Puget Sound Energy, INC.

Thank you for forwarding the complaint of Al [redacted] to our office for review. We appreciate him bringing this matter to our attention. Mr. [redacted] states that he was assessed a returned payment fee which he believes was in error.
On September 21, 2016, Mr. [redacted] attempted to use his...

checking account information to make a one-time payment of $91 to his PSE account. The customer’s bank rejected the transaction, stating that the provided bank account number was not found. This resulted in a returned payment and assessment of a returned payment fee to Mr. [redacted]’s PSE account. While PSE’s system does require entry of the bank account number twice, it will not create an error if the two entries match. The system cannot verify upfront that the bank account number is incorrect. The bank account number Mr. [redacted] entered was slightly different than his actual bank account number.
On October 18, 2016, Mr. [redacted] contacted PSE to verify what he owed on his account and to report that he would be sending a new payment that day to cover his balance. Because Mr. [redacted]’s returned payment appears to have been attempted in good faith and because he has been in contact to pay his balance, PSE customer service has removed the returned payment fee from his account balance.
We trust that this information will assist you in closing the complaint. We apologize for any inconvenience Mr. [redacted] has experienced regarding this matter.
Sincerely, Puget Sound Energy

Dear Ms. [redacted],A review of your account shows the $589.00 deposit requested on 5/21/17 was waive on 6/23/17.  Your account balance as of today, 6/28/17 is $285.22 and the due date is 7/3/17.  Deposits are charged in accordance with the rules we adhere to as a regulated utility which are...

WAC rules.  Washington Administrative Code.  When there have been 3 or more notices issued within a 12 month period accounts are assessed deposits.  Going forward it is important that you contact PSE before the due date of your bills if you are unable to pay to see if your account is eligible for a payment arrangement to prevent disconnection notices from being sent and/or service being disconnected.Regards,Customer Care

Dear Ms. [redacted]We are sorry for the frustruation you have encountered with ending the PSE service at [redacted] in Poulsbo.  I have completed a compliance check on the account and found that you initially contacted our Call Center on Tuesday March the 3rd and requested to start...

service at your new address on 3/5 and end service at the [redacted] address on Friday March the 6th.  The final bill for the [redacted] address was sent on March the 6th in the amount of $167.84 for the service period of 2/11/15 through 3/6/15.  Unfortunately the ending read used for 3/6/15 was estimated by our billing system and was estimated too low.  As a regulated utility goverened by the Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission we are required to correct customers billings when it is discovered the bill was not correct.  This is the reason the estimated reading was corrected and a revised final bill was sent on June 3rd, 2015.  The corrected final bill amount for the actual usage used from 2/11/15 to 3/6/15 was $214.79.  PSE had already received your payment of $167.84 leaving a remaining balance owing of $46.95.  Our records show the payment of $46.95 was received on 6/9/15 and the closed account balance is zero.  I also followed up with our Call Center Management team regarding the request you made on 6/5/15 to have a supervisor call you back.  It was confirmed that the agent you spoke with did send an email to the supervisor team requesting you be called back however the call was not made to you as promised.  We apologize that you did not receive a call as you were promised.  My investigation finds that the billing correction to correct the estimated reading on your closing bill is in complaince with the rules we must adhere to as a regulated utility.  We are sorry that this is not the resolution you were looking for.Regards,Stacey H.Sr. Escalated Complaints ExaminerCustomer Care OperationsPuget Sound Energy

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:  this was the same "canned" response I got from the call agent. I'm tired of excuses that hide the real answer "the company made a mistake" period!Never in my service with PSE in the last 15 years have I ever been given an estimate on a bill. The facts are these:I called to stop service I paid my final bill and was not told anywhere it was an estimateI assumed they sent someone out to read the meter AND if they couldn't get out that fast I assumed that I would get a bill of overages within 30 days. Not almost 90. The he company made a mistake. I don't appreciate the excuse that they are using. When I make a mistake I have to pay the penalty. I made no mistake here. I called to confirm my final bill and stop service. Again, had this been addressed within a few weeks I wouldn't be taking issue with it. It's the fact that they can send me a bill almost three months later because of their mistake.They are admitting they failed. They should write the amount off. I also still have yet to hear from a supervisor. Sincerely,[redacted]

I am not sure why the attachments did not go through yesterday.  I've attempted to attach them to this response.  They are emails dated 12/30/16, 1/8/17 and 1/11/17.  I am also copying the emails into the body of this response just in case the attachments to not go through today.
 
