New Mexico Gas Company

NMGC requests that the customer provide an account number or address where the debt occured in order to research this issue

New Mexico Gas Company (NMGC) acquired the natural gas assets from [redacted] in January The debt accrued by [redacted] was for the time frame September 30, to December 11, therefore the unpaid debt was owed to NMGC, not [redacted] and her request for natural gas service was made to NMGC not *** Ms [redacted] called NMGC on September 23, at approximately 5:pm and requested gas service be placed in her name on September 30, at 20th St NW On December 9, at approximately 3:pm Ms [redacted] requested that service be taken out of her name on December 11, NMGC contends that Ms [redacted] was aware that her account was with NMGC as our records indicate correspondence was received by NMGC from Ms [redacted] (landlord/tenant agreement and a letter of employment) as well as phone calls requesting service and payment arrangements A payment was also received by NMGC on November 30, Attached are copies of the billings sent to Ms***, including the final bill which clearly shows that service was billed by and due to NMGC Because the debt remained unpaid after days the debt was sent to an external collection agency and was not sent in error

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:Completely untrueThe landlord I had at the time is the one that ended service after I moved out, as they had my social security numberAnd I only paid and received bills from [redacted] at that time Regards, [redacted] *** Verbal Update :The credit reporting agencies [redacted] and [redacted] are showing this as two debts in the amount of $and $40.00, when this is for one accountI ask why I am receiving negative reporting for two accounts when there was one account opened?[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, the consumer must give a reason why they are rejecting the responseIf the consumer does not provide a reason if he complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: It is obvious that the Gas Company has a monopoly on our state Furthermore, if I want Gas I have to pay completely on time every month or we won't have gas because the NM Gas Company will not stand for being owed any money late, and will charge three times as much if paid late Thus, they care not for what my family has gone through this month losing out on all of our extra income/food/necessities, and going without heat as well If I had to be this ruthless to my customers I would not sleep well at night Regards, [redacted] [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, the consumer must give a reason why they are rejecting the responseIf the consumer does not provide a reason the complaint will be closed Answered]

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: I was not provided an itemized receipt for the $I paid to the company This issue has been discussed extensively with the company, and yet they have still refused receipt Regards, [redacted] [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, the consumer must give a reason why they are rejecting the responseIf the consumer does not provide a reason if he complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: We did not receive the call beforehand Furthermore, we did not expect for the Gas Company to turn off our heat for a balance due of less then dollars My husband was home, and nobody knocked at all It is illegal for the Gas Company to turn off heat from November 15th through February The Gas Company failed to give us the proper notice it was turning off our heat for the small balance we owed The Gas Company thus made three times what we owed in reconnection fee's and same day service fee's to get our heat back on for my year and two year old who were freezing that entire day and ended up with colds thereafter Regards, [redacted] [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, the consumer must give a reason why they are rejecting the responseIf the consumer does not provide a reason the complaint will be closed Answered]

In researching this complaint New Mexico Gas Company finds that although Ms*** may be authorized on the account, she is not the customer of record.In researching this complaint I found that the account was past due and subject to disconnection for non-payment. The customer was
notified prior to disconnection of service per policy and procedure. Unfortunately New Mexico Gas Company (NMGC) is unable to refund the deposit and connection fee as the customer has requested. However, if the customer is having difficulties with this or other utility bills, NMGC can provide a listing of agencies that may be able to assist the customer. This information can be obtained by contacting one of our Customer Care Representatives at ###-###-####. In addition, if a customer is unable to make the payment prior to the due date on the bill, the customer can contact NMGC and ask for a payment extension or enter into a payment arrangement to avoid the services from being disconnected for non-payment and/or additional charges incurred. DianaNew Mexico Gas Company

New Mexico Gas Company (NMGC) maintains that all policies and procedures were followed prior to disconnection of serviceNMGC records, including a recorded phone call, verify that required notices were timely delivered to the customer of recordI’ve included a copy of the December 29th billing which includes a statement advising the customer that payment must be received or payment arrangements made to avoid disconnection of services
Regarding the statement from the customer that "it is illegal to turn off heat from November 15th through February." The customer may be referring to the winter moratorium protectionThis protection prevents a low-income customer from being disconnected for non-payment from November 15th through March 15th if the following conditions are met:
NMGC receives notification that the residential customer meets the qualifications of LIHEAP as determined by the administering authority (Human Services Department) for the current heating season and: The residential customer has no past due charges on November 15th of the current heating season; or
The residential customer has a settlement agreement or an installment agreement with the utility for amounts other than those owing from the prior heating season, and the residential customer continues to make the agreed upon payments under the settlement or installment agreement
To date NMGC has not received notification that the customer meets the qualifications for the moratorium protection

NMGC provided the bills sent to customer which verifies that the customer did have service with NMGC. It is the customer's responsibility to ensure that the service is taken out of their name when they are no longer responsible for the service. If the customer entrusted her landlord to take care of this then her concerns are with the landlord and not NMGC. Per the customer's request NMGC verified with the collection agency, *** *** ***, that only one account was submitted by NMGC for collections. The amount submitted for collection was $105.13. The collection agency account number referencing the NMGC debt is ***. Per the collection agency, the other, account number ***, for the amount of $references a debt submitted by Public Service Company of NM (***). The representative from collection agency advised if customer had any questions they would be available to assist. I can provide Ms*** with the contact information for *** *** *** if necessary

New Mexico Gas Company is willing to work with this customer to resolve this issue Several attempts to contact her via telephone were unsuccessful. I was unable to leave a voicemail as the message stated that the customer had not yet set up a voice mailbox. Please have the
customer contact me directly at ###-###-####. Thank you

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have...

reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
[redacted]

Per the customer's request NMGC called the customer but was unable to reach her. A message was left asking the customer to contact NMGC to address her concerns.

