Con Edison--refund

[nygrl23]

Posted: 2/24/08 at 4:40pm

Has anyone ever dealt with this kind of thing?

I asked Con Ed to investigate my billing, as I thought they were charging me way too much for way too long.

Long story short, they did investigate, yadda yadda, went through the process of checking things out, and I'm thinking that I'll never get to the bottom of this. Then i get a statement in the mail. It looks like a bill, but it's a bill with an overpayment refund. For several thousand dollars. That they're using as a balance against future charges.

Why would I complain about or question a big refund? Two reasons.

The refund reaches back only two years. I know they've been overcharging me a lot longer than that.

They're still overcharging me, as evidenced by the usage displayed on the bill/statement.

Sound familiar to anyone?
Updated On: 2/24/08 at 04:40 PM

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/24/08 at 4:44pm

I'm not dealing with Con Ed currently, but nothing like that has happened to me in the past.

I hope it works out.

Bastards.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 2/24/08 at 4:57pm

My parents had a similar situation. Absurdly high monthly bills, after months of complaints someone from Con Ed came out to investigate, it turned out that someone else in the building was tapping into their lines, which accounted for the absurd overcharges. The situation was rectified, but no mention of a refund was ever made.

My partner and I moved into a new apartment, and were getting outrageously high bills. After about 5 months, Con Ed checked into it, found we had been overcharged, and used what we had overpaid against future charges.

You should do whatever it takes to get what Con Ed owes you. Get all of your bills together, and don't stop until you get every penny of their overcharging refunded to you.

[nygrl23]

Posted: 2/24/08 at 5:14pm

Thanks, munkustrap178. Roscoe, your parents were owed a refund and all kinds of police action! Stealing is stealing!

I'm glad you were able to get money back from Con Ed. Did they alter your rate?

If Con Ed's been overcharging me for years, then that means my rates were too high. But the electric rate is still high.

I will check into it, although I'm not looking forward to spending however knows how long on the phone with them.

According to the super, I'm not the only one complaining about my energy bills. What the eff?

In other news, a cybersquatting company just swiped a domain out from under me, only because I checked it out, not because I paid for it and let it expire or anything like that. Apparently, these companies are out there, tracking domain names that people type into search boxes on registration sites, then buys them up. Hopefully, they'll bow out after the five-day grace period so I can try to snatch it up from the bastards.

I need a staff. Of about 1,000 people. To keep up with all this ****.
Updated On: 2/24/08 at 05:14 PM

[george95]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 10:33pm

I live in Hoboken, across the river from the Village, and I have PSE&G. My apartment is always warm, even if it is 10 degrees outside--and I have never turned on the heat in 4 years of living here.

Even so, PSE&G "estimated" my heating gas usage every winter, and they would estimate that I used a TON of heat. So they would give me these huge bills every month even though I never turned on my heat. And every spring, they would actually read the gas meters, and they give me like a $500 credit. Its happened the past four years in a row. I call every year to talk to people about it, but they just give me a lot of doublespeak.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 10:58pm

Sort of a threadjack, but:

Any form of over-the-telephone customer service is just disastrous.

It's frustrating, you're always talking to different people, you get disconnected, you're waiting for calls back.

You should try to make an appointment with a high-up billing agent at ConEd, meet them in person, and take care of this in one fell swoop. Even if you have to take off of work for one day. Stay there until it is settled. Otherwise it could go on forever.

[nygrl23]

Posted: 3/1/08 at 12:13am

OK, I posted the following message a little while ago, but it didn't show up on this board. It's in the search records, though. Whatever.
--------

Just got off the phone with Con Ed.

They made a mistake. I am not in fact owed almost $3,000. I am owed $143. The statement, which clearly says, "credit of $3,000," was in error.

And here I am, all out of foods that raise serotonin levels.

The computer issued that huge "credit" before they could finish doing the rest of the math. Stupid.

Looks like my rates are 'fine'. It's just that the management company has put all the burden on the tenants to pay for all heat, even the heat for the water, which the Con Ed rep has never ever seen before.
------


Well, at least they refund your money, George, although they'd save time and just stop estimating, already. How many people are being overcharged and don't pursue it like you did?

WBAF, the reps were nice, but they couldn't explain the situation in a way I could understand. I still don't really get wtf happened. At least the supervisor was nice. Turns out she gets screwed by Con Ed, too. And she WORKS there.
Updated On: 3/1/08 at 12:13 AM

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 3/1/08 at 12:27am

About 15 yrs ago, I had an unbelievable Con Ed problem, somewhat similar to yours.
Long story short, I finally went to the Con Ed office on East 14th St. to pay the "correct bill". I wheeled in a wheelbarrow with 20,000 PENNIES! tHe security guards tried to prevent my entering the office and paying my bill, the onlookers were sitting there f""""ing shocked, the "Manager" told me I couldn't pay in pennies; I refused to leave; they called the police. The police sided with me, the that freaking CON ED c/s rep at the window had to count my pennies.
YAY!!!
Not sayin' you should do this, but.....
P.S. I got the idea from a book at Barnes & Noble at the time, a Comedy book on How to Get Even without Violence.

[nygrl23]

Posted: 3/1/08 at 12:51am

Awesome, tinymagic2.

How DO you fight city hall, though, truly? I've had my fantasies about dumping a truckload of peaches at the White House gates with an "Impeach Bush" sticker on each one, but how do you send a message to an entity like Conartists Ed?

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 3/1/08 at 1:09am

You can't really, nycgirl...you just have to find a humorous way to piss them off, one by one. Creativity!?
Oh, I just thought of one....on your next monthly bill; pay with $1.00 checks, if your bill is $100.00, send ONE HUNDRED $1.00 checks. (I hope you have a "free check" checking acct)!
It might give you a smidgen of satisfaction. Just think of the idiot in their office who has to post 100 $1.00 checks on their Accounts Receivable, and then the Asst. mgr. sees it, and then the Mgr. and so on
and so on and so on........I'm laughing already!