Harrisonburg Electric Co

Review: I lived in [redacted] in 11/01/2014 sharing in separate contract an apartment that electricity provided from HEC. We have paid security deposit $150 each and we have been told that when we cancel the service at the end of the lease-term we have to come both and get the money separate from the company. At May 1st 2015, I and my suite mate went asking to close the account and get the security deposit of each and apply my money into a new account because I am going to stay until Aug. and another woman will be replacing my suite mate.

The woman at the front desk said "NO we are going to send all the money to my suite mate address and I have to pay another $150 as a security deposit to the new account with them" all the money went to [redacted] state and she sent me my share later on. Anyway, I paid $150 and the new tenant paid hers they said that we added your name in the account and at the end of period we will get separate checks. We closed the account at 07/30/2015. I paid them a visit prior to that date saying I am leaving and I want the check to be mailed to [redacted] because I am leaving the city. The answer was "No, we will send the check in the name of the 1st person who is my new suite mate and we need to work it out". I have called the company on the 20 of Aug. I have been told that the check is mailed to "[redacted]" the suite mate on the 6th of Aug. and never been cashed. And that they will cancel the check by Sep. 6th and mail a new one to my address at [redacted] When we called to check about that we have been told that both of us have to go to sign on the check because both names on the check (while previously, they said that the system takes only the first name in the account) every time, we call we get different answer, The account closed since July 30th 2015 and today is Sep. 17th. How long they want to keep the customers' money in their account?

There are customers live in another states because it is [redacted] area that occupied by students. Do they need to go to the company to sign in order to get the security deposit?Desired Settlement: Get my security deposit by mail as they said once and I think this is the way of all other businesses as the Landlord for instance.

Business

Response:

In response to Complaint [redacted], Harrisonburg Electric Commission (HEC) offers the following response:This complaint centers on a dispute between roommates over the refund of a security deposit for electric service.There was originally an account at [redacted] that had a $300 security deposit, and was opened on November 4, 2014. This account was terminated April 30, 2015 and the remaining deposit of $245.83 was refunded to the only tenant listed on that account. This refund check has cleared the bank. Apparently, the complainant was the roommate of the account holder, but was not listed on the account. Any claim to a share of that refund is a matter of dispute between the two roommates. HEC is obligated to refund the deposit to the primary (in this case, the only) account holder. This has been explained to the complainant, although she did not seem to accept this reasoning.There was a new account opened at this address on May 1, 2015 with two roommates listed on the account, with the complainant listed as the secondary payer. Electric service at this location was taken out of their names on July 31, 2015. The remaining security deposit of $215.19 was mailed to the primary account holder August 5, 2015, but the check never cleared the bank. The complainant called August 24th and said she did not know where the roommate was and asked that we send the refund check to her at a [redacted] address. Prior to mailing the replacement check, the primary account holder came into the office and requested we send the check to a [redacted] address. HEC issued a replacement check on September 9th with both names (to try and accommodate the two roommates) and held it in the office for the primary account holder to pick up. The primary account holder never came in, and the check was mailed out on September 11th. At this point, the check has not cleared the bank. The policy of HEC is to refund the deposit to the primary account holder – any claims to the deposit are a matter of dispute for the roommates to settle. If we are unable to distribute the refund and the check is never cashed, it would ultimately be turned over to the Commonwealth of Virginia as unclaimed property.This procedure has been described to the complainant several times, but the reasoning has not been accepted. Although we have tried to honor requests to accommodate both parties, HEC cannot resolve financial disputes between two roommates. As the check has not cleared the bank, this matter remains open and we are hopeful for a satisfactory outcome.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

First of all, I would like to assure that there is no dispute between the roommates. the dispute is with the HEC that keeps the money longer than it should be. when I called the company I told them either you send the check to my roommate or to me and we can work it out. when the check never been received by the first payer - My roommate, the whole month of September the check has to be mailed to the second payer - that is me. that was the agreement with the company when I called the 24 of August. that is why they know that I live in [redacted] city because I gave them my permanent address due to the agreement over the phone that the check will be mailed to me. then the check mailed again to the same first payer. Second, I don't know why they mentioned the previous account at that address while they know the dispute is about the account of May, 1st 2015. Third, I don't understand why you send the refund to the Commonwealth of Virginia, while the second payer is keep calling and trying to get the refund. in case of the default of the payers you can refund as you said to the Commonwealth of Virginia. if the check never been cashed, it is your responsibility of keeping the money in your account, because I gave you a way to pay back the money. As of today, you kept the money for two months.

