if I have a dishwasher and I told him noHis readings on the meter were and he wanted to bring a new meter reader to test my meter box but he didnt come back I have reviewed the offer and/or 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 [Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.] Regards, [redacted]

Following is our response to consumer complaint # [redacted] The complaintant had left a voicemail for our staff on Friday May to which we responded this morning Monday May He had signed up for our e-bill program on 3/18/but no longer has a computer nor internet access subsequently complaintant asked we remove his account from electronic billingWith the next bill this Cooperative Member will receive a bill at his home address May 19, Dear MEC Member, We have received notification of your filing a complaint with the Revdex.com and understand your concern in having not received a bill since November First, we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused as your needs are a primary focus for your staff here at Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative; the service you receive is a top priority and second only to the safety of the public, your employees, and you our Member Our records indicate that on March 18, you signed up to receive your bills via email through our E-Bill program and deactivated the delivery of paper billsSince your original sign up, the history log indicates that you have logged in occasionally to view your bill online once being notified of its availability by an email sent to the email address provided On September 30, our administrator assisted you in changing your password; upon establishing this new password, the log indicates you subsequently logged in, on that same day, and then for a final time on October 3, to make a paymentSince that time, your account has remained in our E-Bill program as you requested Our E-Bill administrator was out of the office on Friday May but did receive your voicemail on that same day and responded by phone this morning, May As the two of you discussed, we will remove your account from our E-Bill program and your next invoice will be delivered by postal service to your home address Once again we regret the difficulties you have experienced; however, your bills have been delivered as you selected through the E – Bill program As you have experienced, our staff is quite capable in assisting you by phone and will continue to do so with any question you have In closing, we consider it a privilege to be your electric service provider and work diligently to exceed your expectations Should I be able to assist, do not hesitate to contact me at [redacted] Respectfully, [redacted] V.PMember and Energy Services Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative Cc: Revdex.com Serving Central Virginia

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's offer If you wish, you may update it before sending it.] Revdex.com: I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to meI will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolvedIf the company does not perform as promised I can get back to you at: [redacted] Regards, [redacted] ***

Reference #*** This account has been in the
complainant’s mothers name for over yearsThe complainant contacted Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative (MEC) and explained her mother was deceased and consequently requested that we place the account in the complainant’s nameAt that time, our personnel transferred the account into the complainants name along with the remaining electric usage on the accountOur investigation found this first bill in the complainant’s name covered the electric usage for months - from January - February and February - March for a total of kWh's of energyNeither the complainant nor her mother's account was charged for work, material, or a transformer used to serve this homeJust last week, one of our representatives spoke with the complainant and explained what had occurredWhen reviewing the account, staff identified that a final bill had been sent in the name of the complainant’s mother for February in the amount of $18.92; it appears this bill duplicated Consumer Delivery charges already transferred to the complainant’s balanceStaff is reviewing these charges for credit back to the complainant’s accountWe have also agreed to work with the complainant in payment of this bill and further agreed not to penalize the complainant for possible late payment fees Respectfully, *** ** ***
** *** *** *** ***
*** *** ***

Revdex.com:for the first complaint that I made back in February those bills that they mentioned in the past was because my parents were living and my dad would turn the electric heat on! I NEVER used rhe electric heat this past winter!! They said everything from I used the electric heat and I told them I did not because I have a gas fire place to I need new pipes which I got 4 years ago to I need a hot water heater and I got one lsst august to my my well pump was working hard. If it was the well pump the bill wouldnt have came down to 101 in april or may. My current bill I went to the office to get someone to check my meter and the guy couldn't figure out why the readings for july were mostly in the red. He asked how often I do laundry and I told him every 2 weeks and he also asked if I have a dishwasher and I told him no. His readings on the meter were normal and he wanted to bring a new meter reader to test my meter box but he didnt come back
I have reviewed the offer and/or 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.
[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
Regards,
[redacted]

Reference #[redacted] This account has been in the complainant’s mothers name for over 30 years. The complainant contacted Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative (MEC) and explained her mother was deceased and consequently requested that we place the account in the complainant’s name. At that time, our...

