Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Duck River Electric Membership Corporation's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Duck River Electric Membership Corporation

  1411 Madison St. Shelbyville, TN 37160

• 

  Duck River Electric Membership Corporation

  PO Box 89 Shelbyville, TN 37162

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/19/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On Feb 19th at 1:30am our electricity went out..I had to go to the app to find out that there was a power outage. This is the same nite that we are having a snow storm roll through the state. Its cold outside and I have children in the home. I keep looking to see why no one is working on to restore the power and there are over 100 ppl without power. For some reason the power outage always happens in our area and this business cant tell me why its not being fixed properly so it doesnt happen again. I am also wanting an explanation of why it went out today and need a credit to my account for the inconvenience its cause for me and my family to stay warm on this freezing snowy nite.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/21/2025

  At 1:30 a.m. on February 19th, 2025 an outage occurred impacting 103 members in the vicinity in question. Crews were dispatched at 1:38 a.m. Crews quickly found the problem which was a broken transformer switch in the vicinity. The crew safely removed the damaged equipment and replaced it. The outage lasted 1 hour and 45 minutes.  Attached are pictures of a broken transformer switch and one that is cracked. These are not pictures of the one in question, but the pictures will help understand the cause per the complaint request. The porcelain in these switches will crack occasionally from extreme cold or other things such as lightning strikes. When water/moisture gets deep enough into the cracked porcelain, it will cause the switch to fault, or the moisture will freeze and expand during cold temperatures and will break apart as depicted in one of the images. ***** now installs a polymer switch which should improve reliability for the membership. ***** currently is replacing these type switches, however, there are thousands of these in service and will take some time before all of them are removed. Most of the electric utilities in the southeast are encountering the same issue.

  In researching historic outages for the past year at the location of complaint, there have been 4 outages including the one in question. One was storm related in which trees fell breaking 3 poles that had to be replaced. Another was a vehicle accident that broke a pole. The other 2 were equipment failure such as this broken transformer switch.

  DREMC cannot assure 100% continuous service and does not credit the membership for inconvenience as requested. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/21/2025

   
  Complaint: 22960240
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** *********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/19/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On the 19 of September I was looking at my app to put money on my light because I have a prepaid meter and noticed that my account hasn't moved so I called the office to make sure there wasn't a glitch and to my surprise there was the lady said that THERE meter was not responding to THERE SERVER and was only pulling a dollar or even guesstimate what the meter thought it was using so I get a call back and the receptionist said with or calculations the exact amount In your account will cover our mess up and I had to run to put money on my account so they would shut off my lights tomorrow I have never seen a company take omission to a blatant mess up on there end but still make there customer pay after THEY admitted fault at that point you have to eat the lost because it was a fault in your system and servers

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/04/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Since moving to Duck River in Aug 2023 I have experienced multiple issues related to billing and their online payment resources. Early in 2024 my services were cut off numerous times after I would pay the balance due according to the online service only for a *** to inform me that I would still need to pay additional reconnect fees which the webpay couln't add. After several instances I spoke with a supervisor who at least helped me get caught up and waived the current reconnect fee. I am a busy husband and father of 4, who runs 3 small businesses and sometimes things get dropped. When missed payments are my fault I do not mind paying late fees or even re-connect fees when applicable, but today I was charged an additional $175 "deposit increase" as well. This made my payment over $400 for a bill that barely totaled $180 to start. In this day and age...and economy, this is ridiculous. This is putative beyond measure. I have accounts with ***** and NES in addition to my personal Duck River account and I have never experienced such restrictive policies with a power company before. I don't understand why ***** sees the need to be so rigid and finds it necessary to keep it's customers in line with such measures. I am told it is to potentially cover my bill if I skipped town. Is ***** so cash strapped that they need to keep twice my monthly service fee on hand at all times? If so, maybe it's time for new leadership.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/13/2024

  Thank you for the opportunity to supply information regarding this situation. Below is a timeline of events and additional notes associated to this member account that occurred since January in which ***** extended assistance to the member several times. 

  January 2024:
  The member was on the cut off list and received the one-time courtesy call as all members receive the first time a member is on the cut off list.

  May 2024:
  The member was cut off for nonpayment. Member called ***** and the office manager waived all cut off and reconnect fees as a courtesy. The member paid the past due account balance and was reconnected. The member was notified that if disconnection occurred again, fees could not be waived, and he would have to increase his deposit.

  September 2024:
  The member was cut off again for nonpayment. The member was required to increase his deposit, consistent with what he was told in May and as per ***** service policies. The member was also required to pay cutoff and reconnect fees per our service policies.  The member was reconnected after paying half of the deposit increase and the reconnect fees along with the past due account balance. The ***** member service representative completed these transactions while enduring yelling and profanity that was extended to her by the member. The member was also offered prepay service which would have reduced the amount due for reconnection but refused the service.

  In addition to the timeline detailed above, the member was set up for reminders and alerts in July 2023, but the member never opted in to receive those payment reminders. The ***** action taken with this member is consistent with all other members for nonpayment. ***** Service Policies are available on our website along with other information regarding our bill payment options and services. 

