Minnesota Energy Resources Corporation

Tell us why here...Sent on behalf of David [redacted], ServiceChoice Product ManagerDear Ms. [redacted]:
I understand your concerns and can assure you that at no time since your enrollment in the Silver plan last fall was there a disruption in your coverage. Being that you did not utilize any repair services I am happy to credit the entire amount billed for ServiceChoice and remove you from the program for now. You would then have the option to re-sign up for a ServiceChoice plan in the future when a promotion is offered.
You are certainly welcome to continue with the current promotional rate under the Silver plan also.
Please let me know how you would like to me to proceed.
Sincerely,
David [redacted]
ServiceChoice Product Manager

I am rejecting this response because:
At the moment they are not returning the money I put in for services that were not covered because they felt I owed $12.00 more per month.Thanks,[redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/07/22) */
We finally found the issue that was causing us not to get the Budget Balance to reflect what was on her last bill. Attached is an account workup showing each month's charges and payments and how it broke down into the Budget Balance, which she...

now owes $17.35. All ServiceChoice Charges have been removed and ServiceChoice has been cancelled as requested. She has a $17.35 credit on her budget balance, so that will be deducted from the $60.00 budget charge on her next billing bringing it down to $42.65. She should only pay $42.65 and then her monthly bills will be the $60.00.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 10, 2015/07/23) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
which she now owes $17.35. All ServiceChoice Charges have been removed and ServiceChoice has been cancelled as requested. She has a $17.35 credit on her budget balance.
So do I owe $17.35 or do I have a credit for $17.35 as you've stated both. This could be why what shows up on my bill is never the same amount as what I'm told to pay.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 12, 2015/07/27) */
She has a $17.35 credit on her budget balance, so that will be deducted from the $60.00 budget charge on her next billing bringing it down to $42.65. She should only pay $42.65 and then her monthly bills will be the $60.00.

In Summary: ·       The turn off scheduled for 12/28/17 was ‘system...

generated’ from a request that originated on 12/21, which indicates the request to turn off service was generated from MERCs website.   ·        The tenant called in on 12/21/17 to ensure services would be out of their name.  The tenant said they don’t want the services turned off but rather transferred. During the call, the tenant was advised that the order to shut off services was scheduled for 12/28/17 and that the meter would be locked if the new tenant did not call to start services. The CSR advised the caller they couldn’t put it in someone else’s name based solely on their request, that the new tenant must call in for service.The customer agreed. ·        The landlord did not call until 12/30/17, 2 days after the service was shut off to have the services turned back on. The order was scheduled on the next available date of 1/2/18.   Leader Misty spoke to [redacted] on 1/9 and advised since there was not an owner agreement in place on the property, it would not have ‘automatically’ been placed back in her name. [redacted] expressed frustration they had to wait until 1/2/18 to have the services restored.   Sadie attempted to contact [redacted] again 1/11/17 to advise of the results of the investigation & offer an owner agreement forthe customer's rentals. The customer did not answer.  Misty, however, left her direct line for the customer to call.   Action: We will be adding owner agreements to both of [redacted]’s properties to ensure services will not be interrupted in the future.   MERC followed the correct process for the turn on, despite the landlords expression of dissatisfaction. The process when someone calls to take service out of their name is to lock and seal the meter unless, A) there is an owner agreement on the account which reverts the service to the landlord or B) someone else calls to start service which will cancel the turn off order. The landlord was not assessed a re-connection fee.

Per credit adjustments from 3/15 from [redacted], rep,  the payment has since been transferred to Mr. [redacted]’s account, and now has a $0.00 balance. Mr. [redacted] admitted it was an oversight on his part not updating to his new account number.

We are currently investigating this complaint.  We need to pull the conversations to see what transpired between the call center and the customer.  Summary to follow when completed.

The supervisor at our local office, Shawn [redacted], has attempted to reach the customer to discuss her complaint.  He has left a voicemail message on the customer phone number listed on the complaint.  He has asked the customer to please return a call so he can discuss the billing...

issue.  To date, he has not heard back from Ms. [redacted].  We will be crediting her account for the late charge of $1.26.

Customer Service Center Reviewed the conversation history with the customer as follows: The customer is a self-read customer due to being a Farm Tap account. MERC sends out a meter reading letter advising the customer when to submit their self-reads. If the reading is not submitted by the date...

on the letter, the bill is estimated the following day.    On 4/26/16, a letter was sent advising to read the meter between the dates of 4/29/2016 and 5/1/2016. The customer called on 5/2 to enter the meter reading. The consultant entered the reading and advised the customer was billed on 4/27 with an estimated read.  On 5/24/16, a letter was sent advising to read the meter between the dates of 5/23/2016 and 5/25/2016. The customer called on 5/28 to enter the meter reading. The consultant advised the estimate was submitted on 5/26. The consultant offered to cancel the estimate and re-bill with the actual reading, the customer declined the offer.  MERC is aware of the letter issue and we are looking into a resolution for our farm tap customers.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/05/14) */
A tech was dispatched to the customer's home on 5/13/14 to talk with the customer and reconnect service. Tech went to the home on 5/12/15 to reconnect. He knocked on the door several times over 10 minutes and called ahead to let customer know...

approximately when he would be at the home but nobody answered the door. The customer was shut off on 5/6/15 for no pay. Customer paid on 5/11/15 and the reconnect was schedule for 5/12/15. We cannot reconnect the gas service unless we can get into the house to do a safety check.

Since this issue has been going on for several months, I am rejecting this response because they do not indicate when this issue will be resolved. For months, they have indicated they are aware of the issues and they are working on it but this does not tell me anything.