Rappahannock Electric Cooperative

I was a customer with Rappahannock Electric for over 25 years. The last year we was with them I paid my bill on time based on what my bill said was due. Then I received a second bill for over 1500.o.o aditional charges. I spoke with a agent and they said that this was due to faulty equiptment. Thier meter was not reading properly for almost a year. When they finally changed it out they said we still owned them the additional
Money. My husband is on disability and I work my butt off to try and pay our bills.
Now they are taking us to court to pay for something that was their fault...I paid what our monthly bill said we owed..
My husband is about ready to have a nervous breakdown over their equiptment failing. This need to be corrected ...now.. 25year plus loyal customer. If my equiptment..I have to eat the error. If I don't check it for a year.
That is my fault. You all need to correct this bill now please..
Thank you
Bonnie Hoover

Review: I came home at 5:30pm today, Wednesday, May 25, 2016, to find a notice on my door that my power had been cut off for non-payment at 1:20pm this afternoon. The bill was less than $160. I have been a member of the so-called "cooperative" for 13 years now, and have never allowed a bill to go unpaid. Late a few times, yes, but never unpaid. I am having a hard time understanding how you can allow a long term, loyal customer's air conditioning to be cut off when #1-you were unable to reach me because YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE PEOPLE DID NOT UPDATE MY PHONE NUMBER, AS I'VE REQUESTED THEY DO THREE TIMES NOW, once via phone and twice in person; and #2-it got up to 90 degrees today. I have 4 pets here, 2 of whom are elderly and looking at me panting with heat exhaustion right now. Everything in my attic (Christmas decorations, family heirlooms) is now damaged. The $700 worth of food in my fridge is spoiling as I type. Who pays for all that? My primary issue: not only did I have to pay a $181 fee for reconnection, I was told that due to the interruption in service, I now have to pay a four hundred something dollar fee, "because there was no deposit on the account". First of all, that isn't true. Your records are STILL not reflecting my legal name change properly. I had my name legally changed 3 years ago, and have been trying to get you people to fix my records in your system ever since. I am now beginning to wonder if that's WHY you can't seem to fix my phone number in your system, either. So under my former name, I DID pay a deposit, many years ago, and your system simply isn't reflecting that. This is unacceptable. Your office needs to contact me as soon as possible to rectify this matter. I should not have to fight legal battles with people I've never done wrong. AND PLEASE MAKE SURE MY PHONE NUMBER IS NOW CORRECT IN THE SYSTEM.Desired Settlement: I do NOT deserve to be "fined" a "deposit" of over $400, nor should I have to harass your customer service people in order to get my phone number corrected in your system so that I'm not risking coming home to find my pets dead from heat exhaustion. Thank god I wasn't held late at work, as I normally am.

Business

Response:

DNP warning letter was mailed on 5/6/16.DNP courtesy call was made on 5/19/16 (no answer/max rings) – member mentioned that it was an old number and updated his number 5/25/16.Deposit warning letter mailed on 3/22/16.Deposited of $442.00 was recommended & will be billed over 5 months @ $88.40/month.Reconnect fee billed $181.Member thought we would call before disconnection and said the person at the gate could have reached him. First time account was DNP’d but not the first time a DNP letter has been sent. As a courtesy, we have contacted the member and advised him that if he kept his account current for the next 6mos or more, we would waive the deposit and waive the reconnection fee. He agreed. We will monitor the account.

Review: I am suppose to receive a disconnection notice 10 days prior to disconnection. I called them and told them I never received anything from them not even a bill. I spoke to a supervisor that basically spoke to me like I was trash and couldn't pay my bills. She said well u know electric isn't free and y need to pay your bills. I asked her when was my due date she told every month is different and that if I didn't get a bill to call and check. Well I did and still no info how am I suppose to pay my bills if I'm not getting them and don't know when they come out. Visit told her I never received the disconnection letter and asked for a one day extention she told me know. And made me feel down greater cuz I had a organization help me pay last month. It's states in there statement that they send out a notice 10 days before cut off I NEVER GOT IT AND SHE WOULD NOT HELL ME IN ANY KIND OF WAY. VDesired Settlement: I want my 10 day notice prior to cut off and a one day extention

Business

Response:

The disconnect notice was sent on 1/25/16 for $249.00.

The member called to make payment arrangements but because the service started in Oct 2015 and have only made one payment of $23.00 we are not able to extend the account at this time.