From: [redacted]Sent: Friday, December 30, 2016 11:34 AMTo: '[redacted]@gmail.com'Subject: Follow-up from our conversation on 12-30Attachments: 12-20-16 RPM Letter to *. [redacted] - $86.35 payment received.pdf; 12-20-16 RPM letter to *.[redacted].3 major credit bureaus notified.pdfHi [redacted],Per our conversation this morning, I am attaching copies of the two letters that RPM (Receivables Performance Management, LLC) sent us dated December 20, 2016. I called and spoke with them and they advised me that for privacy reasons the envelopes they use do not have their name on them. They are plain white envelopes with a return address of [redacted] WA. Their records do show they were mailed on 12/20/16 and addressed to [redacted]. I was provided with a phone number for their Escalations Department for you to call and speak to them about your concerns with what you feel should show on the letters. That phone number is 1-888-838-5123 and you will want to reference your file account# with them which is [redacted].I hope you are successful in obtaining the information from them that you are seeking.Sincerely,[redacted] | Sr. Escalated Complaints ExaminerPerformance Qualitywww.PSE.comOffice (425) 424-6572From: [redacted]Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2017 3:25 PMTo: '[redacted]'Subject: Response to your email dated 1-8-17Hello [redacted],I left you a voicemail yesterday, January 10th around 2:10pm to let you know that your request in your email below pertains to RPM's internal information and that you will need to call them at the phone number I provided to you in my email to dated 12/30/16 and that I can only investigate your PSE account#’s as they were before they were assigned to RPM. I will be responding to your Revdex.com request for additional information today and providing the Revdex.com with a copy of this email thread. Sincerely,[redacted]Puget Sound EnergyPerformance Quality425-424-6572From: [redacted] [mailto:[redacted]@gmail.com] Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2017 3:39 PMTo: [redacted]Subject: Re: Follow-up from our conversation on 12-30Hello [redacted],Thank you for sending over copies of the letters. I have a few questions regarding the letters; one of the letters references number [redacted] for $86.35, which I do not have any record for this account, or in that amount. I do however have record of the reference number [redacted] which is listed on the second attachment, so that letter is great. The account that still needs to be resolved is the [redacted] which showed a balance due of $187 back on 6/10/16 (last credit pull), can you please look into resolving this one as well? I would like to have the same "removal" letter provided for this account as was done for the other account.We're almost there! Thank you.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: this is absolutely false. They were notified both by phone and in writing. When we bought the property 2 years ago, they sent generic bill, no name to property while providing service and request personal info for billing, which we provided of course. They were notified and have info that sale of property was Jan. 30, 2017. They failed to update at their end and refuse to take responsibility. Names and propery sales not only are public information, but PSE is double billing the property address, one to us, and one to new home owner. 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
Thank you for explaining that these calls are a collection effort. This still does not account for why your system is malfunctioning and dialing our number 5-10 times per day. If your system was functioning properly a message or employee would identify themselves and the reason for the call. If the system was functioning properly, it would record that it dials our number 5-10 times per day, and would record that we pickup the phone to answer. 
The amount of disturbances your system creates in our business is considered harassment. According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) the creditor must state who they are, the purpose of their call, and that they are trying to collect a debt. Anything else is considered spam and at 5-10 times per day our attorney believes it to be harassment.
If we cannot opt out of collections calls, then you need to fix your system. In the meantime, we will no longer tolerate this level of harassment as we have a business to run.
Sincerely,[redacted]

