Joe,
A few weeks ago I sent you an e-mail with photo's of my electric meter to show you how Delmarva Power was misreading the meters and billing people in error. Now a month later, we get our bills and they are ALL estimated. Don't get me wrong. I know it snowed. I know the snow was deep. BUT my meter readings were taken only 4 days ago. The heavy snow was gone. Here is my problem. I have a house where the electric has been shut off at the main breaker for MONTHS. 0 electricity usage. They estimated it at over $300.00 based on last years usage. After seeing your post last time, Delmarva Power contacted me and made the necessary corrections. On this particular meter, the actual charge for last month was less than $6.00. The breaker is STILL off and my estimated charge was over $300.00. C'mon DPL - get off you're asses. Get out of your vehicles and actually read the meters! Your electicity rates are higher that Choptank yet their bills are right every month. How is it that THEY can get out and read the meters but you can't?
Folks, check your meters! You can't help but feel that someone's trying to pull the old "okey doke" - at everyone elses expense.
38 comments:
One great thing with Choptank that eliminates a lot of error is that they give you a $5 credit on your bill if you read your own meter and submit it to them.
DP&L are the most corrupt company I have ever dealt with but they have a monopoly and we are their slaves ! FOR NOW !
People on Choptank are responsible for reading their own meters.
what did Delmarva Power say when you contacted them about this? Or did you immediately post to a blog instead? It sounds like they read your complaint about the last issue on a blog instead of hearing from you directly:
" After seeing your post last time, Delmarva Power contacted me and made the necessary corrections"
if you have a legitimate problem, contact them instead of complaining about it. If you dont get satisfaction from their customer service, then post to a blog.
anonymous 9:00, they did contact them.
I agree ...I say they are one of the company's that can get one over on us,and we wont really know it...sure if the bill is high we question it,but who's to say they aren't charging us more then they should with all these fees ie 6.00 for not using energy saving bulbs...how do they know what bulbs we use??? Not everyone understands how to read the kilowatts and how much was used. As far as estimating a bill...ppl do make changes in there home(new heating system,wood stove pellet stoves) that make the bill cheaper!!! It's hard to know if the changes that were made are effective!!!
Most Choptank customers read their own meters, hence the accuracy of the readings. Also, it should be pointed out that those meters have digital readouts, similar to your odometer on your car.
Many meters on Delmarva Power's system still utilize the old clock-style pointers, which change direction with each digit. Mistakes are much more common with those type of meters.
ok. by the wording of the original post, it seemed that they posted to a blog first. So, what did Delmarva Power say when yiou contacted them? Did they fix the problem? If they didnt, what did they say? If they did, why the complaint?
Delmarva power also estimated my meter this month. It makes no sense since my road haas been clear since the night of the last snow and the meter is on the front of the house and easily reachable (not that anyone ever gets out of the vehicle to read the meter, he uses binoculars for some reason). What I found odd about the estimate was that compared to the last couple of months and to last year it was a low estimate.
When comparing January usage '09 & '10 the usage is dang near exactly the same, yet last January we did not use the heat as often as we have this year. Delmarva power needs to be investigated. Plain and simple there has to be some outside agency that has the right to investigate that company because there are too many people with the same complaints about shady practices.
The time it took to whine on this blog, the writer could have read their meter, called the power company, and provided them with the actual reading. The power company would have issued a bill on the actual useage to replace the estimated one the customer received.
I experienced the same problem for the Dec. bill from Delmarva Power. A bill that usually reads $220 for that month was $411. I was in total shock. As I was going over the bill I noticed it said the bill was estimated. This was a bill on our rental that is 2 doors down from ours. Our bill was read & this one estimated?!!? I immediately called & the lengthy explanation had me so confused. It went something like this, "this address was not an estimated bill even though it said that. It said that because it was over read by a 1000 kw. Next month you will see a big difference as you will be credited & in the end it will all work out." HUH!?! Anyway the next bill was what it usually is for this time of year.
Go figure!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Of course they are useing the okie dokie bit... they think you won't raise up and say anything... Which means they win... But if everyone were to stand up and say something then who knows what would happen... I say switch to chop, we have it and have no problems... In fact we read out own meters and send it it.. NO problems.. SWITCH WHILE YOU CAN... don't give DPL the satisfaction of you being their customer... We need to show people that customer service needs to be #1 in their books or were not going to use their serves... if enough people leave they could either go out of business or start to actually do some good...
