Central Hudson Gas & Electric

Review: my mother lived in a home in [redacted] + years when she reach 92 years old she could no longer live alone her home was left on occupied but the electricity was left turned on monthly bills have been between 40 and $50 one month the bill exceeded $1,000 instead of Central Hudson electric trying to resolve this they talked to my 76 year old sister into a payment plan for this exceptionally large bill these groups are simply money hungry blood sucking the elderlyDesired Settlement: this company would behave like if they had some intelligence and know that no one was there to use that much electricity

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have not been contacted by Central Hudson Gas & Electric regarding complaint ID [redacted].Sincerely,[redacted]

Review: I paid my November bill online as I had many times in the past, but when I submitted my payment I just got a circle on my screen as if it were processing. I did not want to submit twice, so I waited quite a while then logged off and checked the next day to see if the payment had posted and it had not. I put in a new payment since I did not want to be late paying. Several days later, my bank account was overdrawn and I noticed that two payments were taken from my checking account. I contacted Central Hudson about it immediately and asked them to resolve the issue. The representative whose name I did not get was rude and unhelpful. After being told that their online payment was run by a third party I was told there was nothing they could do about it, they were keeping a double payment. I was very upset about this and asked for a manager and I was told they all stepped out. When a manager was available I would get a call back. I was even more upset with being blown off and felt scammed. I called my bank and stopped payment on the second payment. It wasn't until about 5 hours later I received a message from a manager named April returning my call which obviously was too late. I thought this was all resolved but I just received a bill from Central Hudson with a $20 returned check fee and a $0.30 late payment charge even though my payment was not late. I want the fees dropped from my bill and think this is a terrible way to treat a customer that actually pays on time all the time and is NEVER delinquent!!!Desired Settlement: I want $20 returned check fee taken off my bill and the $0.30 late payment fee taken off as well. The payment was never late and there was no returned check, this was the fault of the online payment service.

Business

Response:

Tell us why here...

[redacted],

I apologize for any inconvenience that you experienced while trying to make a payment online. I have removed the $.30 late fee as well as the $20 fee that was automatically applied to your account when you stopped payment on your check. Your account is in excellent standing.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me at ###-###-####.

Regards,

Paula C[redacted]

Consumer Outreach

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

Review: Complaint against Central Gas and Electric Corp.

Residential Natural Gas Expansion Dept.

Background:

I attended a meeting on September, **, 2015 where Central Hudson offered:



1/ “free on-site estimate for the cost of switching your home to natural gas”

2/ Limited time rebates on some of the installation costs.

I could not sign up for the estimate at that time.

I then made at least six calls (my land-line phone does not record calls) to the published Central Hudson numbers between September [redacted] and [redacted] . Most of the times, I was told to leave a message and they would call back.

Twice I was told that I was the next person in line to talk to a live person . . . and then when my time came up, they said “There is nobody available to take your call, but you can leave a message”.

Once I did get a call that I could not answer immediately. I returned the call within a minute and of course I got: “There is nobody available to take your call, but you can leave a message”.

I finally got a live person on September ** (after waiting 14 minutes). Her response was all too predictable. I’ll have somebody call you.

When I asked how long it would take for a reply, she said that a week would not be unusual.

Maybe the Revdex.com can get an answer for me.

Is Central Hudson not competent enough to deal with natural gas customers?

OR

Do they not want to talk to me until all of the rebates run out?Desired Settlement: Contact with a real person who has the ability to resolve my concerns.

