Ok guys, final draft. Its going out in the mail tomorrow: To Whom it May Concern: I would like to lodge a complaint against Pennsylvania Gas and Electric. My Budget Billing started going up in December. I thought it was due to the cold weather. Then I started hearing many complaints at work from customers who’d received outrageous electric bills. My bill normally runs $270.00 a month. I came home and retrieved my most recent bill. I flipped my PPL bill over to see what Pennsylvania Gas & Electric was charging me. For One Months Usage, my bill was $1,279.90! (This months bill arrived shortly after, and was $585.67). I realized we did NOT use extra electricity. We were simply being charged 4 TIMES what PPL and other companies were charging!! (Average cost per Kilowatt hour for PPL is $0.08754. Which is nearly 4 times LESS than what Pennsylvania Gas and Electric charged me at 0.303037.) When I called Pennsylvania Gas and Electric to discuss my bill, I was put on an endless loop of phone calls and hold times. When I did get a Representative, he tried to tell me I signed up for a Variable Rate. I told him I had NOT signed up for a Variable Rate. I WORK for the Electric Company, I KNEW which questions to ask and I assured him I HAD asked them. The Representative who signed me up ASSURED me I had a FIXED RATE. I was then told my issue would be sent to their “Complaint Resolution Department”. I haven’t heard back from them, and frankly, I don’t expect to I work for the Electric Company in the OnTrack department. We help the less fortunate in our society to maintain and keep their heat and electricity . I have had Numerous Complaints from customers given outrageous bills, such as mine, the last few months. Particularly from 3 main companies: Pennsylvania Gas & Electric, Respond Power, and IDT. A representative from PPL told me every available representative worked all day Saturday to answer more than 975 complaints regarding various outside suppliers and inflated electric bills. I have heard people get all kinds of reasons for why their bills jumped so high. Everything from: “You signed up for a Variable Rate“, to “It’s been a hard winter”, to “the Polar Vortex is to blame”. Yes, it’s been a hard winter. That doesn’t explain why 95% of these companies didn’t feel the need to sink to this kind of Greed and Opportunism and only a few CHOSE to do so. I can see this being a huge burden on our program and funding while trying to keep people connected with their Electricity service. We serve the elderly (who are on a fixed income), disabled, and very low income individuals. There is no possible way they can afford to pay bills like this. The end result will be an increase in our services, our funds running out much sooner, and people having their electricity services cut at an alarming rate. I implore you to please look into this problem. Please Urge these companies to charge a FAIR and JUSTIFIABLE rate. I am NOT opposed to paying for the electricity I used. I AM opposed to these companies making a 400% Profit while their customers struggle with payment plans for a Year to pay for a month or two of outrageous electric bills! When the “Electric Choice” program started, it was touted as a way to “save money“. I took all the right steps. I did my research and I checked my facts. I was given a rate around 0.8%. This was solicited over the phone and I was never given any paperwork to confirm. At some point I was slammed with a rate of $ 0.037 Without my Consent or Knowledge! If these companies have no conscience, I implore you to intervene, and act on the consumers behalf, to help them to find one. Please look into Our bill and the bills of so many others who are experiencing this same injustice. Please research the Ethics and the Legality of what they are doing. On Feb. 5, 2014, Governor Corbett declared a “State of Emergency” which states “companies are prohibited from charging prices that exceed their actual costs during a State of Emergency“. Yet I was charged A nearly a 400% increase over PPL’s rate and an even higher percentage over several other companies rates: ‘I believe this is a Case of Price Gouging”. I believe Pennsylvania Gas & Electric CHARGED PRICES THAT WELL EXCEEDED THEIR ACTUAL COSTS, DURING A STATE OF EMERGENCY. I believe what they did was Unethical, Unconscionable and Frankly, Illegal. In addition, Please see ideas below I believe will help to alleviate these problems in the future: It would help greatly if these companies were required to send Written Confirmation of: · The Rate being charged · Whether or not they charge an Early Cancellation Fee · State their “Price to compare” to include all taxes, surcharges, etc. · When Any Change is being made to Any of the Above on an Account. · Notification of Changes to an account BEFORE they go into effect so that consumers have the option of choosing a different supplier. · Notification of when a term is due to expire. I Thank You for your time and attention to this Letter. And to this Important Issue which is affecting so Many! With Sincere Gratitude and Appreciation, Brenda S. Lewis
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 02:18:02 +0000
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