ComplaintsforFarmers Electric Cooperative

• Initial Complaint

  03/14/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My farmers electric coop account number is **********. Last year I made payments in advance as I did not want to miss out on any payments each month.Currently I have a credit of -$1,918.99.Recently my economic situation has changed and I need the money. So, I called Farmers Coop multiple times to either refund the money back to my last used credit card or issue a check for the credit.Spoke to 3 agents, one refused saying they cannot provide a credit of MY money till the account is closed. Other 2 said they will call me in 2 days with the refund information but never called.So, I request BBB to step and provide a refund of my own money as soon as possible as I need the funds.Also, I want to escalate this to the farmers coop and help issue a refund of my money.

  Business response

  03/28/2023

  Dear ***********************************,

   

  Thank you for allowing us to work together with you and the Better Business Bureau to resolve your issue.

   

  On behalf of Farmers Electric Cooperative, I want to extend my sincerest apologies for the negative experience you had recently. I reviewed your account and I see where one of our *********** team members contacted you by phone on March 16 to ask you to notify the credit card you used to make the payment. I believe we are on our way to resolving this issue.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

   

  At Farmers Electric Cooperative, we pride ourselves on giving 100 percent every day to ensure that our members needs are being met. I know that we have let you down, and for that we are very sorry.

   

  I want to thank you for bringing this issue to our attention and thank you for being a member of Farmers Electric Cooperative. Should you need help in the future on other Cooperative matters, please contact the co-ops *********** team. We are always happy to assist members with their account needs.

   

  Sincerely,

   

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

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

  Customer response

  03/28/2023

  I am rejecting this response because:   

  I contacted the credit card company. They are asking the merchant to issue a refund.

  So I request you to either issue a check or send the money back to my credit card ending in 9420.

  It's not fair that you are not refunding me my money.

   

  Customer response

  06/08/2023

  Issue not resolved. They still have not provided me a refund for the credit on my account with them

• Initial Complaint

  12/23/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  F.E.C. (my electric company) is overcharging their customers. I check my daily prepaid electric daily on the app. Last night I had $51 on my account, my usage in that time frame was $9.90 and now my app is saying I only have $2.36 left on my electric. There is no way. I've had multiple issues with them in the past, but I am a single mother living on a fixed income and can't afford for them to do this to me. Please help me. I truly feel this company needs to be investigated and don't know where else to start.

  Business response

  01/10/2023

  Dear *******************************,
  
  Thank you for working with us and the Better Business Bureau to help resolve your issue.
  Based on the details you provided to the Better Business Bureau, we are unable to share any information with you about the account as it appears the account is in another member's name.
  However, our records show you have an active membership at a different location. And our records show you requested a transfer for the ************** account to be in your name in February 2022, but the $35 credit prepayment was not paid, so the transfer was cancelled.
  
  From Dec. 22 to Dec. 24, our service area experienced sustained temperatures below freezing, which is consistent with the dates you provided, and would explain the cause for more energy usage than normal. For more information on how the outside temperature and the inside temperature setting of the home's thermostat impacts bills, you can watch our Temperature Gap video at: ****************************
  We also have an Energy Tips PDF on our website at FarmersElectric.coop for more ways on how to winterize your home and save on electricity usage.
  
  Again, I want to thank you for allowing us to work together with the BBB on this. Should you need help in the future, please contact the cooperative's *********** team. We are always happy to assist members with their account needs.
  
  Sincerely,
  ***********
  **************
  ********************************************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  03/02/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  February 28th 2022 Farmers Electric decided to turn off my electricity without warning me. They said I had to pay $1,306.70 before they would turn it back on. My account is on auto pay it has been for years. Well it didn't go through for some reason, and instead of contacting you either to let me know or to get another way of payment they just come and turn my electricity off. I'm on 24/7 oxygen without my oxygen is hard to breathe. They proceeded to tell me since it was after hours to contact the main office tomorrow morning which would be March 1st. They wanted me to go all night without electricity or my oxygen when it was not my fault it did not go through or not contacted to pay another way I don't mind paying the the bill but I do mine when I have to pay to get it turned back on.

  Business response

  05/04/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/03/16) */ Dear ***** *****, I am very sorry for all the trouble you've had recently with your account. I also want to thank you for being a member of the cooperative and for using the Better Business Bureau to help resolve the issue. I have researched your account and I believe I know what happened. On Feb. 3, after the auto pay did not go through, we emailed you a notice. The email address on your account is *******@tx.rr.com. We now know this is an inactive email account. We did mail a notice and called the number on the account many times. For an interim solution, we removed the paperless notation from your account so now you will receive a paper bill in the mail. I believe the best way to resolve this issue on a long-term basis is for you to complete an Update Account Form. Also, since you referenced being on oxygen, I would also recommend that you and your physician complete a Medical Necessity form. I will mail both forms to you. I want to thank you for bringing this issue to our attention, and for being a great member of Farmers Electric Cooperative. Should you need help in the future, please do not hesitate to contact the co-op's Member Care Team. We are always happy to assist members with their account needs. Consumer Response /* (3000, 12, 2022/03/27) */ I feel that I should not have had to put $1300 dollars for them to hit a button that was my whole check.

*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. ↩