Business

Response:

The business has sent a delayed response. Read below:10/**/2015 [redacted]

[redacted]Dear [redacted]:I received your Revdex.com complaint #[redacted] and I wanted to address your concerns. Precision Pipeline Solutions (PPS) a contractor of ours reached out to you on two separate occasions. The first outreach occurred on September [redacted] 2015 where they left a message to callback to schedule an onsite proposal. The second attempt occurred on September [redacted] where we left a second message to callback for an onsite consultation. I apologize for this miscommunication and the long hold times when calling into call center.On October [redacted] 2015 I called and left a message apologizing for this miscommunication and verified your cell phone number. I also had PPS follow with a call to schedule an onsite consultation. As per our records it shows that you had an appointment with one of account managers on October [redacted] 2015. I hope that you are still interested in converting to natural gas and if you have any questions or concerns to please reach out to me directly. Sincerely, Patrick A. G[redacted] Associate Project Director, Natural Gas Expansi

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved. Thank you for taking the time to resolve this misunderstanding. I had been in and out of town and must have missed some of your replies. Again Thanks,[redacted]

Review: Bill for Electricity was disputed due to extreme monthly charges that didn't make sense based on the fact our home is uses barely any electricity and NO ELECTRIC HEAT. While I was disputing the monthly amount, Central Hudson threatened to turn off my power.

I came to an agreement with them to pay the bill incrementally starting with a 200$ initial fee (which was paid) and then 52.37$. My Grandfather passed away and I left the country to bury him. Before I left, a payment of 50$ was made to cover the agreement. While I was away for 7 days, my power was shut off resulting in 200$ worth of food in my refrigerator going bad. I called Central Hudson and paid the full amount due on the account without regard for my substantiated claims of over billed power charges.

Since this morning, I have gotten no cooperation or definitive answer as to when my power will be turned back on. We have no running water or food.

I am completely outraged at their unethical practices and hastiness for which they would deny service of such a fundamental living necessity, especially under the circumstances.Desired Settlement: 200$ for my lost food in our refrigerator and an audit of their billing practices for our account.

Business

Response:

To whom it may concern,

The Company received the Revdex.com Complaint for the billing and collections issue for Complaint ID# [redacted] and has reviewed the customer’s account and found that we followed the proper procedure for billing and collections. The customer contacted the Company regarding his concerns of a high bill and the Company completed a high bill investigation and found no problem with the meter.

The Company then provided the customer with a payment agreement that was not kept which caused his electric services to be terminated on August *, 2013 for non-payment. The Company is unable to reimburse the customer the cost for lost food since the customer did not keep the agreement which would have prevented him from having his services terminated. The customer has since paid his past due charges and his electric service was restored on August **, 2013.

Should you have any questions or require additional information let me know.

Respectfully,

Review: Made a series of payments to Central Hudson on a joint account held with myself and my girlfriend. They wrote to us on each occasion that the payment was declined because "the account could not be found"

Verified with both Central Hudson and my bank that the information submitted was correct. Bank notified Central Hudson to submit the payments under BankAccountHolder's name and to ensure I type the name of the BankAccountHolder in the "name" field. I did those things as suggested. CH still submits the payments to my bank with my girlfriends name on the request for funds. My bank rejects the payment as a result.

CH refused to recognize that the issue is not with a clerical error on my end or my banks end, but on their payment system and will not refund the "returned check" fees. I believe I am due back what I am being charged because of the issue on CH end, their fault. Not mine, or my banks.Desired Settlement: The bank returned check fees refunded/cleared

Late Payment fees returned (as a result of the CH system error, not mine)

Balance negotiation and reduction for the inconvenience (mind you this has been a multi week issue to resolve and many verifiable hours on the phone to deal with this)

Notice to all consumers about how the system processes payments and who's name is submitted with the payment.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved. The company has contacted me back on their own volition to explain what can be done thanks for the assistance

Sincerely,

Review: Central Hudson is charging me an exorbitant amount of money to provide electricity for 2 persons in a 1200 square foot ranch home. This month's bill included and unexplained extra 300-400 to my bill and are threatening to interrupt service. I am on a billing plan that is ever increasing and now is up to 281.00 per month, which equals $3,360 for the year.Desired Settlement: To decrease my amount due based on over charging for a product. To allow me to use a payment plan to pay this unexplained charge instead threatening to shut off my power

Business

Response:

Central Hudson spoke with the customer to resolve her issue. We sent her the following letter to confirm our conversation with her:

