First Energy - did they go out to lunch?

[Shar]

Call the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Council in Columbus with your complaint.  They are the residential utility customers consumer advocate.  Their toll free number is 1-877-742-5622 or you can go to their website and fill out a complaint form at www.pickocc.org.

[jay]

You are really having problems with your billing.   I think things worked much better when we had a stronger public utilities commission in Ohio.

[Ros]

First Energy or whatever they call themselves these days-

The bills are confusing.
I get a bill from two companies with similar names, but that isn't why I am posting.

I never received a bill for December which is normally due in early January.
I thoght it was probably lost in the mail.
A meter reader came on January 16th.
He stood at the meter for quite some time and kept checking his machine.
It is in my basement.
I asked if there was a problem and he said that we had a "zero read" in December.
I said, "is that why I didn't get a bill?" He said he wasn't sure.
Well a few days later  we received a bill. it was for an ESTIMATED reading.
I called them and told the woman that the meter reader had just read the meter and I wanted a bill for the ACTUAL USAGE.  She said it was an estimated bill based on actual reading.  She repeated this several times.  I told her I didn't understand what she was saying to me and that I wanted a real bill based on the meter reading of a few days prior. She said that my bill WAS PRORATED based on our PREVIOUS usage and since the reading was between billing cycles that is why it was listed as an ESTIMATE.

Well, yesterday, about a week later I received a SECOND bill for EXACTLY TWICE  the amount of the first bill for another  ESTIMATED reading.  The first bill is due February 2 and the second bill is due February 9th  and states  the charges for the previous bill have not been paid.

I called again and I think I spoke with the same woman.  I told her I wanted a bill for the actual reading.  She said that the meter reader could not gain  access to the house.  I told her it was was read a week and half ago and I received an estimated bill for that reading and now a week later I get another estimated bill. She again said that the bill was an estimated bill based on previous usage AND the actual reading earlier in the month.  I told her again that I didn't understand.  It went nowhere.  She was very rude and at one point she BARKED at me to look at the CURRENT bill, not the previous one. I told her I had just pulled it out of the mail box.
I was so distressed by her attitude that I hung up before she had a chance to say, "is there anything else I can help you with today?" I've never hung up on anyone in my life.

I didn't receive a bill for December so I guess two bills in January isn't wrong.  I'm not complaining about that. I will say that both bills are MUCH higher than usual and both say they are for ESTIMATED READINGS. 

I didn't imagine the nice man in my laundry room with the puzzled look on his face. 
Maybe he is a gas man and that is why he was so  puzzled. LOL

Is anybody else having problems with them or is it just me?

Ro