ComplaintsforPayless Power

• Initial Complaint

  04/01/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 1/23/2024 Payless Power charges my credit card for $80 for unknown reasons. I have no account with this company, and have never inquired about an account with this company. When I called them they can't even look me up because I don't have an account with them. I then contacted the credit card company to have the charges reversed, only to be denied twice with no further remedy offered. This is fraud in it's purest form, as I never gave the provider any contact information on me, nor did I even inquire about electric service from them. They need to return my $80 immediately.

  

  Business response

  04/01/2024

  Hello- please email the the last 4 digits of the car to me at *********************** and I will research the issue for you. 

   

  Kind Regards,

   *************************

  Director of ************* and Regulatory Compliance 

  Payless Power

  Customer response

  04/04/2024

  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. I don't believe the story I was given how this happened, but they did refund my money, after raising the roof, and spending a whole lot of time just getting someone to listen.  They claim someone else used my card to pay their electric bill, and I don't believe that.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  03/18/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I am filing a complaint because this company stole from me and absolutely refuses to make it right. On 2/12/24 I signed up for electric service through Payless Power. On the day in question, I noticed that I received errors several times when attempting to make the initial $40 sign-up charge (which eventually went through) and then another $50 payment to go towards the account (which also eventually went through). On 2/13/24, I noticed that both payments ($40 and $50) had been processed by my bank (this was also confirmed by my financial institution), however, only the $40 payment had been credited to my electricity account. I spoke with a representative who stated the $50 payment had been declined and if it came out of my bank, I would see it credited back in the next few days. On 2/19/24, I noticed that the $50 payment still had not been credited back to my bank account, nor had it been credited to my electricity account. I reached out to customer service (via phone and email) multiple times throughout the day on 2/19/24 and produced a bank statement for February showing that the $50 payment had come out of my account. On that date they refused to either credit my electric account or refund the $50 and stated that I needed to wait until another bank statement was issued and that I would see the amount reversed then. It is now 3/18/24 and I have provided them with a second bank statement evidencing that the $50 was never credited back to my bank account. I have been in contact via email all day providing documents proving that they took money out of my bank account, which was never credited to my electricity account, and never reversed as they said it would be. I have asked nicely what else I need to produce, or who I need to speak to, to resolve this matter, and they refuse to let me speak with anyone else in their accounting department or with whomever is their payment processing vendor. I am appalled at the lack of customer care.

  

  Business response

  03/20/2024

   Thank you for the opportunity to address this complaint.******************* is correct in her assertion that she enrolled for service with Payless Power on 2/12/24 and processed a payment of $40.00 to start service. She is also correct is stating that she presented a monthly bank statement showing that the $40 payment was deducted from her bank account on 2/13/24 along with a second payment of $50.00.
  ******************* did also begin reaching out to Payless Power ************* beginning on 2/12/24 regarding the payment.The customers complaint was handled per company policy and the inquiry was forwarded to the Payless Power accounting department who in turn reached out to our Companys credit card merchant services vendor, Elavon. ****** confirmed that the transaction had been cancelled. Since the final day of the customers monthly bank statement ended on 2/13/24. The customer was advised that her funds should be reflected back on her card account but the next statement date. Once she received that statement there was no credit visible and ******************* stated that her bank advised her that the payment was in fact approved.
  This has resulted in an impasse where the customer claims that ********************** has her $50 payment but our systems and merchant services vendor states that it was never received.
   Based on all of the facts and documentation provided on this matter to date, my determination is that Payless Power and its employees have acted within the bounds of its policies and *************************** regulations. The company did not steal the customers funds and its representatives did not act unprofessionally. That being said, ******************* by all accounts did post a $50.00 payment in good faith and those funds were deducted from her account. Even though ********************** has not received these funds, we want to take steps to repair the trust that has been severely damaged by this incident. We cannot refund a payment that we did not receive but I will post a credit totaling $80.00 to her account. $50.00 of this is to compensate for the missing payment. $30.00 is a courtesy credit for her trouble and after reviewing her recent charges, this should cover about a weeks worth of free service.
  I hope this resolution will resolve the customers concerns and provide an indication that her voice was heard.
  
