Pepco Energy Services Company

Pepco is an absolutely terrible company to work withTheir automated "service" is terrible and provides no help in the right direction whatsoeverTheir customer service is atrocious; I've talked to two human CSRs and neither of them could answer a simple security deposit question nor could they connect me to the proper people to speak toI've been on hold multiple times for more than minutes and been hung up on twiceWhen calling to speak to a supervisor, one of the CSRs put me right back in the queue to be put on hold, this time for a "hold time of 1hr, min to 1hr, min"This is absolutely astounding that a company can treat customers as suchI'm not even a customer yet and I've been treated poorlyOn top if all of this, the security deposit I was asked to pay was more than what the website stated as an allowed security depositThe website states that an applicant may be asked to pay a security deposit of either $or twice the amount of a monthly bill, whichever is the lesserI was asked to pay $160!! This company is an absolute nightmare to work withIf I had a choice in utility companies, I would never choose Pepco

May 28, 2014Dear *** ***:This letter serves to respond to *** ***s complaint regarding the delay in receiving her initial billI appreciate the opportunity to provide the following informationOn June 18, 2013, a new account at the above referenced address was
established in the customers name effective June 19, However, as the customer states, there was a delay in reconnecting the service at the new address as well as a delay in rendering the initial billTherefore, in the interest of good customer relations, we have opted to issue a credit adjustment equal to half of the total bill for the billing period from June 27, to January 13, The total amount of the billing for that period is $and we have issued a credit adjustment in the amount of $319.67.On February 13, a payment of $was received; however, the payment was returned unpaid due to invalid banking information (incorrectly entered bank account or routing number)A $returned payment fee was assessed when this payment was returnedWe have waived the returnedpayment fee as well late fee charges in the amount of $that were assessed from February through April After applying the credit adjustments listed above, the current account balance is $We can extend a payment arrangement for up to months on the remaining balancePlease have the customer contact me directly to establish the payment arrangementsI trust this information will be helpful in addressing the customers concernsPlease contact me if you need any additional informationSincerely,

Review: I moved to [redacted], MD in June of 2014 and as per the norm, prior to moving in I reached out to Pepco to turn on the power in my apartment and basically to move the account from one apartment to another apartment since I was moving to a location in the same area. First, it took them two weeks to do so during which they repeatedly would tell me that my power was on even though it most certainly was not. I had to live out of a suitcase at a friends apartment during that time. However, the more pressing issue arose when they finally did turn on the power and yet did not send me the bill. As you can imagine, without the first bill, I can't set-up an account to pay the bill. This continued for a period of time after which I had to personally reach out to Pepco in regards to the fact that they were not sending me any bills and it concerned me that I would wake up one day and find that the power had been turned off. Currently, what also concerns me about this is the fact that usually, when the electric company sends you a bill you can monitor on a monthly basis how much power you are using and adjust your usage accordingly. Without any bills to see my usage, I also wasn't afforded this right. When I sent the message to PEPCO they responded with the following message "Thank you for contacting Pepco regarding you not receiving your bill. We apologize for the inconvenience and are happy to assist you. Our records show that although we reconnected the service at [ADDRESS redacted] [redacted], MD, the bill was held up in our system. This is the reason why you are unable to view your bills online. We have issued a request to bill your account from June 27, 2013.We will issue the bill within the next 3-4 weeks. You will not be assessed any late fees. Once you receive the bill, you may request payment arrangements if needed." This message was signed by [redacted], Internet Communications Representative, Pepco Holdings, Inc in an email on Jan 7. So now I am trying to manage this one large bill that they are sending me and the people in customer service whom I have spoken with are being unfair in regards to helping me to come up with a payment plan. I feel that it’s unfair to ask me to pay for a majority of the bill all at once when normally this is something I would have paid in increments on a monthly basis. I also feel that is unfair that I never had the opportunity to decrease my power usage by doing something as simple as turning down the temperature in my apartment. I'm not trying to be unreasonable, but I feel as if I am being unfairly treated in regards to a mistake that was initially not my own. The first time I called the customer service agent I attempted to make a $100 initial payment just to get the ball rolling. For some reason Pepco is saying this payment did not go through (though I have a bill from Pepco saying that the payment was received) and I am not sure why since I was sure that the money was in my account at the time. After making this payment I traveled to Europe for work for 2 weeks and returned to find out that the payment didn't go through. So as soon as I was able this time I made a $150 payment. So after this I received a message in the mail saying that if I didn’t pay the full bill by April 7th, that they would disconnect my power. On March 21st, I called the Pepco customer service agent who now told me that I was delinquent for 6 months and that there was no type of payment arrangements that could be made on my behalf and that if I didn't pay a minimum of about $330 that Pepco would disconnect my power. I’m not the type of person who doesn't like to pay their bill but this, in my opinion, is unbelievable.Desired Settlement: I feel that I am owed a combination of a reduced bill (as I didn’t get to manage my power usage) and a payment plan that I can actually afford.

