ComplaintsforEl Paso Electric Co

• Initial Complaint

  05/30/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  For almost two years I have been receiving my billing statement by email. That ended in April. When I did not receive my statement, I called *************** and let them know in early May. Although they told me the amount I owed they did not send a statement until I demanded one, then I had to demand that they look into the problem, rather than brushing it off as a one-time deal. They said they would look into this and even though I tried to follow up several times, they have not responded to my emails since May 11. When I did not receive my statement in May at the usual time, I contacted *************** again, on May 22, reminded them of the problem, let them know it happened again, but no one from *************** responded. I phoned in and after a few days was able to get a hold of a supervisor to send me a copy of my billing statement. At this point, *************** has stopped responding to any email I send in spite of the fact that I have had several other problems come up since then. Although the supervisor I contacted was helpful in getting me a copy of my billing statement, I am not sure I am speaking with the right person about this problem, and the several other problems that have come up with regard to meters and my requirement to provide easement access, which I have always done, until someone tried to come in my front door. I have not yet found anyone by phone (over 15 calls made), nor by email that can offer solutions with regard to not receiving billing statements. I would like to hear from someone who can really do something about this two-month old problem, in addition to addressing meter access/easement concerns, perhaps:Customer Contact ****** De La *****, Mgr. Public Relation *****************************, Director of *************

  Customer response

  06/15/2024

  I have not heard back from them after having filed this complaint.  I have spoken with numerous folks, but no one can confirm that I will actually receive a billing statement, which is my original complaint.  I have asked that the *************** manager contact me because after more than 20 emails and at least ***** phone calls, no one can confirm that I will actually receive a billing statement.  I won't know until after the 22nd of June, since that is when billing is supposed to take place.

  

  Business response

  06/27/2024

  We contacted the customer, apologized for the poor service, reassured him that we would get it taken care of, and then we answered his questions and provided him with the copies of the bills in question. I have one item that I will be following up on regarding why my team did not reply to all of the customer's emails, but other than that I believe this issue can now be considered resolved. We also left our direct contact information with the customer, so if we missed something related to this topic, he can get back directly with a supervisor aware of his situation. 

  Customer response

  06/30/2024

   Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

• Initial Complaint

  04/10/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  El Paso electric refuses to send me a bill after 4 months. Im a solar customer in **********. They pay me for my electricity. On 12/4, I received my most recent bill in which they had to pay me 320$. After that, they supposedly installed a smart meter and have had trouble calculating how much energy Ive sold and used. I have contacted them 8 times since then and after promising to have a bill for me on 2/5 nothing has changed after 4/6. An estimated 300$ x 4 months is 1200$ they are willfully withholding from me. They continue to use my solar energy while not paying for it. I would like, in addition for the solar credits they owe me, for them to pay ****** for each month they are late on paying me for the the energy I produce. Why ******? Because they charge customers that to turn on electricity after a missed payment

  

  Business response

  04/26/2024

  We contacted the customer and addressed their concerns. This concern can now be closed,

• Initial Complaint

  11/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I requested a transfer of service on August 29th, 2023 to begin on August 31, 2023 in a new apartment. I just received my electric bill and noticed that I am still getting charged for the old apartment. I called ep electric *** was told they could not retroactively close my account for the old apartment and was advised to email customer service, which I did. I still have not received a response from customer service and the bill has not been adjusted. I sent them the email of me requesting the transfer on August 29th, which is what I included in this complaint. I want the adjustment as well as the disconnection date as requested.

• Initial Complaint

  10/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  My family moved out of the service address in June. While driving to my next duty station, I called to cancel the electric service to the address. I put it back in the landlord/homeowner's name. I asked about my final bill, and I assumed everything was taken care of.I paid what I thought was the final bill when I got to my new location and got my checkbook. I considered the matter closed.Today, I received a phone call from a debt collection agency. *********************** contacted me to let me know I owed money. I had received no phone calls from El Paso Electric, no emails (I hadn't put an email address on file), and no mailings. I called El Paso Electric, and I was told that there had been ONE automated phone call attempt (understand that to mean a ROBOCALL, which would have been blocked by my spam filter. No message was left. El Paso Electric stated that they sent out letters at the 30, 60, 90-day **** to alert me to the outstanding balance. They sent the mailings to the address I had vacated. As this was a short notice military PCS move, I had no forwarding address to give. El Paso Electric then washed their hands of it and handed it over to collections.This irresponsible, apathetic, and unethical approach to customer service and account maintenance has caused damage to my professional reputation, not to mention the hit to my credit.I am at work, so I am unable to upload any documentation.