PSE  is price gouging. I also have a 500 gallon propane tank so I don't know where they are getting the read from. I am not the only person in this vicinity that is hit by hit heating costs. All of my lights are on timers and aren't on longer then 4 to t hours  a day. Plus they are ALL led. I have a small house and that my rate  have more then doubled I find scketchy. PSE should be broken up into smaller companies so that they can't be the big  bad greedy wolf scouring people financially. Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:Sincerely,[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: This months bill is not the one that has the issues.  All the bills from August tell now did not reflect the amount due in the yellow box.Sincerely,[redacted]

Thank you for forwarding the complaint of [redacted] M. [redacted] to our office for review. We appreciate her bringing this matter to our attention. Ms. [redacted] states that she has recently received bills that are much higher than normal.
Ms. [redacted]’ consumption is in line with historical winter...

consumption at her address. Her usage for the time period of 12/2/2015-12/30/2015 was 1,193 kWhs, compared to 1,006 kWhs used for the time period of 12/2/2014-12/30/2014. The current winter saw lower temperatures (the average monthly temperature for the time period was 41 degrees in 2015 versus 44 degrees in 2014), which is the most likely reason for Ms. [redacted]’ increased consumption for the current winter.
Ms. [redacted] is noticing an increase in her monthly bill for that time period not only due to the increase in her usage, but also due to increased rates for electric service in 2015 and the absence of a credit of $29.29 for the Jefferson PUD Sale Credit which was applied to her December 2014 bill.
PSE does offer tools to assist customers with managing their usage. Ms. [redacted] may register for or log in to her MyPSE account and go to the Energy Center to view, track, and analyze her home’s energy usage. Additionally, she may reach out to PSE’s Energy Advisor Team by calling 1-800-562-1482 to review her energy usage and receive recommendations for lowering her bill.
We trust that this information will assist you in closing the complaint. We apologize for any inconvenience Ms. [redacted] has experienced regarding this matter.
Sincerely,
Puget Sound Energy

Thank you for forwarding the complaint of [redacted] to our office for review. We appreciate her bringing this matter to our attention. Ms. ** states that she received a Final Notice notifying her that she must remit payment by December 14, 2015, but that she forgot to pay and her service was...

disconnected on December 15, 2015 without any phone call to warn her of the impending disconnection.
On 12/4/2015, PSE mailed Ms. ** a notice which states “A payment of $105.83 must be received no later than December 14, 2015. Failure to do so will result in service disconnection without further notice”. This written notice clearly states that no further warning, including phone calls, would be made if no payment was received by the final payment date. Ms. **’s service was disconnected for nonpayment on December 15, 2015. At that time, her account was closed.
In order to reconnect Ms. **’s service, a new account was opened for her and she was assessed a security deposit of $273 and a reconnection fee of $37. Ms. ** was advised that she could either pay both those charges in full or pay half of her deposit plus her reconnection fee in order to have service restored. Ms. ** opted to pay half of her deposit plus her reconnection fee, and service was reconnected on December 15, 2015 after a payment of $173.50 was reported. The remaining balance of Ms. **’s deposit will be split into payments and billed to her along with her monthly consumption charges. If Ms. ** is unable to pay her charges by her due date, she may contact PSE Customer Service at 1-888-225-5773 to request a payment arrangement.
We trust that this information will assist you in closing this complaint. We apologize for any inconvenience Ms. ** has experienced regarding this matter.
Sincerely,
Puget Sound Energy