[redacted]Dear [redacted], We are responding to your recent NYS Revdex.com complaint #[redacted] regarding the cost of budget plan. To avoid confusion on how our budget plan works I would like to explain the program. I will also provide to you a breakdown of your actual costs. Please note the high costs during the cold month, due to the fact that your main source of heat for your home is electric.The budget is designed to level out your yearly costs. To avoid the seasonal fluctuations of energy bills that can be caused by hot or cold weather extremes, Budget Billing spreads your bill payments evenly over 12 months (rather than our usual every-other-month billing plan.) Your monthly budget payments will be uniform for 11 months, based on your usage history. The bill for the 12th month will include a plus-or-minus adjustment to reflect your actual usage and energy prices for the year.Electric Usage History Meter Read Date Number of Months Total Usage - KWH Amount Billed Plus Sales Tax[redacted]

[redacted] Please note the usage above is the actual usage and cost for your home, this is what is used to base your monthly budget cost. The reason for the increase in your monthly budget is to level your cost on a monthly basis. We always offer payment agreements to our customers for outstanding past due amounts, please call our office to review your account and determine what payment agreement would work best for your specific circumstances.Regards,SimonCustomer Service Representativecc: Revdex.com

Review: I participated in the rebate energy program to receive a 2000.00 rebate if u switched my furnace over from oil to natural gas from the city lines. I did this in October, participated with a [redacted] approved trade ally and submitted all if the paperwork by the due date. My submission was the last week of October. The paperwork said allow 6/* weeks for the rebates. I only received a 300.00 rebate but NEVER received the 2000.00 rebate from the separate location. I have attempted calling MANY times including the week of oct. [redacted], December [redacted], January [redacted], and February [redacted]. Two of these phone calls resulted in a "promise" to call back as it "wasn't their department." My last has supposedly rested in "heightened priority. " I have done everything possible to get my 2000.00 rebate and have followed all of the rules and guidelines! where is my money?!!!Desired Settlement: To receive my rebate check for 2000.00.

Business

Response:

The business has responded. Please see below:Please see email below regarding action and resolution being taken with Complaint #[redacted]. I am unable to access your website to update the actions being taken by [redacted], so I will ask that your office make the update for me based on the email (to customer) noted below. I also left a v/m for Revdex.com staff at ###-###-#### (ext. [redacted]) with the same content. Please confirm that your office will “close the loop” on this matter. Thanks. [redacted]Hi [redacted], This is a follow up to last Sunday’s email dialogue regarding the status of your $2,000 reward check. I now have your check in my possession, so it will be mailed out today. You should expect to receive it in 2-3 days. The mailing address on record for your account is [redacted]. If that has changed, please notify me at your earliest opportunity. Please contact me when you have received the check. Once I have your confirmation, I will contact the Revdex.com (Revdex.com) and notify them that your complaint has been resolved. In the meantime, I will advise the Revdex.com that we have mailed out your check so they are aware of the latest status and action taken. I sincerely apologize for the delays that you incurred while we processed your reward check. Congratulations on making the switch to natural gas heat for your home. I’m confident that you’ll enjoy the many benefits of natural gas heat for years to come. Please let me know if you require additional assistance. Thank you. [redacted]