personnel transferred the account into the complainants name along with the remaining electric usage on the account. Our investigation found this first bill in the complainant’s name covered the electric usage for 2 months - from January 18 - February 18 and February 18 - March 18 for a total of 2451 kWh's of energy. Neither the complainant nor her mother's account was charged for work, material, or a transformer used to serve this home. Just last week, one of our representatives spoke with the complainant and explained what had occurred. When reviewing the account, staff identified that a final bill had been sent in the name of the complainant’s mother for February in the amount of $18.92; it appears this bill duplicated Consumer Delivery charges already transferred to the complainant’s balance. Staff is reviewing these charges for credit back to the complainant’s account. We have also agreed to work with the complainant in payment of this bill and further agreed not to penalize the complainant for possible late payment fees.   Respectfully, [redacted]

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's offer.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. If the company does not perform as promised I can get back to you at: [redacted]
Regards,
[redacted]

Following is our response to consumer complaint #[redacted]. The complaintant had left a voicemail for our staff on Friday May 16 to which we responded this morning Monday May 19. He had signed up for our e-bill program on 3/18/2013 but no longer has a computer nor internet access...

subsequently complaintant asked we remove his account from electronic billing. With the next bill this Cooperative Member will receive a bill at his home address.
May 19, 2014
 
Dear MEC Member,
We have received notification of your filing a complaint
with the Revdex.com and understand your concern in having not received a bill since
November 2013. First, we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused as
your needs are a primary focus for your staff here at Mecklenburg Electric
Cooperative; the service you receive is a top priority and second only to the
safety of the public, your employees, and you our Member.  
 
Our records indicate that on March 18, 2013 you signed up to
receive your bills via email through our E-Bill program and deactivated the
delivery of paper bills. Since your original sign up, the history log indicates
that you have logged in occasionally to view your bill online once being notified
of its availability by an email sent to the email address provided.  On September 30, 2013 our administrator assisted
you in changing your password; upon establishing this new password, the log
indicates you subsequently logged in, on that same day, and then for a final time
on October 3, 2013 to make a payment. Since that time, your account has remained
in our E-Bill program as you requested. 
 
Our E-Bill administrator was out of the office on Friday May
16 but did receive your voicemail on that same day and responded by phone this
morning, May 19. As the two of you discussed, we will remove your account from our
E-Bill program and your next invoice will be delivered by postal service to
your home address. 
Once again we regret the difficulties you have experienced;
however, your bills have been delivered as you selected through the E – Bill program.
As you have experienced, our staff is quite capable in assisting you by phone
and will continue to do so with any question you have.
 
In closing, we consider it a privilege to be your electric service
provider and work diligently to exceed your expectations.   Should
I be able to assist, do not hesitate to contact me at [redacted].
 
Respectfully,
[redacted]
V.P. Member and Energy Services
Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative
 
 
Cc: Revdex.com Serving Central Virginia

Review: I dad passed away last year and I put the electric bill in my name and every since he has passed I have been getting outrages electric bills. Back in Feb. or March of this year, I had a bill for 207.00 I called the office in Gretna, VA to ask them why my bill was so high and they said that because it was winter and I used my electric heat. I told them that I didn't use it the electric heat during the winter because I have a gas fireplace. then they suggested it was my hot water heater and I told them that I had a new one put in last year in Aug. Then they stated it was my pipes and I told them I had new pipes put in Nov. 2012. Then they said it had to be my well pump. I decided to wait about 2 months to see how much the bill would be and it was 101 which was fine. Once I began to run the air conditioners (2) I would turn them off when I leave for work and turn them back on when I returned from work. My last light bill was 168.00. I decided to keep both air conditioners running (my father would keep them on when he was living and the bill was never high) and I received another bill this morning for 293.00! this is ridiculous and I have never heard of anyone's light bill being this high during the summer! My neighbor told me at the beginning of March his light bill was 200.00 but the thing is he has not moved in yet and his parents are both deceased! I also have a friend that had a 300 dollar or more light bill around Christmas 2015 and when she asked Mecklenburg about it they told her it was because she had a Christmas lights on but she never turned them on! While my parents were living we never had a ridiculous light bill but here lately, it is terrible and EVERYONE has been complaining about them! I know I have to pay my light bill but these prices are crazy and plus I live alone and something needs to be done! They don't even send anyone out anymore to look at the meters! It's all done from the office! Can you all please help!Desired Settlement: To have a normal light bill!! Paying all this EXTRA money is crazy especially when I live alone and I am not there during the day because I am work and DON'T run the electric heat at all in the winter!