So DPL is going to force their meter readers out in 3 feet of snow to homes that have snowed in driveways, roads not plowed, schools closed, driving restrictions in place to what, walk through the drifts to do their job??????
Your bill will adjust with the next reading when it's feasible to get out there and do the job.
Get over it, and check your own meter to verify a physical reading.
While I have you on the line...there was a downed tree in Parsonsburg...Rt. 346...power outage from the storm 3 weeks ago (on a Saturday). Delmarva Power cut down tree branches/some as big as a man's wrist/some were larger...left them in my elderly father's driveway and yard.
These branches were pushed into the yard with the next storm when Dad's driveway could be cleared. I called Delmarva Power to see if they would be coming back to get this huge mess out of the yard...Delmarva Power stated..."they are not our trees from which the branches were cut...we are not responsible for the clean up"...I told them the next time they cut tree branches in my Father's yard...they better be sure not to drop them in his driveway to obstruct passage as they had done already. I am sure my complaint went in one ear and out the other.
I have an empty house with no water running, no washers washing, or refrigerators on, no lights on and the heat set at 63.... my electric bill is 180 last month.
When we received our bill from DP last month, it was over $1,000!! I was in shock. I immediately went out to my meter and sure enough, they had "misread" it. When I checked it, more than a week after they supposedly did, it was still more than 2,000 usage watts LESS than the reading on my bill. I called immediately and they said, "sorry, it must have just been misread or typed in the system incorrectly". Don't get me wrong, we are all human and capable of mistakes, however; that's an AWFUL LOT of "mis keying" when entering numbers in for a meter reading on someones account! They took the reading I had that night, offered nothing else but to send out a corrected bill. I sure wish I had been checking the bills for each month prior to January, but I quickly learned from that mistake!
contact them and let them know you want a wireless meter... they can read it from the street and do not have to manually check anymore. This will eliminate the dreaded estimated bill and be more accurate. They should have a program in place that will replace your existing meter for free... they benefit from it as well...
My bill was estimated and I went out to check my meter, and the estimated amount has not even happened yet. I better see a little bill next month.
Hey guess what? I was another lucky winner in the phantom billing sweepstakes. I received a bill on a vacant rental unit for $155.00.The power wasn't even turned onduring the billing period
But wait! It gets even better!
I found a new tenant and they were doing construction requiring heavy electrical usage and running all normal electrical functions during the time after the utility transitioned into their name. Since an estimted reading was done on my account, I guess I get to pay for all their usage as well.
Lucky Me!
A couple of years ago, they took my electric out of my name and put it in another persons name because the idiot gave them the wrong address. I actually did them a favor by calling when I got my FINAL bill, it was nothing but an argument and I was treated as if I was a criminal, the cust serv lady was so rude, it was unbelievable. They have no safeguards in place. Last summer my meter was also "misread", double what it usually is (billed $600 usually $300). When I called their excuse was that I had a rogue appliance running around my house. Next bill was $53. It is NEVER Delmarva Powers fault... ever. My last bill was an estimate and it was higher than my typical bill. Always in their favor. I was told customer service is in Dover, not here in Salisbury, so they do not care how rude and unhelpful they are. Awful organizatiion.
I dug out my back yard with a path to the meter twice, becuase I knew the date they were supposed to come. Did they show up. Nope it was clear. I checked they did not even attempt any of the 100 or so houses in our neighborhood. They just saved money paying reader and estimated everyones.
9:00 You must be a drone employee of DP&L monopoly machine .
Also, after receiving the $155.00
estimated bill for zero actual usage(750 sq foot unit), I called DP&L to complain. I was informed that I should "prorate"
the bill between myself and my new tenant. Now I'm no rocket scientist, but exactly how do you perform a proration on zero usage?
Meter Man don't have to get out of his truck to read mine... just has to pull into drive way... They put a radio meter in a couple years ago because of my dogs in the back yard
We got a $735 electric bill from Delmarva Power last month and I was irrate! We called them, they said it could be our heat pump, having the heat up too high, yadda yadda. My husband told them that he worked as a plumber and built a few houses so he knows if something needs fixing. He went out and read the meter, it wasn't even close to what they said our meter reading was on the 17th when the tech read it.
