Complain about a product or service

Duke Energy

James of Lenoir, NC November 5, 2009

Well we had a awful experience with Duke Power today, about a month ago they said we needed to pay a 450.00 deposit on our buisness account,because we have been over 8 days late on 2 or more occassions in the last year , we have been at this location since 1985 and we own the commercial property, I did not like the idea , well after a couple of calls they said we could separate this into 3 payments of 150.00 on 3 monthly bills , well last month we paid the extra 150.00 and the bill on time, our bill says current charges past due after Nov 3 ,well today is the 4th and they cut it off, as god is my witness I did not owe any past due bills except the 241.00 due on Nov 3 and the extra 150.00 this month, we honestly mailed the payment and they should have had it , they cut it off about 2:30- 3:00 pm , we called in and paid bill in full 241.00 a reconnect fee 25.75 and this month deposit of 150.00 and next month deposit of 150.00 almost 600.00 total , they said your power will be on today , we waited till 7:00 pm still was not on and very dark by this time, we called and they said it would be on by midnight , well they evidentually are confused between what day and night means ,

But here is my issue with this ,to sneak in and cut a operating buisness's power off with employess working and all , no warning no notice no nothing just bang and its off. They have a monopoly and not much of any customer respect , we have several computers, fax, security cameras, Air compressor and many electronic devices that make our buisness run, thousands of dollars worth of hard earned money invested, and again I am 46 years old and have never had a power disconnect in my life, Duke Power Friend or Foe , you tell me , In my opinion you should not be able to do this 1-day late , Duke says since we made a verbal agreement on the deposit to be paid in three monthly installments of 150.00 , that they can cut power off next day , remember we are a buisness that owns our property and been there since 1985 , paying the deposit was bad enough, shutting a mans buisness down 1day after due date , this is concrete evidence that these guys need some regulations , yes we need to pay our bills I definitely understand , but this is wrong any way we look at it .

We are calling tomorrow and see if the payment we mailed was recieved , if it was maybe we have a legal case . If nothing else aggrevate them as it did us, this was enough to make me boiling mad but others need to aware of the monopoly that they are running, do whoever, whatever, whenever, however, with no respect at all Duke Power. Here is my solution in buisness power bill regualtion , you must be at least 30 days late before power could be cutoff ,if power is to be disconnected you must confront the buisness office with a notice and give them option to pay , if they must charge them a fee of 25.00 or so well be it, but they cannot sneak in on a 1 day late and cut it off and run . In these trying economic times this is not fair buisness practice .

Tanisha of Durham, NC October 26, 2009

I honestly forgot to pay my power bill. When I returned home at approximately 10am today, I did not have power in my living room, to my washer/dryer and refrigerator. I thought I blew a fuse so I called maintenance and found out that my meter had been tagged. So I go to the Duke Power office to pay my bill and the was not an office anymore but just a place where can pay a variety of bills in one place and they wanted cash only. So I went back home to call Duke Energy on the phone and they suggested that I pay the bill and the 25.75 reconnect fee. I am not arguing about the balance because I was willing to pay the entire amount, I just do not believe that I should pay for a reconnect fee when I had power except for the living room, washer/dryer and refrigerator. I am not understanding what I am paying for when technically nothing was disconnected. They told me that I still had to pay because I was "supposed" to be disconnected and I should be "happy" that I still had power. I was told that the technician must not have disconnected me fully, but I don't feel that I should be punished because of that. I can't understand why I need to pay the reconnect fee and still paying for the normal rate of using my power too. Maybe pay half but not the entire amount. That just does not make sense to me!

Courtney of Fishers, IN October 22, 2009

I am going through the same thing as almost every person on here. Just to let everyone know. I am filing a complaint with the BBB on these matters and going to the Attorney General of Indiana. If anyone would like to do this as well, this would help the issues at hand.

Latrale of Greenville, SC October 12, 2009

Duke Energy put someone in my account two time in less than 3 months I have lived in the same housse for 19 years. I called D E both times because I got a final bill They have changed my account number and meter two times. Well it has happened again and now because they have to start me off a new account.

They are requiring me to pay a new account deposit of 250.00 dollars. I would not have to be getting a new account if they had not put a person in the wrong location. I've have been told they will not waiver the deposit and there is nothing I can do. I will be out of power because I can not pay an extra 250 for their mistake

Candace of Durham, NC September 26, 2009

I have had to move due to a fire and again have duke energy. Each time they charge me a huge deposit before I can get service even though they still hold my deposit from the current apartment. This house I moved into 2 months ago and when I called to have service turned on again another huge deposit even though I had a zero balance they told me they'd mail the old deposit back to me they sure did minus almost all of it for the final bill lol. The new house my 1st bill for not even a full 30 days was 196.98 and when I had services connected I was told the average bill in this house was between 50 to 70.00 a month, wonder if that was with just the rats living here for its only my son and i and he is in school from 8 am to 3pm and i;m at work til 5pm .

Now I get my 2nd bill and it was 200.00. This is crazy I dont have 350.00 to give these morons just because nobody reads the meters. Each bill states estimate which means nobody physically comes out to read the meters. I'm not into the business of paying for thier estimates anymore.