• Initial Complaint

  05/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  This complaint has to do with a problem that occurred after I had a divorce five years ago in which I have remained in a home that my ex and I shared where I reside and pay the utilities. I have struggled to get some companies to put the utilities in my name since the divorce, some have made this easy whereas others have either refused or demanded information and then still kept the account in his name. I recently requested to have El Paso Electric EPE put the account that my ex husband and I shared into my name only. There is no reason that his name should remain; in fact, since I have made the payments I feel that I should get the credit for this, since he has his own utilities and will have them in his name and will be credited for that. I have been paying EPE almost the entire time I have been divorced and before starting in about 2017. I have done this through a shared banking account that had my name and then from an account in my name only. I sent along my request to EPE along with a document showing that I had already been paying them for a year at least out of my account in my name with an offer to show more history if needed. I also said I could supply any documents showing that my name had not been changed by decree and any other supporting documents. EPE responded that I would be charged a fee of *****, but that they would be setting up a whole new account with my name with a new account number. I then sent along proof in the form of a copy of a statement sent to the service address showing that my name had already been on the account already back in 2019. EPE then responded with the same information stating they were going to give me a whole new account and number that I stated would erase all the history of good payments and good standing that would then go to my ex husband since that was in his name. I want EPE to keep the same account number but have it only in my name like I asked. I am the one who has paid on time and had the history, not him.

  Customer response

  05/26/2022

  I just received the most recent message about my BBB complaint. I do not believe that I have had communication with El Paso Electric since making the complaint and getting a response from BBB. I was in communication with them back and forth before making the complaint. I informed them that since they seemed unwilling to assist me in spite of all the information I had already provided and was willing to supply in addition to what I had already given them to prove that I am the primary resident and have been since 2017, that the home of the service address is mine and decreed to me in the divorce that could prove ownership of the account, I supplied proof of a year's worth of payments in my name only and stated that I could if needed provide evidence showing I had been paying previously through a shared account that also had my name on it. 

   

  In addition to the above, I had also provided them with a copy of a statement showing that I had already been managing the account and had been sent statements to my residence with both my name and my ex husband's name appearing together and yet they still insist they will not do it and refused to do what I requested and they went without my consent in spite of insisting on setting up the account with a social security number, they set up a whole new account with a new account number without my permission and no approval to use my social security number. My aim was to have a utility in my name with the service address showing, and I was unaware that I was already getting the statements sent to my Bill *** account already showing my name on them, they did not inform me of this and when I asked for them to acknowledge this and to simply keep the account that I already had with my name the same so that I can also have a record of making payments to a utility company for the purposes of using this to show to various agencies when asked, they have refused. 

   

  They state that they cannot do this and are being difficult simply for the sake of it from the appearance of it. I had stated that my request if they insisted on setting up a new account I would want my name to appear correctly as I want to make all the records of my name have the same spelling, I have learned that having various different spellings  has caused an issue for me when trying to get things in my name or to remove my name when it was not spelled correctly. Them refusing to honor a legal court document that is needed in order to even get the documents that they are asking for seems to be intentional just to create problems on purpose when the website states that a person can  provide other means to prove identity or ownership of an account. 

   

  I am pretty sure that the company decided on their own what solution would work best without my consent. I did ask for a whole new account because that would not show to anyone that I had been paying on anything if I needed this. It would give the appearance that I have not been living in this household all this time since 2016 paying on the utilities all that time. What they did was to create a whole new account as though I just moved here and am a new resident when that is not the case and the divorce decree would show everything that they needed it to show. It would show that I have been decreed the home and that I have lived here, the decree has the correct spelling of my name as I wanted it to appear and shows my underrage children who reside here and that I also reside here,  and it proves that he was not living here at the time of the divorce and shows his previous address that he had been living since 2018. The reason they will not accept it is clear to me that they are intending to cause me problems as has been the case when I have dealt with them each time on this issue. 

   

  I can of course gather any communications I have had with them. There is no reason that they should refuse to accept the divorce decree because it shows everything that they would need to prove my identity and ownership of the account along with my name as I want it to appear because it is my correct name as shown on legal court documents. 