Regards,

Business

Response:

HEC has received instructions from both roommates listed on the account. Each roommate has asked for the refund check to be sent directly to them. The complainant, who is not the primary account holder, has a secondary claim to the refund. This is why the check has not been sent directly to her. The check has been sent to the primary account holder. This payment has been sent twice as the primary account holder has come by and inquired about this matter personally. Once we have exhausted our efforts to reach the primary account holder, we will attempt to refund to the secondary account holder, in this case the complainant.To resolve this situation: HEC will ascertain if the check has been cashed by the primary account holder. If not, we will then attempt to contact them one last time. If we are not successful in doing so, we will reissue the check a third time and mail the check to the [redacted] address provided by the secondary account holder.We would like to point out that we have not kept the money. The check was originally issued in a timely manner, it was not claimed. The check was reissued once it went unclaimed. It is now, as of today, still not cashed. HEC has made every effort to refund this check to the primary account holder, as is our policy. We will now stop payment on the second attempted refund payment and reissue (a third time) as outlined above.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Regards,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10825999, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

The HEC company proved that they keep the customers’ refund money as long as they can. Trying for the third time to send the check to the 1st payer confirm that. Plus, if HEC keep sending the check into the address that both payers not living in anymore (our old address) the check will never be cashed, and that is the game the HEC plays. Sending the check for the third time to the same payer is not what we discussed on August the 24th, that’s why your company changing their policy and people who work there are unreliable. I want to keep the case open to see how long you will keep the money, while when if the client is late in paying for the service one month you send RED DISCONNECTION NOTICE. In addition to the late fees and interest rate. What a double standards !!! Regards,

Business

Response:

Throughout all of this, we have been trying to make everyone understand that we are obligated to refund the deposit to the Primary account holder. In past cases, when we have refunded to the secondary account holder, the primary customer has come back and laid claim to the refund. In this case, the primary account holder has come by the office and requested the check, so we are obligated to get them the refund. This morning I have finally been able to speak to this person on the phone. Their English is not very good, but I believe she is planning on coming by the office in the morning to claim the refund. Then, it will be between the two roommates to split the refund.We thought we had been sending the check to a forwarding address for the primary account holder. As I said, I have finally been able to speak with her, and we are hopeful that she will come by the office tomorrow to claim the check. If this does not happen, the third check will be mailed to Ms. [redacted] in [redacted]. Incidentally, the primary account holder came by after August 24th to request the refund. This is why the plan changed since the discussion with Ms. [redacted].HEC has been trying diligently to resolve this situation, as evidenced by the fact that we’ve issued this check twice and have attempted to contact the parties involved. Further, we have incurred additional bank fees to stop payment on the two checks that have gone unclaimed and additional processing costs to reissue this payment. I would like to reiterate that in all cases, the primary account holder holds the rights to the refund, and we are required to satisfy that claim. We are hopeful that the refund will be claimed tomorrow by the primary account holder and this issue will be resolved.As a final attempt to satisfy the primary account holder, we will see if she comes to claim the refund. If this final attempt fails, we will mail the refund check to Ms. [redacted] in [redacted].

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

NOW ! HEC company mentioned the bank fees of the returned check after three months of calling and discussing the issue. NOW you are causing a problem between the roommates. YOU need to explain the deductions to the 1st payer when she comes to receive the check if it was her fault. so the problem between you and her, I don't want to involve in this. you need to give a detailed statement to her explaining what are the deductions on her money and shows that I am going to receive $105.00 my whole refund. plus, you need to send me a copy of that statement as well. If you have difficulty explaining to her due to language barrier, you may call me I will help. Still, I will keep the case open until the end to see how things will go.

Regards,

Business

Response:

The Primary Account holder ([redacted]) was just in our lobby. We printed the refund check for her and she left with the check in her possession. Through an interpreter that she called, I explained that [redacted] was searching for her half of the refund, but that as primary account holder the check was being issued to her. The interpreter said that she would explain this to [redacted] and they would work to get in touch with [redacted].

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.As I said previously, I need a copy of the statement that shows what is my share. You avoid to say how much I will get in all your writing and responses. I need to hear a direct and clear phrase saying how much I suppose to get?

Regards,