Dear Ms. [redacted],
Our apologies for sending the Revdex.com a response for a different customer.  The mistake was discovered immediately however we were unable to find in the Revdex.com's system a way to recall the incorrect response.  Following is the correct response for your complaint.
We have completed our investigation which included listening to the call recordings when [redacted] called in on 9/29 and were able to verify that the first agent he spoke to did provide him with the incorrect account number that needed to be paid to prevent disconnection of service.  We apologize this was not discovered when you called previously.
We have gone ahead and re-opened account #[redacted] and invalidated account #[redacted] that was created after the disconnection on 10/24/16.  The reconnection fee has also been reversed.  The payment of $349.50 made to reconnect has been transferred to reinstated account #[redacted].
As far as the $663.00 deposit, that deposit is still valid as you had previously been charged a $663.00 deposit to reconnect service after service was disconnected for non-payment previously on 6/3/16.  After the correction to reinstate account #[redacted] was completed and payments transferred, the unpaid deposit balance is $331.50.  We have created a 2 month installment plan on the $331.50 deposit balance with $165.75 due 12/14/16 & $165.75 due 1/19/17.  You will receive an installment confirmation letter for these arrangements. 
The non-deposit balance owing on your account is $504.29 broken down as follows:
·        $49.07 for usage from 5/27/16 to 8/26/16
·        $455.22 for usage from 8/27/16 to 10/26/16
A new statement will generate tonight 11/22/16 due 12/14/16 for a total owing of $670.04 which consist of the $504.29 usage and the $165.75 deposit installment. 
As far as your request to be compensated for the 8 hours the power was off, you would need to contact our claims department to file a claim.  Their phone# is [redacted].
PSE does not report disconnections or active credit to credit agencies. The only thing we report to credit agencies is unpaid closing bills.
Regards,
SH – Sr. Escalated Complaints Examiner
Puget Sound Energy

Thank you for referring the complaint of [redacted] to our office for review. We appreciate her bringing this matter to our attention. Ms. [redacted] is disputing her bills for the time period of 10/29/15 to 1/31/16, stating that she believes that they are too high.
Ms. [redacted]’s bills for the...

time period in question are all a reflection of actual usage. PSE has received consistent daily reads from Ms. [redacted]’s electric meter and a copy of those daily reads has been provided to her so that she can see how much her daily consumption is. PSE does offer tools to assist customers with managing their usage. Ms. [redacted] may register for or log in to her MyPSE account and go to the Energy Center to view, track, and analyze her home’s energy usage. Additionally, she may reach out to PSE’s Energy Advisor Team by calling 1-800-562-1482 to review her energy usage and receive recommendations for lowering her bill.
There is no indication that there is any type of equipment malfunction at Ms. [redacted]’s address. Electric meters by design do not "speed up" or register additional usage when malfunctioning. By contrast, meters which are malfunctioning will begin to slow down and eventually stop altogether, meaning that customers experiencing malfunctioning meters will see lower than normal billing, not higher billing. If Ms. [redacted] feels that her meter reads are not correct, she may contact PSE Customer Service by calling 1-888-225-5773 to request a meter test. She may request to be present for the test if she would like.
We trust that this information will assist you in closing the complaint. We apologize for any inconvenience that Ms. [redacted] has experienced as a result of this matter.
Sincerely,
Puget Sound Energy

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: They're accounting makes no sense to me and they are talking to me about a bill from 2012(WHICH IS IRRELEVANT TO THIS SITUATION!!!!), that is part of what they sent me as what they mean. I truly simply want to sit down with them and have them show me how they came up with their numbers and where my payments went and why they put me in collections for an alleged outstanding bill but when I called them they said with my deposit minus the final bill of $119 which left over roughly $334 which would be sent back to me, I was good to go.
BUT as seems to be the way they operate, not only am I not getting the deposit back but I have been sent to collections for $120. NO MENTION OF THAT WHEN I CLOSED MY ACCOUNT. No email, no letters, nothing.
If you look at the cryptic itemizations they send me, it shows that $430 being bounced this way and that, but not where it finally landed. If you could see the individual bills they sent me it shows that I was making extra payments and then I was caught up in June. So between extra payments and a deposit, why am I not only not caught up, but in collections? And why didn't they tell me they were sending me to collections so I could have settled it or asked then what happened to my deposit. I had to contact them when no deposit showed up, that's when they said I wouldn't get a deposit, but said nothing of collections or any outstanding bill. They said I didn't get a deposit back because I didn't pay one, but the only way they were going to open a new account was if I paid one. So I paid $430 and extra every bill until June when I thought I was clear. Again, why didn't they say anything then?  
I simply want someone to sit down with me and go through this bit by bit. It wouldn't take more than a half hour. Now they claim they don't do that which seems like bad business and shady. PLUS WITH THE BILL FROM APRIL 2012, I am not sure they even know what they are talking about.
So NO, unequivocally NO I do not accept their response.
 