Business

Response:

Staff has reviewed this Cooperative account’s usage back to 2012, visited the account, and tested the meter. In January of 2013 the monthly usage totaled 3,448 kilo-watt hours for a total of $402.17 and the next highest usage was 2,582 kilo-watt hours in February 2012 for an amount of $326.85. Accordingly, the dwelling has an established history of winter bills above the 1470 kWh’s used by this Member in March of 2016 and subsequently billed in the amount of $206.96. Our records indicate this home has electric baseboard heat which can certainly consume a number of kWh’s when serving as the single source of heat for a dwelling. The use of a gas fireplace would certainly reduce the kilowatt-hours consumed and appears to have done just that when considering the previous highs. It should be noted that in a typical ranch dwelling it would be difficult for a gas fireplace to evenly heat the entire home. Baseboard heat typically provides individualized thermostats on each unit or in each room. Further these thermostats most often do not turn off the unit but reduce the temperature to 50 degrees. Considering this, cold outside temps will cause baseboard units to operate even when the gas fireplace is running thus requiring both gas and electric heat to operate. Overall, our staff’s goal is to aid the Member in identifying what devices might cause a high bill. This leads to our asking a series of investigative questions to discover devices which typically lead to increased usage in a home and when maintenance or repair of devices can reduce electric use. Replacing the water heater would have limited impact on energy usage if the number of showers taken daily remain the same, the gallon capacity remains the same, the temperature setting remains the same, and overall the amount of hot water used remains the same. Replacement with a standard electric water heater will not in itself lead to increased energy efficiency or a kWh reduction. To be the most energy efficient a home owner must check to determine that the well pump is functioning properly and not consuming extra energy. If a pump runs too long our pressure issues are noticed, then a plumber should be consulted. Hotter temperatures also require air conditioners to run longer and harder – certainly July temperatures have been hot. Comparing electric usage with a neighbor is very problematic as homes are different sizes, the number of occupants are different, different heating and air conditioning systems with varying temperature settings, one home has more insulation than another – different homes have different electric use and result in different bills. It should also be noted that comparing kilowatt hours can be more effective rather than dollars; this helps mitigate the impact of consumption taxes, the presence of security lighting, and other fees. However, this too requires consideration of the differences in the homes being compared. On or about August 1, 2016 one of our technicians met with the Member and tested the accuracy of the electric meter; it tested at 100.08% - well within the limits of 98.0% - 102.0% as required by the Virginia State Corporation Commission. This establishes the meter is accurate and the usage recorded and billed is what the Member consumed. To achieve the outcome of a lower bill, the focus must be on identifying what items are utilizing the energy. Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative is owned by its Members and operates to keep costs as low as possible and for a number of years has used remotely read meters to make the most of employee labor. Since 2008 we have reduced our number of employees and the number of vehicles by 20% each as a testament of MEC’s efforts to manage costs. To continue, the meter system is highly accurate; when we visited the account the meter reading has precisely tracked the Member’s use. This meter reading system also collects a Member’s hourly usage so that together, with the Member’s input, we can identify the times when energy is being used and then identify what’s using it. We have comfortably established that the Member is being accurately billed for the amount of electricity used. We are willing to help the Member identify energy users to help in controlling the monthly usage. Accordingly, our staff will contact the Member to offer an energy audit to help in energy conservation. Respectfully, David L[redacted], VP Member and Energy Services Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative

Consumer

Response:

for the first complaint that I made back in February those bills that they mentioned in the past was because my parents were living and my dad would turn the electric heat on! I NEVER used rhe electric heat this past winter!! They said everything from I used the electric heat and I told them I did not because I have a gas fire place to I need new pipes which I got 4 years ago to I need a hot water heater and I got one lsst august to my my well pump was working hard. If it was the well pump the bill wouldnt have came down to 101 in april or may. My current bill I went to the office to get someone to check my meter and the guy couldn't figure out why the readings for july were mostly in the red. He asked how often I do laundry and I told him every 2 weeks and he also asked if I have a dishwasher and I told him no. His readings on the meter were normal and he wanted to bring a new meter reader to test my meter box but he didnt come back

I have reviewed the offer and/or 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.