They had someone come out a week later and read our meter and we got a new bill with a $250 credit. They made a big mistake! I will never trust them again.
Choptank doesn't give you a $5 credit for reading your own meter, they CHARGE you $5 extra if you don't. I know this because one month I submitted mine online through their website, they said they didn't get it, and charged me an extra $5 on my bill for coming out to read it themselves.
Just like UPS still wasn't delivering last week because of snow on back roads, and just like people were posting pictures on this blog of streets not plowed and making cases for not sending kids back to school, DP had those same roads to contend with. So they estimated you, along with probably alot of people.
Instead of coming to this blog with it, you can read your meter yourself and phone it in for an adjustment. (That's what I did) BTW I too have a vacant house. It's for sale. My estimate was also out of whack. I was told that the computers automatically estimate based on what was used the same month the year prior.
The way you treated them last time from your own comment on the blog, I'm sure they aren't jumping up and down with excitement to call you again. I believe your own words were that instead of being happy they got your meter number from your post and called you, instead of thanking them for making the adjustments, you said the meter readers must be on crack etc etc
DP&L sucks! I got an estimated bill this month also! Before they were even due to read the meter on the scheduled day! Mom and Dad also got an estimated Bill for the exact same amount and they live on the same street! What gets me is their house is not even close to the same size as ours!
Ok, maybe valid for estimating due to the snow. But, that doesn't hold water the other multiple times it is misread, always in their favor, which means they get to use my money before I get the service. Flat out wrong. Again, a mistake can happen, but when the same mistake keeps happening over and over again with the same people even, there is either a problem with the person reading the meter or the process. C'mon DPL, fix the problem. Unfortunately, some of us have no choice in our electric supplier.
I have a friend who works at DP she said that they are installing smart meters in Delaware now where meter readers do not come out, meter sends its readings electronically.
Hopefully it will get approved in MD too then none of us will have to worry about misreadings.
Criminal
I am so glad I read your post! I had my meter estimated this past month and the estimation was WAY over. I understand that they had to estimate because of all the snow but my estimation was hundreds of KWH's over than what it should have been. As a matter of fact, my reading was "estimated" in at the beginning of February and my meter still isn't where the estimation said it was WEEKs ago (we are still about 100 KWHs under what the estimation in the beginning of February said). I contacted them about how "off" their estimated reading was. I pay my bills on time and have no problem paying for the electric I use....I just have issues paying for LOTS of electricity that I haven't even used yet.
I haven't been able to call (due to work) but I sent an email this past Saturday. I gave them my account number and all my info and I was told in a confirmation email that they would get back to me within 2 business days. I still haven't heard anything.....
It's not just the misreadings it's the absurd amount they charge it's such a rip off ! It's time for our law makers to put them back in check !
My last bill was also doubled from the previous month! Call DP&L and was told I wasn't billed enough in December and it was tacked on to January's bill!! A 50% increase!! GEEZ! I told her I didn't have the money and she broke it out over the next 4 months. At least I can make them wait to get my money. It' total BS!!
I received an estimated bill in December and when I called they told me to go read the meter myself and they corrected my bill to the correct amount. They told me to call with the correct reading whenever I receive an estimated bill.
All you DPL workers responding. You could atleast be a little more subtle. It is totally obvious who you are. 2 years ago, I got a bill in January for $500. I have never had a bill that high. I called them and questioned it, they said the meters don't lie. The lady started doing a comparison of the January previous, which had nowhere near the same average daily temperature. When I asked her, why not compare it to a month that had a similar average daily temperature, since that is really what defines your usage, she simply stated that that is not the way they do it. Ok, I guess if you want to compare apples to oranges. I have never had a bill that high since, and never had one before that. Now, you tell me, was something wrong? The average daily temp that January was 50 degrees. It was that warm January when it was 70 on New years day.
Why is it that in 2008 my meter was read wrong 8 times and in 2009 it was wrong 3 times.This is just on one property that I own.I shouln't have to keep babysitting DP.They should get it together and read these meters correct.It takes them 2 months to correct the meter reading.I am just fed up with them.
I had the old clock meters & requested to have it replace with a digital model due to DPL techs not being able to read the clock meters correct on two different months. I also spot check my meter daily even though I'm on budget because I like to know where I stand.
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