Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  03/21/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have contacted Garland Power and Light on several occasions to complain about an electrical safety concern & they have ignored my pleas for help. A year ago, someone from their office checked my home for electrical tampering involving voltage issues, their rep named **** came I showed him the burned electrical cords from a surge suppresser, an extension cord & a burned plug prong from a new Duraflame heater. He had me turn all lights on in my home, including my clothes ************* a cup of water in the microwave & turn it on. He then advised there are definite voltage issues! The report was buried. They are not acknowledging any of this! My home is constantly being tampered with. I have asked them to please come & check the transformer for any kind of tampering as a licensed electrician who happens to be my neighbor is forcing me to sell my house along with the help of some others in the neighborhood! I am subjected to very loud wattage noise that include vibrations & have complained to the city about these criminals parking in front of the transformer to my home every day & creating issues. I am not an electrician, I don't know how to fix this, but I should not have my city fail me & not investigate my complaints. The garland noise department came & witnessed the noise in my home but said they were unable to help. People are choosing to look the other way while these sabotaging criminals keep me awake daily with all types of noise intrusions & have created what is called magnetostriction. This is the magnetic energy that creates the static/vibrations. I am recently disabled & very concerned about the safety of my home as it is being attacked. Burial lines to my home have been mapped twice, I reported via 911 late night after hour construction that was being done around 1am a few times. Every call that I make or complain about is being overlooked! Please help me to get this the attention that it deserves.

  Business response

  03/27/2024

  Garland has inspected ******************** concerns on multiple occasions and nothing has been found to be wrong.  She has also hired multiple electricians and they discovered no issues.  Garland has checked out the transformer, the meter base and did a full home audit.  All found no issues.  Here are the notes from the home audit:

  Her main concern today was noises in the attic. I inspected the attic for any unusual sounds here is what I found.
  The HVAC system is located in the attic
  The roof has whirly birds turning they make sounds
  The home has the ridge vent technology on both sides of the roof so its causing a draft causing wind noise
  No signs of tampering
  I pulled the electric meter per the homeowners request so she could see it was the whirly birds and the wind causing sounds. She was more at peace when we left. 

  All inspections showed there was no tampering with her meter or the transformer and the noises were normal household noises.  

  Customer response

  03/28/2024

  I am rejecting this response because:   I checked the EMF/RF today and confirmed that the level is still here. I am a human being and deserve to have quality of life and peace in my home. They should not say because the person says they didn't here any noise that means the issue is mine. Low frequency EMF/RF is not heard by all, but I would think as I am a 25-year customer, services never interrupted. It would be a benefit to them to resolve the issue to continue the business relationship. This is a neighborhood collaboration to get me to sell my home and I shouldn't have too!!! I deserve to be heard and assisted if someone is causing these things that I have described. When I am away from this environment here I don't here the noise!

  Customer response

  04/11/2024

  After Garland Power & Light responded back that there was no issue with the power to my home, saying they had confirmed this many times, my home was hit with a power surge on 04/01/24 that knocked out my power to my home. An electrician company confirmed my concerns are correct & contacted them and had them come out due to indeed the power from the transformer to my house is sending bad electricity to my home! I had just had my home electrical panel replaced and my home grounded on 02/14/24 and was informed that had I not then I might not be here! They are choosing to look the other way, while individuals are playing around with the electricity to my home! They dug up the wire to the transformer in my yard and replaced it, but the individuals that are responsible for the sabotages continue to do so because ******** is failing me as a consumer and customer! 

• Initial Complaint

  12/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Firstly, it is absolutely C*** that residents HAVE to use GPL. Secondly, over the last year our electricity rates have SKYROCKETED! From 2019 to 2022, I never paid a $500 electricity bill. Im usually late on my payments and even with that being said, they were never as high as they are now. Suddenly in 2023, they are typically OVER $500! GPL is a tyrant because they KNOW we cannot use anyone else so our hands are tied. They can do whatever they want, which feels like a violation! I was just looking over my bill and I have $130 miscellaneous charge? Theyre closed right now so I cant call them and find out but Im sure its just another bogus way for them to over charge us. The city of Garland needs to END THEIR REIGN OF TERROR and allow us to choose who we want!

  Business response

  01/02/2024

  Good morning, 

  I have attached the comparison of local providers, in the Oncor delivery area, compared to GP&L.  You receive your power at the standard rate and there is only one provider who is less than GP&L.  

  The reason you have additional charges on your account is a result of being disconnected for non-payment.  Please know, you can contact the Customer Service department anytime you are going to be late and as long as you consistently keep your arrangements, you can request extensions to pay your bill. In addition, remember your bill does not only include ************* have water, sewer, sanitation, storm water and EMS fees.  Also, you can discuss power saving strategies with our representatives and we can schedule and Energy Conservations Specialist to do an audit of your house and make some suggestions to possibly lower you bills. 

