Met-Ed Problems Part 3

[LillFilly]

I posted about Met-Ed last month in:
http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...ad.php?t=80933

and a few months before that in:
http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...ad.php?t=75844

They actually sent us a paper statement this month. Boyfriend writes the check and mails it in.

What did I find on the door after work today? ANOTHER SHUT OFF NOTICE! Yep, we're going through this again. BF is going to call them tomorrow, but the same thing happened last time and our power was still shut off. I found some info online about billing laws as of 2004 that they are supposed to call us 3 days before the shut off date; they never did last time. The BF is going to be pulling his bank records and going to the lawyers. If it turns out they received their payment, it was taken from his account, and if he talks to them and they say everything is ok, and a tech still shows-up at the house to disconnect us, I am thinking of refusing to let him on the property. We were never reimbursed for the shut-off / reconnect fee last month either. We can't trust them anymore and will be looking for another provider, if possible.

There will be an update soon.

[bhskittykatt]

Someone there is an idiot who can't do their job right. At least one someone. I'm sorry you have to put up with that f**knuttery. I would be going insane!

[Ironclad Alibi]

Sounds like it is time to start filing complaints with the state utility commission. And complaining to your elected representatives, newspapers, and anyone else you can think of.

[Kristev]

I'd be suing, personally.

[KiaKat]

One good bit - because your mother has filed for bankruptcy, nothing Met Ed is doing can affect her credit report. As it is, a bankruptcy filing is about the worst thing you can have on your credit. Even though it wipes your current debt, it doesn't really remove much of anything from your report, plus it stays on there for ten years, pretty much screwing any chance you have of getting loans, mortgages, or credit cards. It's a protection so that your creditors can't sue you for what you owe and end up taking your assets (car, house, etc) away.

Be persistent. There are form letters out there that apply to just this situation, and are intended to be sent to specific departments. I don't have any references off the top of my head, but I'll look them up and post if I still have the file. If the letters don't work, then reporting them to the CRA's (Experian, etc) is the next step, then talking to a lawyer and having them do the dirty work of threatening. A lawsuit wouldn't do anything, because there's no grounds for it - their failure to act isn't taking money from your pocket, nor are they shutting off power (yet). If they shut off power, refused to turn it back on, and demanded all the money, then the state utilities board would step in and issue a smackdown - a lawsuit still wouldn't do any good unless you had someone with a medical condition in the house... in which case they wouldn't be shutting off your power anyway, having a doctor's note and a very good legal reason to leave the power on.

[Hyndis]

First, contact the company. Demand to speak to a manager. And then his manager. Depending on the size of the company you may need to go a ways up the food chain to find someone who is able to do anything. Tell him exactly what is going on, what you expect to be done about it, and what you will do if nothing happens.


If there is yet another broken promise, another SNAFU, or you can't get anything through their thick skulls I would recommend just getting your paperwork in order and then file in small claims court against them.

This is pretty much an automatic win against any large company. It is not worth it to send someone out there to represent their side in small claims, and so they will generally either ignore the summons and you win by default, or they will just cave in right then and here.

You would need to prove damages and be able to have a dollar amount that you are filing for, with proof to back up why you selected that dollar amount. It will also take up some time of your day of course, but you can add in filing fees on top of the damages amount and if you win you'll probably get them to pay your fees as well as damages.


Another possibility is contacting the local newspaper. I know my local newspaper has a section called the action line, where you can write in about things you need help with. Banks and utilities are common topics. The guy will then write a section in the newspaper about the issue you're having and will attempt to contact the company on your behalf. The issue being in the newspaper and the newspaper calling the company will definitely light a fire under their arses. Generally things are resolved quickly.

Your local paper probably has something similar.


This level of idiocy from the company is just beyond anything that is even remotely reasonable.

[LillFilly]

Ok everybody.

I've printed-off the forms to file a complaint with the utility commission; thanks for that bit of info!

The BF called them yesterday and talked with billing, assuring that YES the cashed our check. Billing said it was a mix up, and even credited back the hook-up fee from the last time they cut our power. I want him to keep records of who he talks to, the notices they send and when the checks are cashed for ourselves; he's kind of bad about being organized like this, but I can only do so much since it's in his name.

We've looked-up providers in our area and found 7 other companies we could go with, all within about 10$ ranges of each other. I'd pay an extra 10 to never have to deal with Met-Ed again.

So, we'll see how this goes come the 26th when the shut-off date was going to be.

We'll still be doing a complaint, and I'm going to see about doing a letter to the editor in our paper. Thanks everyone! I hope there is no update on the 26th!

[Der Cute]

If this happens again, try an executive letter - email or snail mail to the top of the food chain outlining the billing issues/lack of services/continued mess ups.

Get it to someone's attention after you've tried 3 or 4 times with gradually increasing access levels within the company.

[Kristev]

Call the BBB. Not only can you report this power company to them, but you can get a reccomendation for the best power company at the same time.

[fma_fanatic]

Shoot, take it to the local media. Name and shame. If it was a one off, it wouldn't be a problem but seeing as it's been a continual problem, they get no reprieve.

[LillFilly]

Ok, progress, power wasn't shut-off today. Phew. Still looking for another provider though.