Oklahoma Gas & Electric

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.
I appreciate OG&E resetting the Average Monthly Billing on our new account and hopefully also they will refresh their current method of terminating one's service by making sure it is the correct address. We have been loyal OG&E customers for close to 45 years and hope to continue to be.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

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.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

We have listened to the initial call and found that we specifically told Mr. [redacted] that he had a $220 deposit due by 05/08/17 or services would be disconnected the next business day. We then specified we would accept a letter of credit from another "GAS or ELECTRIC" company. Mr. [redacted] sent a Letter of Credit from Performance Property Management Water Company. We mailed a rejection letter 05/03/17 to his service address. His service was disconnected for non payment of the deposit 05/09/17. He called and was advised we received his letter of credit from the water company, but require one from a gas or electric company. An hour later we did receive a good letter of credit from Xcel Energy, waived his deposit and reconnected his service. Our calls are recorded and have been reviewed. We found no negligence of the information given from our representative to Mr. [redacted].

We have noted this issue for our records and that no response or settlement is requested.   As our investigation shows no policy or procedure violation occurred, we shall consider this matter closed.  Please let us know if you should need anything further on this.  Thank you.

We have reviewed the call when Mr. [redacted] contacted us to start service. Our representative did advise the customer of the $160 deposit and that it was due in 3 days and gave him the date of 10/26/16. We then advised we would also accept a good Letter of Credit from a previous gas or electric company...

at which time Mr [redacted] states that he would be paying the deposit. We gave him his account information and how to set up online billing where he would be able to make his payment. The customer did not make their payment of the $160 deposit by 10/26/16 and his service was disconnected on 10/28/16 at which time he made his payment of the deposit on his OGE online account and his service was restored. He was charged a $35 reconnect fee. We followed our processes correctly informing the customer of the deposit and due date at the time service was initiated, therefore the reconnect fee will not be waived. Tell us why here...

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/06/15) */
The consumer was not charged an initial deposit to start the service; however the customer has had 6 late payments since the account has been open since November. It has now become necessary to secure the consumers account with a deposit in the...

amount of $140.00. The customer as notified on the billing statement that if the payment history did not improve a deposit would be added. The late payments continued therefor causing OGE to charge the customer a deposit. The deposit will be held on the customer's account for a period of 12 months. Once the customer has had 12 months of satisfactory payment history the deposit will be returned to the account.

The customer contracted OGE on 05/12/16 and notified of us of this matter.  OGE has 10 days to respond to the complaint.  The customer then filled a complaint with the Revdex.com not allowing OGE time to complete his request.  Per OGE's vegetation department, there was 1 limb that we...

did not cut; however we picked it up anyways.  OGE considers this matter resolved.

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.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: the balance that transfer from [redacted] nw [redacted] street A and the other address are also incorporated with balance now and that shouldnt be the case if there was a electrical problem in the unit ... 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Our records show the customer started service at this address on 05/02/17. Upon establishing service, the customer was advised that a Service Initiation Fee would be billed to the account and a deposit amount of $220.00 would apply. The customer asked for the SIF to be waived and was advised that it...

could not be. The customer was advised that the deposit could be waived if a Letter of Credt could be provided to us by a previous electric or gas service provider where the customer had service with no more than 2 late fees being present within the last 12 months. The customer was then advised that if the deposit was unpaid, or a valid LOC was not provided by 05/08/17, the service would be disconnected. Being that an initial deposit is a condition of service, no written notice is issued prior to disconnection for non-payment of the condition of service. The customer was given the fax number to have the LOC sent in, the customer said he would do so and the transaction was completed. We did not receive a valid LOC nor the payment of the deposit by the previously given due date of 05/08/17 and as a result, service was disconnected on 05/09/17. The customer then provided a valid LOC less than an hour later from an electric service provider showing previous good payment history, a reconnection order was issued and the deposit was waived. Service was restored to the location exactly one hour after disconnection. As a result of the disconection of service, a reconnection fee of $21.00 was added to the account and is payable with the next invoice issued. As a result of our investigation into this issue, no negligence was found on the part of OGE and therefore the reconnection fee will not be waived. Please let us know if you need anything else on this issue. Thank you.Tell us why here...

