South River Electric Membership Corporation

I recently looked at a doublewide in Broadway for sale and found out the electric bill was running $300 to $400 a month! Owner claims his meter needs to be replaced. I had property looked at for insulation and windows things are just fine there. Older stove and refrigerator, but not that old to cause this charge. Can company come out and look over property when owner moves out 3/31 open house begins

This company is the worst utility company that I have ever dealt with, nationwide! .Excessive deposits, incompetent 'customer service' staff, shady business practices, lip service from executives, erratic billing, complaining to them has led to no resolution of the issues that they themselves causeTheir horrible mismanagement has resulted in Revdex.com, ** and other state authority complaintsThey need a substantial independent audit and most likely some jail sentences handed down under RICO

This company is the worst utility company that I have ever dealt with, nationwide! .Excessive deposits, incompetent 'customer service' staff, shady business practices, lip service from executives, erratic billing, complaining to them has led to no resolution of the issues that they themselves cause. Their horrible mismanagement has resulted in Revdex.com, ** and other state authority complaints. They need a substantial independent audit and most likely some jail sentences handed down under RICO.","neg-1

Still an ongoing complaint, still the same incompetent customer service people, still no resolution, still no customer service, still unsatisfied!!!!!I have been overbilled monthly. I complain regularly. I deal with the same incompetent customer service person. Her boss hasn't disciplined or fired her or fixed the problems that SREMC has caused by billing me incorrectly. At this point she needs to be fired and I need an enormous refund. Desired SettlementAn enormous refundBusiness Response This member's account has been reviewed multiple times and we have gone over the account with the member each time. The account is being billed correctly and this too has been discussed with the member. If we make a mistake we correct it as quickly as possible. There have been no errors in this situation and no refund is due. The member has received a copy of the bill, graphs demonstrating his energy use, screen shots of billing and numerous explanations of all charges. More info from consumer:More of the same typical excuses from more of the same typical incompetents at SREMC. I was regularly complaining that a vacant, less than 800 sq ft. house was costing more a month for electrical power than my 2000+ ft occupied house with HVAC, two adults, washer/dryer running etc. and they insisted that the problem was at my end. I couldn't have plugged in enough items to use the electricity that they claimed, and even if their excuse of "phantom voltage" was true, that level of consumption would have burned the house down. Naturally, according to them, it was my fault, STFU and pay us. I have complained since the beginning of our business relationship about absurd fees, incompetent management and customer service, arbitrary monopoly practices and general idiocy from SREMC. I am apparently a member of a co-op that I have no say in, no internal opportunity to resolve their issues, no mechanism to discipline incompetent employees and no redress for grievance. The [redacted] has suggested that I file criminal charges in this matter. I have complained ceaselessly about being over-billed, erratically billed, having to deal with the same incompetent people over and over again, etc. This company has THE WORST customer service of any business I have ever dealt with in any field, ever. They are the worst utility provider that I have dealt with in multiple states. They continue to employ incompetent people who continue to give excuse after excuse. I have complained to and will continue to complain to every consumer advocacy group, legislative authority, TV and print news and state official agency that I can find until I am granted the refund and apology that is now extremely overdue, and I will continue until I am satisfied with the resolution of this matter. I will pursue every legal avenue to resolve this. SREMC doesn't seem to realize that this is how class action lawsuits occur. This complaint will remain open until I am satisfied, and it will be resubmitted every week until SREMC settles the matter in my favor.

Excessive deposit required with an irrelevant basis for assessing deposit, completely useless customer service employees.Apparently the only electrical provider in this area. They required an inappropriately large deposit (more to commence electrical service for a 2br house than the last commercial space that I rented!) as well as having completely useless customer 'service' personnel.Desired SettlementI would prefer another option for electrical service as well as disciplinary action against the 'customer service' personnel that I have dealt with. None of them has actually resolved the issue at hand, nor do they do anything but read from a script, it seems. Business Response Contact Name and Title: [redacted]Contact Phone: [redacted]Contact Email: [redacted]South River EMC has a set of service rules and regulations that are designed to ensure all members are treated fairly. When a member signs up for service, we conduct a credit check with Online Utilities to determine credit risk. If the credit check returns a score that indicates the applicant presents an elevated risk of leaving us owing a bad debt, a security deposit is required. Those who do not present a credit risk are not required to pay a deposit. This is a standard practice for utilities. This member was required to pay a deposit based on this practice. We have had continuous communication with this member. His power was connected on time as requested and we have replied to each request. We do strive to meet all reasonable requests in a timely manner. Consumer Response As you can see, SREMC admits to using an arbitrary and discriminatory process in assessing who needs to give a deposit and how much of one. As I have explained to SREMC, I do not have established credit by choice; I do not take loans or finance items, so I am being discriminated against for a reluctance to go into debt.I am amenable to having a lawyer from SREMC contact me regarding the necessary accommodations as Mrs. [redacted] offered. I am also amenable to the [redacted] plan that was eventually offered with three conditions: All contact is to be by [redacted]. The $75 fee is waived as an apology from SREMC. Any future rule or policy changes regarding my account are submitted for my approval or rejection as opposed to the blanket permission that SREMC seeks to change policies that apply to me without my approval. Please note that SREMC has set the tone since the initial conversation by refusing to negotiate or work with me at all; their interpretation of "working with the customer" is to repeat bureaucratic boilerplate instead of solving the problem. SREMC is also pending complaints with other regulatory and legal agencies regarding their practices to date.Final Business Response This member is welcome to participate in our [redacted] prepaid metering program. However, he will need to adhere to the same program rules as all other members including the $75 program fee and a monthly participation fee. Additionally, [redacted] is designed to be an automated program and all notifications are initiated automatically through our system and it is designed to provide daily balance information and other important account information through text, e-mail and automated phone messages. This program is not designed to send notifications through the mail. All service rules, regulations and contracts are set to ensure all members are treated equally.

I was with [redacted] Electric for 6 years and when I asked that company to stop sending me the [redacted] magazine they stopped the magazine with no problem....I'm now with South River EMC and I have asked them several times to stop sending the Carolina County magazine to my house....This company refuses to listen to me once again I do not want this magazine and I'm not interested in it coming to my house.....Desired SettlementPlease listen to me the consumer [redacted] when I ask you to please stop sending this magazine.....Believe me I'm fully aware of what's going on with your electric company and if any changes occur believe me I will know....There are to many resources out there for a person not to know what's going on....Business Response South River EMC mails Carolina Country magazine to all consumers with the monthly informative newsletter inserted into the magazine. This is our primary means of communication with our members. When I spoke to this member I explained this and told her that we would cease delivery of the magazine as long as she understands that she will no longer be receiving our communication about issues that might impact her electric service. This magazine subscription has been discontinued, per the member's request.