Tony of Rock Hill, SC September 6, 2009

Im going to be moving into an apartment at the end of this month. First apartment on my own and im learning HARD lessons about being independant and out on my own. When i submited a request for new service with Duke Energy, i knew, being that i didnt have a credit history being that im only 20 years old,i would have to put a deposit, however, 250.00 depoist i believe is outrageous to say the least. This is all the result of Duke Energy monopolizing the nc area. They know they are the only electric service provider, thus they know they can charge what they wish because we, the consumer, have no choice but to pay it if we want service. I

believe the Electic companies should be regulated, i realy do..Having electricity is a necessity for most, and to charge such outlandish deposits is beyond me. The email i recieved said something to the effect, they take into consideration the size of the dwelling and do there "calculations" to form a deposit profile. ok, im moving into a 800 sq ft small apartment that is 3 years old, the property management told me that the average tenants monthly electric bill is between 20 - 45. HOW in hell, does duke energy come up with 250 freakin dollars in there "calculations"? im going to pay the deposit, again, what choice to i have , but i promise duke energy this, when my 1 year lease is up, ill go the last couple months of not paying a bill, ill let them deduct the deposit in the end.

Begmurad of Cincinnati, OH August 16, 2009

I moved to Cincinnati from Chicago, IL. My experience with Duke Energy was very bad. I lived in a one bedroom apartment. The first bill that I have received during the summer was for 94.00 even though I rarely used electricity. I then mailed a letter to Duke Energy saying that the meter reads must have been wrong, then the next month somehow the bill amount dropped down to 74.00 even though I used much more electricity that the previous month. This gave me a feeling that these guys are billing residents just the way they want.

Jackie of Mooresville, NC August 12, 2009

Tenant moved out and she called to discontinue service and requested it be put back into my name as owner. I called on 8/3/09 to confirm and spoke with Janice. On 8/10 I spoke with Debra the supervisor as service was turned off. She assured me it would be turned on this date before 9:00PM. On 8/11/09 we checked and power was still off. We called again and spoke with Laura, another supervisor. She will send a tech within two hours.

My refridgerator ice maker defrosted and in 90 degree temperatures it was very HOT inside. What is the problem? After four phone calls they still didn't get it right. What a lack of communication. This is not the way consumers should be treated after paying their bills on time and expecting the same service in return.

Mickie of Jeffersonville, IN August 8, 2009

I have lived in my home for 16 years. Duke energy has been my electric company this entire time. Just recently I went online to pay my electric bill. I paid, without understanding that I was signing up for E billing. A month passed and I did not receive a billing statement from Duke Energy. A service man from Duke Energy came to my door and handed me a disconnection notice. I told him that I never received a bill or it was lost in the mail. I paid the balance that day immediately.

The next month, I happened to open my home email, which I rarely do, and I receive my bill online. It stated that I must pay a 320.00 deposit! So my bill was a total of 524.00.

I called Duke Energy and was told that since I received two disconnection notices in the past that I must put down this deposit. I told the supervisor that I made the mistake of signing up for E-billing and rarely check my home email account. She didn’t care. She kept saying, “There is nothing I can do.” She also stated that after a year of paying on time without a disconnection notice or if I move then I will get my deposit back. I bet in a year, I don’t!

My service has never been disconnected in the past. Charging me this deposit just makes money tighter for me and is ridiculous!!!!! This company is taking advantage of consumers and since it is the only electric company offered in my county what other choice do I have? By the way, I went online to try to change my billing back to paper billing and I can’t figure it out. I am pretty computer literate too. I think this company corrupt and horrible!

Marc of Spartanburg, SC August 6, 2009

I have been a Duke Energy customer for over 10 years. I recently received a notice from Duke, stating that I am now required to pay a 145 deposit, because of what they call “unsatisfactory payment history”. In addition, I am a single father with full custody of 2 young boys aged 8 and 12. I am currently receiving unemployment payments, as I was layed off from my job working at the BMW plant in December. Times have been tough, but we’re scraping by. Until now. I have been a couple of weeks late on my power bill a few times in these past months. Never to any extreme, and its always paid and service is not suspended.

How can Duke Power expect me to pay the 208 bill by Aug 25th?? (63 + 145 deposit). I have had just enough to pay my normal bill (around 65 each month). 145 may seem like a small amount to some, but to our family, it's the difference between possibly losing my home and making it or not. I called customer service and after 3 or 4 times of “can I speak to your supervisor”, I gave up. The same speech each time. “Sorry, nothing we can do”. They gave me some local assistance numbers, but when I call them…they can only help with food or whatever….no help with this. What are we to do in this economy where we are dealing with mindless robots who have NO heart or compassion for the problems our current economic situation is causing??

I simply can not pay this extra fee. They give the option of providing a “guarantor” to secure the account, but EVERYONE I talk to, family and friends all do not meet the requirements of having not been 1 day late for the past 12 months. Any comments from anyone on this matter from any others with this experience would be welcome. What do we, as citizens of South Carolina, plan to do about these problems? Are we really at the mercy of monopolys like this? I truely hope not.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Share		Follow us on Twitter.

Back to the top |