At the top of the form in red, it states "Fund availability is limited. Submission of application doesn't guarantee rebate payment".

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/01/05) */
Based of OG&E's Corporate Insurance investigation there was no negligence found on OG&E's part. Based off the terms and conditions of service, signed by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, states that OG&E "will not be liable for any damages...

or loses incurred by a consumer during any service interruptions or other power disturbances that are due to an abnormal or emergency operating condition, unless the evidence shows that the event was caused by the sole negligence of the Company." If the customer feels that she has a claim she will need to make a claim with her homeowner's insurance company.

OGE records show the customer had a deposit amount of $155.00 secured on the account.  This deposit amount was returned to the customer on 05/26/16 due to good payment history.  On 04/04/17, the customer was disconnected for non-payment of $85.14.  The customer then made a payment of...

$87.00 and service was reconnected the same day.  Due to the disconnection of service, and there no longer being a deposit secured on the account, the account was charged a deposit in the amount of $185.00.  This deposit is split into 2 equal payments of $92.50 and will be added to each of the next 2 invoices.  Per OGE policy, the deposit amount is based on 2 times the average bill on the account for the preceding 12 months, which in this case totaled the $185.00 that was charged.  An assessment of an account to determine if sufficient deposit is secured can occur if the customer is disconnected for non-payment, if there are 2 or more late payments within the previous 12 months, or if there are 2 or more returned payments on the account within the previous 12 months.  If one or more of these things occur, and it is determined that either a deposit is not secured, or that an insufficient deposit amount is secured, a deposit will be charged to the account.  If the customer has good payment history, meaning no more than 2 late payments within a continuous 12 month period, the deposit will be refunded to the customer.Due dates for OGE invoices are always 21 days after the meter read date, and since the meter read date nor the due date can occur on a weekend or recognized holiday, individual bill due dates can vary month to month throughout the year.  For this reason, we are unable to provide a fixed day of the month as the due date.  Our Auto Pay program drafts the funds due from the bank account the customer chooses on that given bill's due date.  Please let us know if you should need any further information from OGE regarding this issue.  Thank you.

Based on OGE policy, this customer was notified of the deposit and the due date in order to avoid disconnection of service.  This policy of the deposit being required within 3 business days applies to all OGE customers the same.  Our investigation of this matter has found that no violation of our policy occurred and OGE considers this matter closed.

Ms. [redacted] was charged and paid a $180 deposit when she began service Dec 2010. In March of 2015 we refunded this deposit back to the customer due to good pay history. September 2015 to current the customer has paid the bill past the due date each month. October 2016 her...

service was disconnected for non payment with no deposit on the account. Due to the disconnect for non payment, we added a deposit of $180 split into 2 payments due with the December and January invoice. If the customer has 12 months with no more than 2 late payments we will once again refund the deposit back to them. As for Smart hours it is a program we offer to our customers in an effort to help them save money. However it does not work for all customers. That is why we offer the customer the first year guarantee if they don't save money on the program we refund them the difference and take them off the program. Looking back over Ms. [redacted]'s summer invoices, she would have saved around $200 if she had been on the smarthours program.

The customer was advised at the time that service was set up that a deposit was required.  The customer made a request for new service on our website on 03/07/16.  At the time the customer made the request the customer requested that her service be back dated to 02/22/16.  OGE honored...