  Regards,
  *********************************
  Director of ************* and Regulatory Compliance
  Payless Power          

  Customer response

  03/20/2024

  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.
  
  Regards,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  02/14/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The company Payless power automated service is stupid as h*** and I'm without light for the night with all 3 of my children this is some stupidity that there is no live agents to get my darn payment

  

  Business response

  02/14/2024

  Hello- Thank you for the opportunity to address this issue. Our records show that ********************** account was *************************** yesterday afternoon as of 2:12 PM due to non payment  Records also show that ****************** attempted to pay to reconnect service at 5:46 PM, 7:36 PM, 7:49 PM & 8:30 PM  but each transaction was declined. He made another payment attempt at 11:21 PM and this time, the payment processed successfully and a reconnection order was sent to  AEP Texas Central at 11:25 PM.

  Please note that reconnection orders sent to AEP overnight may experience delays  when being completed. This is because AEP does not maintain a full crew  to monitor these orders after hours. If there is anything that has to be reviewed or worked by a supervisor, reconnection may not happen until the following morning. We can confirm that Power was established as of 5:44AM but do not know the exact time.   

  Payless Power hours of operations are 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM  Mon-Sat. We also are email support until 9:00 PM Mon-Friday and from 11:00 Am to 8:00 PM on Sunday. 

   

  Regards,

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

  Director of Customer Care 

  ********************** 

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  01/19/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Originally signed up for service through a 3rd party site as of 12/08/23. Such said party did not correctly set up my service, which resulted in the existing power in my apartment being shut off without notice, on a Friday at 7pm, with no way to know what was happening, and no one to call. Had to wait until offices opened to be able to obtain power, in which they told me my order was never received to turn services on. I finally got my services turned on 12/15/23, however I was not informed that they are a pay as you go electric service. I would have never agreed to something so ridiculous. When I called to ask what was going on after receiving a text message, threatening to turn off my power, I was told that it's the third party's fault for not properly explaining how the company operates, and if I wanted electric service I would have to pay up front, or pay a 100 dollar cancelation fee and come up w a deposit for another company. When I originally put in an order for service, I was told it was a 40 dollar deposit and I would receive a bill at the end of the month, which is not true. I am spammed with daily emails and text messages about my balance, and I have paid 240 dollars since 12/15/2023. My daily usage went from around 37 kw a day to now 100 to 131 kw per day, with no changes to my living situation. I live in a small apartment and own one TV, there is no way I am using that much power. Two days of cold weather does not account for such outrageous pricing and supposed usage. They should be held accountable for price gouging people and allowing people to sign up under false pretenses. Blaming the 3rd party vendor that they use, is no excuse for their behavior, and they're "so sorry for the inconvenience", and "I understand how your feeling" troubleshooting phone scripts are not an acceptable response for their continued behavior. If you look at their reviews, you can see, I am not the only customer making these complaints. They need to be held accountable.

  

  Business response

  01/19/2024

  Thank you for the opportunity to addresses these issues. Out records show that ***************** attempted to enroll for service on 12/8/23 through a third-party partner called SaveOnEnergy.com. Our records show that the required initial payment of $40 was declined. This resulted in a delay in Ms ******** service connection. She was able to contact Payless Power on 12/16/23 and once the payment was successfully processed, the move-in order was generated and ************* followed up to confirm that the order had been sent to Centerpoint, her local energy utility.
   Account notes do not show any conversations with ***************** where she was disputing signing up for pre-paid service, however there is a call on 12/27 that shows that she was calling in to get clarification on how the service works. We will review this call to see what was covered.
   Other calls from ***************** have involved issues with the log on credentials to her Payless Power customer portal. She received assistance on these issues on 1/18/24.
  