Thank you for the attention to this matter. Seems like they have a history of this from reading the comments. I thought Monopolies were illegal for this very reason?
Sincerely,
 
[redacted]
 
 
Sincerely,[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:After researching PSE I found that the maximum they can assess me for a deposit is an average of two months usage. Since the bill they recently sent me (to the wrong address) conveniently had four months of service billed to me, I know that the amount they are charging me is over and beyond that. Sincerely,[redacted]

Dear Mr. [redacted],
As a regulated utility we are required to bill customers correctly when it has been discovered they were billed in error and the rules do not allow us to provide discounts.  What we can do is offer you an extended interest free monthly installment plan on your total account...

balance of $9.558.18.  The records show you had previously been set up with a 10 month installment plan which is no longer active.  If you are interested in setting up another installment plan please let us know.  We would be willing to set up an installment plan for up to 2 years/24 months to pay off the balance.
Additionally, if  you feel PSE is not in compliance with the rules we must adhere to as a regulated utility, you can file a complaint with the WUTC (Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission).  They can be reached at 1-888-333-9882 or in person at 1300 S Evergreen Park DR SW, Olympia, WA 98504.
Regards,
SH – Sr. Escalated Complaints Examiner

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: I believe the meter reading to be faulty.  As you can see my daily temperatures are low, showing that I don't use the base board heaters in my home. I am home maybe 2 hours before I go to bed. There is no way that I am using $150 worth of electricity. I am,convinced that your services and charges are wrong. There's no possible way this is correct.Sincerely,[redacted]

Dear Ms. [redacted],We apologize that our previous responses did not answer your question.  We received the complaint that you opened up with the UTC on August 6th and submitted our response to your complaint to the UTC on August 10th.  The UTC will perform a compliance investigation on the information we provided. For your review, I have attached a document that shows the Usage Amounts you have been billed for on your March through August statements.  You will see on this document that the usage amount & basic charge you were billed on your opening statement in March was only $10.68, this statement also showed the $6.49 billing initiation charge and the $46.00 Security Deposit charge for a total amount billed in March of $63.17.  The $46.00 Security Deposit will be refunded to you after you have paid on time for 12 consectutive months as long as no more than 2 late notices are issued or serivce is disconnected.  If you move prior to the deposit befing refunded the deposit will be applied to your closing bill.   Maybe this will better explain your opening bill to you and assure you that the consumption and basic charge amounts you have used and been billed for each month have not exeeeded $29.37.  March 2015 = $10.68April 2015 = $20.56May 2015 = $22.19June 2015 = $24.73July 2015 = $29.37August 2015 = $29.01Hoefully this additional inforamtion will answer all your questions.  Now that you have filed a complaint with our regulators (The UTC) you will want to work directly with them on any additional questions you have.  Regards,Stacey H.Puget Sound Energy

Thank you for forwarding the complaint of [redacted] to our office for review. We appreciate her bringing this matter to our attention.  Ms. [redacted] states that despite making payments every month toward her account, her outstanding balance was referred to an external collection agency....


On April 12, 2016, Ms. [redacted] ended her service at [redacted] N. in [redacted]. Her final account balance was $855.25. Since ending service, Ms. [redacted] has remitted two payments toward the balance, a payment of $25.25 which was posted to her account on July 5, 2016, and a payment of $10.00 which was posted to her account on August 9, 2016.
Ms. [redacted] was mailed Final Request notices on June 2, 2016 and June 29, 2016. The letters advised that if her account debt was not paid in full or suitable payment arrangements made, the account would be assigned to a collection agency. Although Ms. [redacted] did propose a payment arrangement, it was not suitable due to the amount of the balance owing and the small amount she was offering to pay monthly.
The remaining account balance was assigned to an external collection agency on August 29, 2016, after Ms. [redacted] failed to pay the balance or make a suitable payment arrangement. As the balance was not referred to collections in error, it will remain with the collection agency.
We trust that this information will assist you in closing the complaint. We apologize for any inconvenience Ms. [redacted] has experienced regarding this matter.
 
Sincerely,Puget Sound Energy