Business

Response:

May 28, 2014Dear [redacted]:This letter serves to respond to [redacted]s complaint regarding the delay in receiving her initial bill. I appreciate the opportunity to provide the following information.On June 18, 2013, a new account at the above referenced address was established in the customers name effective June 19, 2013. However, as the customer states, there was a delay in reconnecting the service at the new address as well as a delay in rendering the initial bill. Therefore, in the interest of good customer relations, we have opted to issue a credit adjustment equal to half of the total bill for the billing period from June 27, 2013 to January 13, 2014. The total amount of the billing for that period is $639.34 and we have issued a credit adjustment in the amount of $319.67.On February 13, 2014 a payment of $100.00 was received; however, the payment was returned unpaid due to invalid banking information (incorrectly entered bank account or routing number). A $5.00 returned payment fee was assessed when this payment was returned. We have waived the returnedpayment fee as well late fee charges in the amount of $27.98 that were assessed from February through April 2014.After applying the credit adjustments listed above, the current account balance is $317.48. We can extend a payment arrangement for up to 12 months on the remaining balance. Please have the customer contact me directly to establish the payment arrangements.I trust this information will be helpful in addressing the customers concerns. Please contact me if you need any additional information.Sincerely,

Pepco is an absolutely terrible company to work with. Their automated "service" is terrible and provides no help in the right direction whatsoever. Their customer service is atrocious; I've talked to two human CSRs and neither of them could answer a simple security deposit question nor could they connect me to the proper people to speak to. I've been on hold multiple times for more than 40 minutes and been hung up on twice. When calling to speak to a supervisor, one of the CSRs put me right back in the queue to be put on hold, this time for a "hold time of 1hr, 20 min to 1hr, 45 min". This is absolutely astounding that a company can treat customers as such. I'm not even a customer yet and I've been treated poorly. On top if all of this, the security deposit I was asked to pay was more than what the website stated as an allowed security deposit. The website states that an applicant may be asked to pay a security deposit of either $100 or twice the amount of a monthly bill, whichever is the lesser. I was asked to pay $160!! This company is an absolute nightmare to work with. If I had a choice in utility companies, I would never choose Pepco.

Review: We wrote to the CEO of [redacted] electric after numerou attempts to have the light fixed. As of this date the light has not been fixed. On 11-18-14 the wrong light was again fixed. This light did not need to be replaced. What follows is the letter we sent the CEO and it clearly outlines the ongoing problems we are having trying to get the parking lot light repaired: Our parking lot light is out again. There is a history with this pole and light and we have written to you several times in the past after your service department failed to repair the light. Each time we had to contact you did send out a service man and the light was fixed. Previously we have contacted customer service six times to have the parking lot light repaired. They could not get it fixed. The pole and light belong to [redacted] Electric. Also, it gets dark early now and patients need to see to walk safety. Please have someone thoroughly repair the light and if necessary they may contact us for directions to the light.

When your staff came out they apparently replaced the bulb in the street light 3 times on Orchard Drive in front of the office (not the parking lot in the back) and one or two times on [redacted] Avenue. These bulbs did not need replacement. We have given detailed instructions to the location of the light each time we called to report the problems. We clearly explained you have to drive down the driveway towards the back of the parking area and that it cannot be seen from the street. It seems to us that your staff should be able to do this but for some unexplained reason they cannot. Thus it necessitated that we contact you.