Review: I have been a customer to this utility company for a little over 6 years. I live alone and work for a non-profit organization and earn a modest living. Up to 1 year ago I was working 2 jobs to make ends meet. My utility bill in dollar amounts seem rather high for someone who is not home at an average of 40 hours a week, minimum. In the past I have called the company to have someone inspect my meter to make sure it is working properly because of the high amount of kWh that I am billed for. They have declined to do so. I make payments the best I can to keep up and even entered payment agreements various times to try and keep up. My estimated budget expired in May and they billed me for the difference in the usage versus the payments which totaled $899.51. I made 2 payments against that while I received my current bill to try and figure out what the current total is. I received a payment agreement letter on the ** of June and the letter was date June **,2013. It requested as the payment agreement to pay $105 + the current bill (no amount) due on 6/**. I processed a payment thru my Chase bank account on 6/** which was sent and received by Central Hudson on [redacted]. On Monday [redacted] my power was shut off. I didn't realize this until I arrived home from work at 6:30pm on 6/**/13. On 6/**/13 I called Central Hudson to find out what has happened. I was told by the representative that I spoke to that I failed to make any payments on my account and the amount due had to be paid in full before I can have my power restored. I explained that I made part of the payment agreement amount for the estimated budget that was requested for the date. I needed to know how much my current bill amounted to because the "itemized" bill is not consumer friendly. The representative stated to me 3 different amounts of what my bill due was and said that they received my "down payment" on 6/**/13 which is considered late and doesn't make a difference. She went over the options which all result in my paying the full amount up front because I don't qualify for any public assistance. I tried to explain that I have limited means and I pay what I can but I make payments. She merely transferred me to another person who advised me to send in supporting documents that I cannot pay this amount otherwise I have to pay the $500+ in full prior to having my power restored. On the notice I received for the payment agreement there was no statement or otherwise indication that my power was to be shut off if payment was not made. It specifically states that "this agreement must be fair and based on your ability to pay". In the past I have received shut off notices by this company and have made arrangements for payments to avoid having the power shut off. I notified them, that I received no notice this time, they stated it was sent and since it wasn't returned to them, that means that I got it. I was told to send in my payment or send in proof that I cannot pay. I can pay my bill, only in small increments due to my other responsibilities for my household. I have been without power for a full week and cannot make another payment towards my bill until next week when I receive a paycheck. I have asked a friend for a loan but I could not get the full amount. I have my current 6 months of invoices from them showing I have made payments, albeit not the entire portion of the bill but as close as I ican afford to pay for now. I show Good Faith by making a payment every month, so I couldn't understand why they cannot extend me some courtesy for being a customer over 6 years. My guess is because they are the only electric utility provider in my area.Desired Settlement: I need the power company to check my meter, review my usage for the past year, verify that my $2255 in payments since March 2012 is justified. If I am still unable to make full restitution on my invoice at the time you are helping to resolve this issue, I would like my power restored without prejudice. I would also like if they detailed their invoices so the common person can read it and decipher it. It would help if they include the amount of kWh are being used in every billing cycle. They do not list that at any time on the invoice, only what the usage is this year compared to last year. As of now, they do not include what the meter reads from reading to reading. The meter is also mounted over 5ft high, which is taller than what I am, so I cannot see the meter clearly myself.

Business

Response:

To whom it may concern:

Central Hudson contacted the customer is response to case ID # [redacted]. An order to restore service was issued and will be completed today. The customer was set up at on a short-term, as opposed to a long term, payment agreement at her request. I advised the customer that she is paying more for her electric supply by purchasing it from [redacted]. It is the customer’s decisions as to who supplies her electric. The customer has my direct line and email address for any future concerns. I believe this issue is now resolved.

Regards,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

I have not received my final billing as of yet to determine if the charges will be accurate. The reading of my meter will not occur until the end of August.

I have also re-contacted the representative of Central Hudson, as I have received a shut off notice in the mail today. I have requested assistance with this issue, as the notice seemed to have been generated approximately 5 days after having my service restored. A verbal payment agreement was made with the representative for that payment, which was paid on August [redacted] and any current charges will be due payable by August [redacted]. The notice for termination of service is looking for payment of the past due amount on August [redacted]. I have inquired as to the effect of my paying the current service bill on the date originally agreed upon and avoid further disrruption of service. I have expressed to the representative that an oversight like this is upsetting to me and I am waiting for her reply with possible assistance with that situation.

?

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

[redacted],

I'm sorry it took me a couple days to respond, I was out of the office at the end of last week

I apologize for the continued stress this has caused you. You are co rrect your payment and the final termination notice

crossed in the mail. Your payment posted on 8/**/13. Please disregard the final termination notice.Your next payment of $189

is due by 8/**. Regards,

###-###-####