NMGC requests that the customer provide an account number or address where the debt occured in order to research this issue.

The two accounts are being reported by [redacted] by way of New Mexico Gas Company. Only a partial number shows for the accounts.Account 1: [redacted]Account 2: [redacted]The address related to these 2 accounts is:[redacted]

NMGC was under the understanding that the billing statments requested by the customer were going to be provided to her by the previous occupant of the home through the landlord.  NMGC will contact the customer to verify if she has received the statements.  If not, although NMGC is unable to provide the statements directly to the customer, NMGC is willing to provide the customer with documentation of the charges paid.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:  It is obvious that the Gas Company has a monopoly on our state.  Furthermore, if I want Gas I have to pay completely on time every month or we won't have gas because the NM Gas Company will not stand for being owed any money late, and will charge three times as much if paid late.  Thus, they care not for what my family has gone through this month losing out on all of our extra income/food/necessities, and going without heat as well.  If I had to be this ruthless to my customers I would not sleep well at night. 
Regards,
[redacted] [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, the consumer must give a reason why they are rejecting the response. If the consumer does not provide a reason the complaint will be closed Answered]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:Completely untrue. The landlord I had at the time is the one that ended service after I moved out, as they had my social security number. And I only paid and received bills from [redacted] at that time.
Regards,
[redacted] Verbal Update :The credit reporting agencies [redacted] and [redacted] are showing this as two debts in the amount of $105.00 and $40.00, when this is for one account. I ask why I am receiving negative reporting for two accounts when there was one account opened?[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, the consumer must give a reason why they are rejecting the response. If the consumer does not provide a reason if he complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Pursuant to NM State Statute, New Mexico Gas Company (NMGC) is prohibited from disclosing customer information without the customers consent.
62-8-11 Consumer Information; disclosure prohibited.
A. A public utility, as defined pursuant to Section 62-3-3 NMSA 1978, or its employees or...

agents shall not sell or disclose consumers' nonpublic personal information without the customer's permission or unless it is in accordance with standardized credit reporting practices, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 56, Article 3 NMSA 1978 or the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act or other reporting requirements imposed on the public utility.
B. Exempted from the provisions of this section are:
(1) the public regulation commission pursuant to the Public Utility Act [62-13-1 NMSA 1978] and the Public Regulation Commission Act [8-8-1 NMSA 1978] and rules adopted pursuant to those acts; or
(2) an action by a government agency or an officer, employee or agent of an agency acting on behalf of the agency to obtain telephone records in connection with the performance of the official duties of the agency.
Unfortunately, due to this statute I am unable to provide specific account information regarding the customer’s complaint. However, I can provide general information regarding NMGC’s procedures in regards to disconnection for non-payment.
NMGC may discontinue service to a residential customer for non-payment of a delinquent account. All bills are due within 20 calendar days from the date mailed. Any bill not paid after 20 calendar days shall be deemed delinquent. If the bill is not paid fifteen calendar days after it becomes delinquent, service is subject to discontinuation. Customers are notified prior to disconnection of service for non-payment. Reconnection fees and deposits are billed in accordance with the tariffs and rules on file with the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.
If the customer would like to discuss this further she may contact Diana at [redacted].

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Please advise the customer that his claim must be submitted to New Mexico Gas Company’s (NMGC) Claims Department for handling. To initiate the claims process he will need contact NMGC’s Claims Administrator at ###-###-####.

New Mexico Gas Company (NMGC) acquired the natural gas assets from [redacted] in January 2009.  The debt accrued by [redacted] was for the time frame September 30, 2009 to December 11, 2009 therefore the unpaid debt was owed to NMGC, not [redacted] and her request for natural gas service was made to NMGC not [redacted].  Ms. [redacted] called NMGC on September 23, 2009 at approximately 5:15 pm and requested gas service be placed in her name on September 30, 2009 at 1024 20th St NW.   On December 9, 2009 at approximately 3:15 pm Ms. [redacted] requested that service be taken out of her name on December 11, 2009.  NMGC contends that Ms. [redacted] was aware that her account was with NMGC as our records indicate correspondence was received by NMGC from Ms. [redacted] (landlord/tenant agreement and a letter of employment) as well as phone calls requesting service and payment arrangements.  A payment was also received by NMGC on November 30, 2009.  Attached are copies of the billings sent to Ms. [redacted], including the final bill which clearly shows that service was billed by and due to NMGC.  Because the debt remained unpaid after 90 days the debt was sent to an external collection agency and was not sent in error.