   

  The problem that I am having is that I do not have a phone for several reasons, I have attempted to go to these offices in person and many of them are stating that they do not have offices and must do things over the phone. I have gone to these websites and many of them state that these things can be done through their website or by sending in the requested documents over email, and I have done this and they still refuse. I have been paying on the account all this time, first through a shared account that I had with my ex husband and then through an account in my married name. I even offered proof that I have been paying out of my account to them all this time, the only thing I needed to change was the fact that the spelling of my name is incorrect and does not match any of the legal documents nor did it match my name as shown on my military ID that I used to verify my identity for 17 years. Upon divorce, I turned this ID into the Military base near me. My driver's license has never reflected my married name because I simply used my military ID for everything and that ID had my married name on it. 

   

  I would also like to add that the service has not been turned off, I have maintained it all this time from my account. I have been the one paying it, and I showed this to them. To set up a new account completely erases everything I have been doing to keep and maintain a good record of making payments should I need this in the future as a single mother I am well aware of how difficult it can be to do many things with no evidence of employment, no payment history of any kind, much of this has gone to him, I can get no one to acknowledge this or to simply put these accounts that I have been paying into my name since I have been the one paying them. My guess is that they will stonewall because they did what they wanted to do without my consent. Anytime I attempt to do what is allowable based on what a company website says, I am told they do not do that, then they contact my ex by phone and he puts in some request to insist that I speak over the phone to someone that is not a requirement for many of these types of transactions. I can fill out a form and send documents to show proof that does not have to be my license of social security number, there are other ways to prove identity. 

   

   

   

   

   

  Thank you,

  ***************************

  ********************

  *********************

   

  

  Business response

  05/27/2022

  
  
  
  TO:                  Better Business Bureau Paso Del Norte
  
  FROM:            *******************
  Supervisor Revenue Collection
  El Paso Electric Company
  
  DATE: May 27, 2022
  
  RE:      Complaint ID: ******** *****************************
  
  Please accept the following response in answer to Complaint ID: ******** filed with the Better Business Bureau Paso del Norte (BBB) by ***************************** (Complainant) against El Paso Electric Company (EPE) concerning electric service at *************************************************************** (Service Address). In my capacity as **** Supervisor Revenue Collection, I will answer as the respondent for EPE.
  
  In reading the complaint filed with the BBB on May 26, 2022, I understand the Complainants issue to be as follows:
  
  Complainants Issues
  Complainant states she wanted to remove her ex-husband from the electric account and place in her name only, without a new account number and new history.
  Complainant states she has been paying the bills and her ex-husband is not *********** the credit on the existing account.
  
  Account Information
  EPE has provided electric service at *************************************************************** to ******* and *****************************, EPE account number **********, since June 14, 2016.
  
  EPE Response to Complainants Issues
  
  EPE answers the Complaint with the following information.  The information is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
  
  Complainant states she wanted to remove her ex-husband from the electric account and place in her name only, without a new account number and new history.
  Complainant states she has been paying the bills and her ex-husband is not *********** the credit on the existing account.
  EPE records indicate Complainants ex-husband was the primary account holder and Complainant was an authorized person on the account.  Because Complainant is not the primary account holder on account **********, a new account number with Complainant as the primary has been created. This is EPE policy and procedure.
  
  As of May 17, 2022, EPE started a new account number for Complainant in her name only. The credit existing on the shared account number has been transferred to the new account number.
  
  Additionally, the start service fee of $17.75 was not assessed.
  
  Conclusion
  
  **** **************** Representative explained the reason for creating a new account to Complainant, transferred the credit accordingly, and ensured the $17.75 fee was not assessed.
  
  EPE apologizes to Complainant for not meeting the level of service we strive for. EPE will continue to provide training to its **************** team members in efforts to improve the customer experience and work towards building a trusted partnership with the community and the customers it serves.
  
  If further information is required, please contact me at *************************************** or **************.
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************
  Supervisor Revenue Collection
  
  

  Customer response

  06/01/2022

   Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. I understand and agree with the resolution and appreciate the offer to waive the fee given that I have lived in the home and EPE acknowledges that I am not a new resident trying to start up a new account but one who has been managing the account in some capacity from the start of the service regardless of the history on the account. I thank ******************** and EPE for assistance in this matter. 

   

  Thank you

*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. ↩