We asked her to make a payment by February 10, 2016 which she did.If the member paid $100.00 by February 10, 2016 then we told her that she can pay the difference on February 12, 2016.She is not receiving her bills due to no receptacle, per the post office.

Review: Im constantly being harrassed to be turned off and having to pay a ridiculous amount of deposits by to my electric company Rappahannock Electric. Every since my doctor turned in my sleep disorders papers too them. Now with my medical papers on file..I get more turn off notices then before with or without setting up a payment plan. Example..I made a payment three weeks ago.of.$260.00..my pastdue was due $190.00 is due december 14..I made payment arrangements for the 30th of December..I still receieved two cut off notices n a call ...n before my medical papers it cud b 30 days before I would get a notice and its impossible to catch whn they keep adding deposits to your account every couple months. . its not fair because their is no other electric company I can use in my area so they bully their customers. I am so sick of thm sometimes I am left on hold n no one picks back up..Desired Settlement: I want a competitive business to get my electric from...I should not have to give my money to these unprofessional people...if there is no other business..then I just want a compliant filed on thm about these outrageous deposits..

Business

Response:

We have reached out to the member to address her issue and questions. More to come when the member returns our phone call.

Business

Response:

Our supervisor researched Ms. [redacted]’ account yesterday, and felt she would be a great fit for PrePay; however, she started SMCC in July. After speaking with her this evening, she totally misunderstood the purpose of SMCC and felt that we were treating her differently ever since she started it. After the supervisor explained how PrePay works, she was thrilled. She truly feels it would be best for her, and wants to be removed from SMCC. Ms. [redacted] was very thankful we called her and explained both options. She had time to speak with a representative to transition from traditional to PrePay, so it was handled in one phone call. [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's offer. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. If the company does not perform as promised I can get back to you at: [redacted]

Regards,

The customer contacted Revdex.com and stated that a supervisor did reach out to her and satisfied the details of her complaint. She requested that this complaint be closed as it had been resolved by the business.

When I moved into my home a year ago, I was told I would have to pay a $700.00 deposit based on the 2 highest bills in the past 12 months. I didn't think that was fair because the previous tenants had skipped on the home, which I could only presume they skipped on their utilities as well. It was difficult to get any service in my home due to their irresponsibility. I was ablt to avoid the large deposit by enrolling in auto pay. I switched jobs after 4 months, my pay schedule changed. I had to re arrange lots of bill dates. REC was the only one that I couldn't negotiate the change. So I stuck it out. My banking information was jeopardized around Christmas time and I had to change my account numbers completely. I guess when I updated the information, I did not enter it correctly in my profile and was notified my payment had been returned. That automatically put in the position to have to pay that deposit. Now they were able to extend the break up for the deposit over 6 months as opposed to 3 months. But that only put more stress on me with their already high rates. Long cold winter we had! I have to worry about negotiating on a regular basis monthly with them. Always worrying if I'm going to be disconnected and speaking to multiple reps multiple times and being told different things. They won't even allow me to re enroll in auto pay for one year. I just do not agree with their practices and pay schedules and procedures. I hope [redacted] takes over at some point, if not for me, then for future residents. I am in property management and have to abide by fair housing- I think they should also. What they do for one individual, they should do for all. I have seen reviews on the complaint board where they have connected service after no payment due to a complaint and changed pay dates to accomadate a hardship. I do pay REC-after having to take time out of my work day multiple times to negotiate and sound like a beggar. I just can't pay according to their timing which is now 2X a month while I have a disconnection notice. Example: I paid $460 on 4/10/15. On 4/18/15, I received a disconnect for 4/28/15 for amount of approximately $920. I cannot afford to pay this company $1380 in month's time, let alone in a 10 day period!

The point of this review to let people know that they really should consider if REC is the electric service provider. High rates and unflexible practices should be a factor in deciding where one should reside.

Review: Rappahannock electric cooperative recently added and 1100.00 deposit to my bill. I own my home and have had service with them for 14 years. Last year we ran into problems and we have fallen behind. A payment has been made each month, and they refused to change my due date. The deposit is based on 2x my highest bill and I believe the charge is unlawful and too high. They are refusing to help with any adjustments and they monopolize the area. We need more options for electric services so that people are not mistreated.Desired Settlement: I would like them to reduce the deposit to a reasonable amount and change my due date as I have requested several times.