After we wrote to you in the past the light was repaired however it is out again. The repair was completed two times in the past as the light went out after a few days the first time it was fixed. Currently we have had rain and the seal may have leaked. This is the third time the light has gone out. Another problem is that the pole does not show up on your reporting map (Map of poles and numbers to mark the pole). I asked to have this problem addressed despite my request it has not. Again the streetlight pole is off the street and in the parking lot at the back of the property. These directions need to be provided to the service man since the pole cannot be found on the map.

It took eight weeks since the first requested repair to have the light fixed and over two weeks till the serviceman corrected it on the second request. Currently the light is out again. It has been one week since we reported it. I understand the light on [redacted] Avenue was repaired again. Our light was not repaired so we contacted Ms. Maryann M[redacted] compliance assistant on Monday 11-10-14 from your office and have not heard back from her.

We have continued to pay for this light despite the fact that we have not had its use. We requested reimbursement after it took so long the first time to get repair yet we have not been reimbursed for our loss. We continue to request fair compensation. Please have someone accurately repair the light and if necessary they may contact us for directions to the light. Also it would be appreciated if pole [redacted] could be added to the map.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. You may contact us at ###-###-#### or by email at [redacted].com.

Sincerely,

[redacted]Desired Settlement: The light needs to be repaired or replaced, the light pole number needs to be added to the pole map so the service people can find it and compensation for the weeks the the light was out and we continued to pay the monthly bill.

Review: I moved into my apartment on July 23, 2013. I received a bill for my first month with Pepco for electric that was $446.42. I live alone, and this is my first month here. I am gone during the day, and I kept my thermostat around 74 on hot days. I emailed Pepco and spoke to my leasing office regarding this bill. The leasing office stated that this doesn't seem right, and this is not the average for what their residents pay. My old apartment with [redacted] my electric ran $50-70. So I emailed Pepco with my concerns. I asked that my meter be re-read because I felt this was inaccurate. I got a response that stated, "They certainly know how alarming a bill of this magnitude can be. They have placed a hold on my account and will wait to reissue another bill until the meter gets read again. Once they go back and read the meter, they will be able to verify my initial bill. However, they advise a min payment of $200.00 until the usage is confirmed." However, today September 23, 2013, I received a disconnect notice stating if I do not pay $453.12 by Oct 3, my services would be disconnected. I never paid the suggested $200 they recommended, because I had concerns regarding my bill, and they chose to ignore my concerns until my meter gets read again. I shouldn't have to pay anything when I am questioning an outrageous bill with no resolution at hand. I have this email on hand if needed for proof of this conversation.Desired Settlement: I want an explanation of charges. I want my meter re-read and someone to explain to me how the bill can be this high for someone who is hardly home and lives alone. I also do not want my services disconnected and a hold WITH NO late fee placed on my account until this is settled.

Business

Response:

October 25, 2013

Dear **. [redacted]:

I have reviewed the customer’s initial bill in the amount of $446.42 for 2,860 kilowatt hours for service from July 23, 2013 to August 22, 2013. I discovered that an incorrect meter reading was entered for the customer’s occupancy date of July 23, 2013. Since the customer has a smart meter, I was able to retrieve the July 23, 2013 meter reading remotely and identify the error.

The initial bill from July 23, 2013 to August 22, 2013 should have been for 717 kilowatt hours in the amount of $117.72. I have issued a credit adjustment to the customer’s account for $328.70, which is the difference between the erroneous bill and the corrected amount. I have also credited the $6.70 late fee. The customer’s balance to date is $29.10 and this amount will be included in the customer’s next bill, which is scheduled to be mailed on October 28, 2013.

I apologize for this billing error and for any inconvenience and frustration this matter may have caused her. Moreover, I am disappointed to hear that the error was not identified when **. [redacted] contacted us on September 1, 2013. We are committed to providing outstanding customer service and I am confident that during any future contact the customer may have with Pepco, she will receive the type of exemplary customer service she deserves and should expect.

Sincerely,