• Initial Complaint

  12/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  GARLAND power and light added an erroneous $75 dollar additional deposit when they were paid $200 for new service in may. They turned off my lights today when my bill was paid and have communicated several times regarding my refusal to pay an additional $75 fee unwarranted! They refuse to remove this fee from my bill when my light bill was only $27.88 . They also disconnected my service without proper notice. They never mailed any letter to the service address. Im demanding charges be accessed for the interruption of performing job duties due to lack of electricity. My bill was paid at 15:51 pm cst however unpin arrival at **** I found my lights off!

  Business response

  12/18/2023

  The City of Garland added the ***** deposit on the account due to multiple disconnects for non-payment.  Per city ordinance, we can add additional deposits when an account is cut off two or more times within a twelve month period.  This account was disconnected for non-payment in September and October of 2023.  Her door was also tagged for a late payment in July and August **** and the only reason it was not cut off on those days was due to the temperature being over 100 degrees.  

  Her bills are delivered to her email address as requested on her new service application.  The bills show there is a past due and it is subject to disconnect.  In addition to the ***** being past due, there was also a carry over balance of 58.18.  We disconnected the service at 11:20am on 12/12/23 for a total amount of  133.18.  She made her payment at 3:51pm on 12/12/23 in the amount of ***** and another one on 12/13 in the amount of 1.30.  These payments did not satisfy the past due balance of 133.18.

  On 12/15/23, as a courtesy, we agreed to waive the ***** deposit and reconnected service.  This was a one time courtesy and if services are disconnected within the next 12 months, the account is subject to an additional deposit.

• Initial Complaint

  12/04/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  GP&L only gives you 20 days from the billing date to pay your bill or they start assessing penalties/late fees. You should at least have 30 days to pay as I don't even receive my bill in the mail until around the 10th. Just another way this company gets to ***** their customers.

  Business response

  12/06/2023

  Good morning,

  Your utility bill is due 20 days from the date we issue the bill.  The penalty is not added until the 25th day.  There is a 5 day grace ****** before the penalty is added.  If you can not pay your bill on the due date, you may request an extension.  If you keep your agreement to pay at a later date, the penalty is not added.  I do not show you have contacted our office with any concerns surrounding your payment or the due date.  The last time I show you contacted the City of Garland was in January and we transferred you to make a payment by phone.

  In addition, if you are not receiving your bill in a timely manner, you can request to be set up on e-bill or view your bill in the customer portal.  Here is the link to the portal:

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

  Please contact Customer Service at ************, if you have any further questions.

   

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  09/19/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have tried to establish new service with Garland Power and Light but they are saying that I owe them $89 that I know I dont owe. When I started service with them I paid a $200 deposit. I moved from the location In April of 2022 but this company continued to charge small amounts through July *************************************** order to keep my deposit. I have called and emailed several times requesting the bill from March and April to prove that I would not owe any money after the deposit. They sent the $89 bill to collections in July 2022z but I was never notified until I called 2 weeks ago to start new service. I have no problem paying what I owe but I refuse to pay more than I owe. This is in collections and they have failed to provide the bills I requested and they keep referring me to the collection agent stating that they cant provide those bills because it was in collections and that I need to call the agency. When I call the agency they refer my back to GPL because they do not have proof of where the bill came from. They only have a bill with a forward amount but it doesnt detail the usage nor the months the bill was forward from. The bills the agency has is from May to July. I have asked to receive these statements by email and spent a hour on the phone with a customer service agent today and they kept referring me back to the collection agency. How can this company be allowed to deny you service when they are the only provider and also send something to a collection agency but can not prove the bill is actually the customers bill. They should at least be able to provide my ledger. This company does not allow their customers to go 3 months without paying a bill so why would I continue to incur usage charged after I moved from the location.. They are putting the burden of proof on the collection agency but I wasnt in collections in March and April of 2022 I was a customer of garland power and light so the burden should be on them.

  Business response

  10/02/2023

  The customer did not contact our offices to cancel service.  Her service was cancelled due to no payment after being disconnected for non-payment.  If the customer was gone in April, she can have the apartment complex call in and take responsibility for usage from April to June.  Otherwise, the account stayed open due to no one calling in and cancelling the account.  She attached bills to this dispute which show accurate balances and even one that shows the exact amount due when we subtracted the ****** deposit, she mentioned.  She is more than welcome to come in to the office any weekday, Monday through Friday 8-5, and speak about this with a representative in person.

  Customer response

  10/05/2023

  I am rejecting this response because during Covid the company would disconnect service for non payment within 7 days past due. As any delinquent account would  show. Regardless if I cancelled service or not there should not have been a bill for 3 months because that has never been a courtesy that this company would extend. So why is now that they took my deposit for a service that was disconnected. I would still like my ledger and my account history because I know for a fact they did not allow the service to stay on with out payment. I would like  to know the date it was disconnected. Because on the bill it shows very little reading on the meter.  I cant come into the office because I work every day. Like I said they should be more convenient to their customers because there business practices are so outdated especially for it to be the only provider in the area . Garland is not a small city anymore . I think its a huge disservice and very distasteful business practices and they are very rude to people who pay taxes in the city and to their customers. Its sad that I had to come to BBB to  get a response to the several emails and calls. This complaint started with them first over a month ago.