the customer's request and processed the move in.  The customer had 3 business days to pay the deposit or the service would be disconnected for nonpayment of the deposit.  OGE sent the customer an email to the address that the customer requested which was [redacted].  In the email it advised the deposit was due on or before 02/25/16 which would have been 3 business days from the requested start date by the customer.  OGE does not have any notes on the customer's account that she was advised that this was an OGE error.  This was not an OGE error as the customer made her request online and OGE completed the move in date per her request.  Since the customer was requesting a start date that was in the past the deposit charge was due immediately.  Please see the customer's online request below as well as the email that was sent to the customer. Web move in Oklahoma service on The correspondence has been e-mailed e-mailed to: [redacted] Residential electric service at: [redacted] has been set up in the name of [redacted] effective 02/22/2016. The address you are moving to has a Smart Meter installed. This meter has the capability to be read, disconnected, and reconnected remotely. In the event the service is disconnected, no notice will be left at your address. The security deposit is 175.00. THE DEPOSIT IS REQUIRED TO BE PAID WITHIN 3 BUSINESS DAYS BY 02/25/2016 OR THE SERVICE WILL BE DISCONNECTED AT THE ADDRESS. Your account number is [redacted]-9. The service initiation fee is $25.00 which will be added to your first bill. We have payment options available. You may pay via US Payments check-by-phone for $2.95 or credit card by phone for $2.95 at 1-877-306-9274. Payment may also be made through US payments at www.payoge.com. You can also pay in person at one of the many pay agents listed on our web site at www.oge.com. Click on OG&E ELECTRIC SERVICES, then Payment Options. If you have any questions, please call OG&E Customer Service, 272-9741 (local calling area) or 1-800-272-9741 (toll free), from 8:00am to 5:00pm, Monday through Friday. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you! OGE will not be waiving any of the reconnect fees or pay for any loss of food as this was not an error on OGE's part.  OGE considers this matter closed as no further action will be taken.

The customer's service has been restored.  The customer is billed for the amount of electricity that is measured threw the meter.  So the days the customer was without power she would not be billed for usage as there was not any usage those days.  The customer will be billed for the...

remaining days that she had power.  OGE crews worked as quickly and as safe as possible to get all customer's service restored as soon as possible.  At this time there is not thing further that OGE can do and we consider this matter closed.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:This is false information and I never received any letter.  I was misinformed by the company and I can see they will go through any loophole to try to avoid taking blame.  I am asking them to waive a 21 dollar reconnection fee still.  The company has a complete monopoly on electric in the area so unfortunately there's no other option for me to go to besides trying to hook my house up to generators.  Horrible job oge.  Horrible job  
Sincerely,
[redacted]

We recieved a copy of the cashed Refund check. It shows to be signed by [redacted] and Angela Bross. Angela was authorized by Mr. [redacted] for access to his OGE account. We have spoken to the customer and he states he did not authorize Angela Bross to cash the refund check and he would like...

to move forward with endorsing an affidavit stating she forged his signature. We have mailed this document to the customer and instructed him to call back to verify we have recieved it. Once it has been recieved we will forward to our bank for verification at which time if deemed so, we will reissue another check to the customer. The customer is agreeable to this resolution.Tell us why here...

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:  (1) It is true that the OCC ruled in favor of this company; however, an appeal will be filed and placed before an Administrative Law Judge and is irrelevant.  At any rate, OG&E mentioning the OCC decision is not germaine to this complaint.  (2)  The past due balance for which payment arrangements were made with this company was paid in full.  It is my opinion that when the payment was made in full, months in advance, the agreement for recovering lost revenue was met.  OG&E, in its poorly written policy, placed extreme hardship upon me when insisting the yet to be due current balance be paid.  When I fulfilled my contract by making payment in full, there was no further agreement.  The premise for the payment arrangement was to pay the past due balance.  Additionally, when this company mandates payment arrangements in the manner upon which this complaint is based, they exhibit an extraordinary lack of foresight and prudence.  In this particular instance, the company insisted on payment in full of a bill that was the largest bill for energy usage to date for this  season.  It is reasonable for this company to simply agree to set up another payment arrangement.  The purpose, after all, as I will infer by common business practice, is to continue a revenue stream from the customer while at the same time enlisting good customer centric protocols.  On the other hand, OG&E is a monopoly.   Providing exceptional customer service, offering just and prudent payment arrangement seem to be irrelevant and inconsequential to this company.  The policy this company mandates and the policy that OCC MUST enforce by law remains unfair, coercive and extortive.  Their policy must change.
Sincerely,
[redacted]