  Thank you!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/18/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My property is not near any electrical lines. Duck River alleged my trees were infringing on the right of way so they agreed to trim them for me. However they destroyed my beautiful trees leaving an eyesore in place. To trim a tree means to make it smaller not to make it ugly. They made a mess. To add to the distress of that, they took it upon themselves to post pictures of my private property on ********* This is humiliating plus not any of their business to post such a thing, I want that electric company to compensate with a reliable tree service trimming my trees the way they should have been done. My trees are not near the electric lines,

  Business Response

  Date: 08/13/2024

  The first notification I received for this complaint was on Monday, August 12. I have been working with BBB to update our contact information to ensure I receive any complaints. This member contacted DREMC through ******** messenger. She was upset and stated that DREMC butchered her trees and posted a photo of her property without her authorization. We responded to her and let her know we are looking into the situation and also asked if we could contact her to speak further regarding her concerns. She refused to supply us with a contact number. We also asked her to supply the photo that was taken and posted that she stated we posted. Once we received the photograph from her, we looked through all our DREMC social media posts, we contacted our right-of-way manager to verify what area DREMC was conducting work and if anyone had taken a picture. All communications shared on behalf of DREMC filter through our communications department with I oversee. I worked with our communications specialist who is responsible for social media and also responding to member messages through social media. We found the photo that was posted of the members property under **********, **, Forum's ******** page. DREMC was not trimming on her property, and it appears another agency in ************* is responsible for the work that was done on the members property and also the agency that took the photograph. DREMC is not responsible for trimming her trees nor did DREMC take a photo of her property or post it. We notified the member of this, and she began to threaten DREMC and other negative words. Days later we received a message from the member with an apology as she realized ***** is not responsible for the work done on her property nor the photo. She asked if we could assist her with contacting the Coffee County Highway Department. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/05/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Over the past few months, we have been experiencing power outages during mid-day (*****) once or twice a week. ***** has not provided notification that maintenance was being performed requiring power to be shut down. Last week I called to find out why the outages were occurring (not just reporting outage). I was told outages occurred because of weather, fallen, branch, and replacement of a part. Since outages did not occur during bad weather and had not been notified of outage due to repairs, I asked why we were not getting notifications. I was told we needed to opt in and would be sent an email to do this again. Yesterday at 1120a the power went out again. The ***** rep ****** she would have someone review what has been going one and call once power was back on. As usual no call. I sent an email into the ***** main office and was contacted by someone today that straight up lied about what is happening. He repeatedly stated he did not know which *************** was involved in out outage and work was being conduct on line he could not identify if they serviced our area. He further went on to say the outages were being caused by ***************** between ***** on the lines being worked. Unannounced power outages cost us financial lose of digital work and poultry hatches that could have been avoided when power line maintenance is announced to customers.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/29/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On the 8th of march 2023 my electric was cut off due to failure to pay. I then paid the full bill of $663.74 and after talking to the representative, had the power turned back on. Then on the 28th my power was cut off again due to failure to pay even though I paid the full amount due on the 8th. I then called and talked to another representative who told me they took some of the money that I paid towards my bill and assessed it to a fee without telling me, therefore leaving me with a balance due, making me go delinquent again, and then charging me yet another fee for being delinquent because they did not disclose that they were going to be using the money I used to pay for the bill to pay for any fees as well leaving me with a overdue bill. Would like a refund for fees, assessed to second shut off

  Business Response

  Date: 04/05/2023

  ***** has spoken with this member and resolved the matter in compliance with service policies under the regulation of the ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/15/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Im a consistent payer of all my bills. Bills are paid within a timely manner every month, money is not a concern in my household, we are blessed. Paid my January 2023 statement (duck river is paid every month) and for some reason I did not receive a February statement. When I was paying my bills in February I realized I didnt have a **** statement to pay, I said to myself I need to call them. Shortly after I received a call from ********************** in ******* and was advised that my father was struck by a speeding car while walking across a street, I immediately jumped in my car and drove to *******, he is paralyzed and hes n critical condition. My life has changed forever, this was the toughest day of my life. Needless to say I did t call duck river to find out how much I owe. On March 9th I received a call from a nice lady at **** saying my bill is past due, I called back the next day on March 10th morning of and thanked healer for the reminder I asked how much do I owe and I would pay it now through my bank bill pay, I paid it $252.17 while on the phone with her. I let her know why it was late and why I didnt call to request a new statement. Lost in mail possibly and my fathers accident. She did not say hey sometimes bank bills pays can take a few days we can accept a payment now over the phone. So I just went on with my day as I was still in ******* and like I said I paid at that moment on the phone with her via my bank. Now on March 15th at around 10am my power goes out, my wife and I both work from home and it cold out today, so needless to say electric is important. I call **** to report an outage and they say no outage you were disconnected for non payment. Wow I was blown away, apparently the delay of the weekend making the payment from my back on Friday and the time it takes to transmit the payment to **** was longer than **** was willing to accept. I received no flexibility from DREMC it was black and white to them and they would not budge to turn it back without me paying the bill again over the phone plus a $60 fee and being put on a list to increase my deposit if Im late again. This is unacceptable business practices, there should be some reasonable flexibility I. Situations like this. I did get upset on the phone with a couple of ladies as I escalated the call up the management chain and Im sorry for that I was angry. They just had no compassion and the rules were the rules to them. It was 1 month past due and my electricity was shut off in 30 degree weather, I have never not paid my bill before and now Im on their naughtily list. I really feel sorry for the less fortunate families out there that struggle to make ends meet , how do they work with DREMC? I would like a call from DREMC executive management, I want my $60 credited to my next bill (I now paid the February bill twice +$60 so I wont see a bill for a while) and I want to be taken off of the naughty list for raising my deposit if Im late again. Thank you

  Business Response

  Date: 03/20/2023

  ***** has spoken with this member and resolved the matter in compliance with service policies under the regulation of the ***************************