Business

Response:

Our supervisor spoke w/ member and gave budget billing & prepay options. Outcome: changed her bill cycle, she will start budget billing, waived her deposit and adjusted her credit rating. Once she pays her current bill, we will set the account up budget billing for the next bill. She knows to keep the deposit off, she must make payments on time.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's offer. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. If the company does not perform as promised I can get back to you at: [redacted]

Regards,

Review: We moved into our 1250 sq. foot home May 30, 2014. The previous owners (an elderly couple-running the heat & dryer excessively and the Mr. on oxygen) shared their previous electric bills- averaging $186.00 per month. Since we moved in, we have monitored lights, have not used the dryer, etc. Our electric bills are outrageous (average $450 per month!). We had a couple of our previous electric bills of 33 years from ([redacted]) sent to Rappahannock as a credit reference averaging $200 per month on the budget plan. The house we came from was much larger. We asked Rappahannock to PLEASE put us on the budget plan, but Rappahannock electric said they needed to wait a year and would have to include the barn square footage (on a separate box-not attached to my home) and it would be over $700 a month. We asked that they check our electric lines- they did and said nothing is wrong. I am in education and my husband is on disability - We need assistance to resolve this outrage bill because we cannot afford. If I can't get assistance, I will be forced to turn to the media for exposure. SOMETHING is definitely wrong with this billing system.Desired Settlement: We need Rappahannock Electric to find out where this electricity is going- our bill is ridiculously high and we know that it is beyond our control.

Business

Response:

House Hourly data is [redacted].Barn use is much higher than Previous owners. Barn has light, heat and water. Barn Base Load is that of a typical house so it is not clear how they are using the facility at this time.House/ Built 1999 - 1,232 sfRancher - CrawlspaceHas a Well, several taps .. Several out buildings with powerBase Load about 1,400 kWhHighest monthly was 2,854 kWh House Power use was highest during the coldest month and during the coldest days.House Power use dropped noticeably as the weather warmed. They may have a heating issue.. at this point we do not have any information on when the unit was serviced last and if it is working properly.Our energy advisor will be contacting the member to schedule a review of the location and see if he can identify some conservation tips based on their usage habits.

Review: On February 28th we sent the first email to REC concerning setting up a payment plan on a 400+ March bill. Their website states payment plans can only be started with a zero balance, so we made sure to contact them before the next bill was due. We waited three days and received no response so we sent the same email over again. Waited two days no response. I personally attempted to call them on four different occasions in the first week of March only to have a recording regarding high call volume and to hold, but when it switched over to holding the phone would go dead. I would immediately call back with the same response. It wasn't until the week the bill was due that when you called the phone was actually put on hold and a representative would answer. At this point I was told that no emails had been received and that it was too late for a payment plan. Funny that they never even asked what email address the emails were sent from, they just automatically knew they had not been received.Desired Settlement: I know utilities have a monopoly and can behave any way they wish due to the fact that consumer's have no other option than to subscribe to their service, no matter how poorly the customer service is handled or how high the rates are charged to their customers. I just want them to know that I am aware of their less than professional business dealings and that not one but two emails were not lost in cyberspace. I have included a copy of the original email with date and time stamp.

Business

Response:

Turns out Mr. [redacted] wife sent us the email and Revdex.com complaint, and I could tell he wasn’t aware of what she said. (she is an ok to speak with, but the email & Revdex.com complaint indicates he composed it from HER email address). The email said to call him on his cell, but since I had left 2 messages with no response, I called him atwork. He said he rarely checks messages on his cell. He asked for copies of the email chain, so I sent them. We offered budget billing. He accepted, plus we offered to change his bill cycle to better suit his payment schedule (waiting for his approval). The first email sent after our conversation is below...Dear Mr. [redacted]:Thank you for taking time to speak with me today about yourelectric service account. As discussed, I will be sending you a correctedMarch “budget” bill for $188.00. Since we don’t bill again untilApril 2, it will not be available for your review online until Friday orMonday. A letter explaining our budget billing program will bemailed as well.I forgot to mention that your payment history indicates itis more convenient for you to pay a few days later than your regular cycle duedate. If we change the bill cycle on your account to the first or secondbill cycle of the month versus the last cycle of the previous month, your billwill be due anywhere from the 27th to the 30th versus the19th to the 23rd. (Bills are due 25 daysafter they are created.) If you would prefer to be billed in a differentbilling cycle, please let me know. Again, I apologize for the long hold time you experiencedduring a high call volume day, and that our email response sent to [redacted] March 2 ,didn’t get to you. Should you have further questions, please do nothesitate to contact me directly. Sincerely,[redacted]