[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]

Regards,

Review: In February a transformer blew out that caused a power outage, the crew came out and replaced the transformer and changed wiring in meter which is used to measure the electricity that goes to my home. I received my electric bill in the mail which has skyrocketed drastically since that change resulting in my bill being higher than it has ever been in over 40 years. It seems as if Mecklenburg Electric company is getting over on its customers since they are the service that has to be used. This wasn't discussed with me after the replacements were made that I would be incurring this large bill.Desired Settlement: I am looking to have my bill reduced and an explanation given as to why my bill is this amount. How are we as customers supposed to know if this calculations are correct?

Business

Response:

Reference #[redacted] This account has been in the complainant’s mothers name for over 30 years. The complainant contacted Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative (MEC) and explained her mother was deceased and consequently requested that we place the account in the complainant’s name. At that time, our personnel transferred the account into the complainants name along with the remaining electric usage on the account. Our investigation found this first bill in the complainant’s name covered the electric usage for 2 months - from January 18 - February 18 and February 18 - March 18 for a total of 2451 kWh's of energy. Neither the complainant nor her mother's account was charged for work, material, or a transformer used to serve this home. Just last week, one of our representatives spoke with the complainant and explained what had occurred. When reviewing the account, staff identified that a final bill had been sent in the name of the complainant’s mother for February in the amount of $18.92; it appears this bill duplicated Consumer Delivery charges already transferred to the complainant’s balance. Staff is reviewing these charges for credit back to the complainant’s account. We have also agreed to work with the complainant in payment of this bill and further agreed not to penalize the complainant for possible late payment fees. Respectfully, [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

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

I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. If the company does not perform as promised I can get back to you at: [redacted]

Regards,

Review: I have requested my bill to continue coming to my home address. To the best of my knowledge I have not received my bill since November 2013. I had to contact them to find out how much my bill is!!! When I did get the amount my bill it was

$ 1,000.00 plus...I had to request assistance from various places to pay this outstanding amount!!! I'm still not getting my bill, I have to call to get the amount to pay them to avoid not having electric services.Desired Settlement: My bill mail to my home address.

Business

Response:

Following is our response to consumer complaint #[redacted]. The complaintant had left a voicemail for our staff on Friday May 16 to which we responded this morning Monday May 19. He had signed up for our e-bill program on 3/18/2013 but no longer has a computer nor internet access subsequently complaintant asked we remove his account from electronic billing. With the next bill this Cooperative Member will receive a bill at his home address.

May 19, 2014

Dear MEC Member,

We have received notification of your filing a complaint

with the Revdex.com and understand your concern in having not received a bill since

November 2013. First, we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused as

your needs are a primary focus for your staff here at Mecklenburg Electric

Cooperative; the service you receive is a top priority and second only to the

safety of the public, your employees, and you our Member.

Our records indicate that on March 18, 2013 you signed up to

receive your bills via email through our E-Bill program and deactivated the

delivery of paper bills. Since your original sign up, the history log indicates

that you have logged in occasionally to view your bill online once being notified

of its availability by an email sent to the email address provided. On September 30, 2013 our administrator assisted

you in changing your password; upon establishing this new password, the log

indicates you subsequently logged in, on that same day, and then for a final time

on October 3, 2013 to make a payment. Since that time, your account has remained

in our E-Bill program as you requested.

Our E-Bill administrator was out of the office on Friday May

16 but did receive your voicemail on that same day and responded by phone this

morning, May 19. As the two of you discussed, we will remove your account from our

E-Bill program and your next invoice will be delivered by postal service to

your home address.

Once again we regret the difficulties you have experienced;

however, your bills have been delivered as you selected through the E – Bill program.

As you have experienced, our staff is quite capable in assisting you by phone

and will continue to do so with any question you have.

In closing, we consider it a privilege to be your electric service

provider and work diligently to exceed your expectations. Should

I be able to assist, do not hesitate to contact me at [redacted].

Respectfully,

V.P. Member and Energy Services

Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative

Cc: Revdex.com Serving Central Virginia