  Business response

  10/05/2023

  Customers are not disconnected 7 days after the due date.  A customer has 20 days from the time they are billed to pay.  Five days later, they are called or sent a disconnection notice giving them ten additional days.  Therefore, the earliest a customer can be disconnected is 35 days after the bill is generated.  There are any number of factors which can alter when a customer is disconnect.  Additionally, just because we cut the service off for non-pay, the account it not closed.  It is the customer's responsibility to close their account.  We have given the customer a way to excuse herself from any usage during the time she claims she was not residing in the apartment, but the customer will need to have the apartment complex provide that documentation to us and accept the responsibility for the usage during that time.  

• Initial Complaint

  05/31/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Lights were disconnected for 57$!! at 10am & it took them 8 hours to reconnect AFTER charging me a reconnection fee! This company is pathetic. Its almost 100 degrees outside - manually cutting off electric has to be the most ridiculous and outdated thing I have ever heard in 2023. Now I have to suffer. Prices are ridiculously jacked up and customer service is always rude and short. I absolutely hate this company. So unprofessional

• Initial Complaint

  05/04/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I started my electric service with Garland Power and Light April 2019 and has paid my service every month with no interruptions. Yes, sometimes there may be a late payment here or there depending on when my bank releases the payment through Bill Pay. However, I have maintained power without interruption and have not received by $200 deposit as a credit to my account. I've even overpaid on some months to ensure I maintain electricity without interruptions, even during the Pandemic. After more than 3 years, the company should be responsible for releasing my deposit as a credit to my account. I have requested this twice from Garland Power and Light and they have refused to credit my deposit to my account.

  Business response

  06/15/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/05/10) */ Good morning, Our policy for customers' acceptable pay record is no more than 1 late payment in a twelve-month period. The customer in question has 5 in the twelve months. We would also ONLY review the account to apply the deposit at the request (either written or verbal) of the customer listed on the account. There has been no record of this customer requesting such. Here is the Ordinance section on deposits.... (C) Deposits. Any person who makes a deposit for utility services with the City, or who accepts or receives utility service from the City agrees thereby that, in the event of a default in payment for such utility services, venue for proceedings to collect payment shall lie in Dallas County, Texas. A deposit to ensure payment of utility charges shall be paid in accordance with the following schedule: (1) Residential customers. (a) Electric, water, and sewer service customers. (i) Upon application for electric, water and sewer services provided by the City to a residential account, a deposit shall be placed with the City by the applicant in the amount of two hundred dollars ($200.00). The deposit may be waived by the City if the customer provides: a. A recent letter from another utility demonstrating a good payment history between the customer and the other utility for a period of at least twelve (12) months; or b. An acceptable credit history report from a nationally or regionally recognized credit reporting agency. (ii) If utility services are disconnected to any one customer for a second time within the most recent twelve (12) months, then the deposit amount may be increased to the amount of service charges for an estimated sixty (60) days' usage for that customer, such amount to be determined by the Customer Service Department. Once an existing customer demonstrates an acceptable pay record, based on the last twelve (12) months' payments, the deposit may be refunded. Sincerely, Customer Service Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/05/10) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I have requested my deposit to be applied to my account twice verbally and once via email on 4/2020 from prior email **************@gmail.com. I have successfully kept my utilities since April 2019. This is robbery and deceit to keep a deposit when a customer has successfully paid for 3 almost 4 years. If my bill pay account didn't release the funds prior to due date, that's not an accurate depiction of late payments. Utilities have never been disconnected. Please apply my deposit to my account. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/05/17) */ Good afternoon, Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We did find an email from back in October of 2020 requesting the deposit be refunded. Here was our response at that time: Original Message From: Customer Service Sent: Monday, October 12, XXXX X:XX AM To: '******** C.' <**************@gmail.com> Subject: RE: Account XXXXXX-XXXXXX CAUTION: Email originated outside organization. Good morning, To apply the deposit to your account, you have to have twelve consecutive months of on-time payments (payments made not more than four calendar-days past the original due date). Unfortunately, you have had five late payments in the last twelve months - with the latest being in August. You will be eligible to apply the deposit in September of 2021 to your account if you do not have any late payments between now and August of 2021. Sincerely Customer Service IN the following months between October 2020 and August 2021, she had an additional 5 late payments. Her most recent late payment with us was in April of 2022. If she has NO LATE payments between now and April 2023, she can request the deposit be refunded in May of 2023. Sincerely Customer Service Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2022/05/18) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I will escalate this concern.

*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. ↩