   Although, ***************** did sign up through a third party, Payless Power will take responsibility for any errors made by them on our behalf. I have placed a request to pull the call recording that ***************** originally placed with SaveonEnergy.com. If she was indeed told that she would receive only receive a bill once per month and that the service was not pre-paid service, not only will I waive the early termination fee, but I will refund all of her payments.  We will cover blatant misrepresentation.  However, if a customer misunderstands what the representative was communicating, we will not make these billing adjustments.  The facts are that a $40 initial payment is required to start service however this is not a deposit. Its a pre-payment that goes towards a customers daily usage. We also send out a billing summary at the end of each month, but this is not an invoice, its simply a summary of usage and payments not a bill. Pre-paid service is invoiced daily via text or email (the spam the customer is alluding to) and a customer must maintain a positive balance to maintain and continue service.     
   Regarding the cost of the service, Ms ******** rates are in alignment with all major competitors in *****.  Her energy rate is $.075 per KWH,the Oncor delivery charges (which are standard across all providers) are $.054694 per KWH. There is a monthly Oncor fee of $4.39 which is prorated daily and a Payless Power daily customer fee of $1.60 per day. All of these charges can be confirmed in her customer portal under Plans and Documents.
  Ms ******** comments that her usage has increased from 37KWH per day to 131KWH per day is in direct correlation to ********** blast that affected most of the country starting last weekend and continuing through the middle of this week. While it is very understandable that ***************** may not have changed any of her daily behaviors, usage will drastically fluctuate between days with highs in the 70s /lows in the 40s to days with highs in the 30s/ lows in the teens. Even if the thermostat is not touched, the heater has to work nonstop to maintain that temperature. ***************** can review this data and her hourly usage on any concerning days by visiting her Payless Power Customer Portal and reviewing the Usage Insights Graph and the bottom of the landing page.  Please note that first time users of daily billing may have little to no idea of the energy required in a home during cold weather. In *****, cold spells typically last for a few days so these costs appear to be averaged down for users of monthly post-paid service by the time the monthly bill is generated. Daily billing doesnt hide this. Such visibility can be shocking, but also very educational as it shows the true cost of heating and cooling.
  
  Please note that ***************** can also conduct a current and ongoing usage audit by registering her meter at www.smartmetertexas.com . This is a free site operated by the State that shows what the customers meter reports in increments as small as every 15 minutes. This tool will allow ***************** to ensure that she only gets billed for the usage reported by her meter.Centerpoint operates this meter so the reads will be the same regardless of any service provider she chooses.  She can enroll through the Payless Power customer Portal or at www.smartmetertexas.com  .     
  Once Ms ******** enrollment call is reviewed a supervisor will contact her and go over the results and play the call is she would like to hear it. As I stated, if the customer was blatantly mis-lead we will take responsibility. I copy of this response is being added to her account notes.    
  
  Regards,
  *************************          
  Director of ************* and Regulatory Compliance  

  Customer response

  01/21/2024

  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. I will state that when I called to ask about how the services work, the employee who answered the phone stated that she is aware that the third party company that signed me up is not honest with customers about how the service works, and it is an ongoing issue. Her words, we're "we're mad about it too, they don't explain this to the customers that they're signing up". In reference to it being a pay as you go service. And when I originally signed up on 12/08/23, ***** took my card information and I was told my payment was processed and my services would be turned on that day. I had no idea he did not correctly take my payment, or set up my services, until the existing services were terminated. He also reference to the 40 dollars as a deposit, and I specifically asked as he was reading through all of the information necessary to open an account, " so I pay the 40 dollar deposit, and you send me a bill at the end of the month?". And his response was "yes". I would not have been so upset, had he let me know that it was a pay up front system, which I didn't even know existed, and I would not have signed up for. It is not convenient for me to pay weekly. I feel truly misled, based on the conversation that was had while signing up, and 240 dollars is way too expensive for what I have in my apartment and how long I've had service, regardless of two days of cold weather. 

  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  01/18/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I don't understand how I'm being charged **** a day when all I have on is fridge an maybe a night light I actually make sure I'm unplugging things I'm not using to reduce energy but that doesn't work. Although it's nothing us customers could do besides pay the balance even if it's wrong. I don't want any adjustments I'm not even trying to resolve it. I'm just here to raise awareness to others an to confirm to them they are not wrong if your like me I turn off everything And unplugging all chargers I'm home 3 days a week so the house is vacant so a majority of the time. I want waist my energy to argue over the phone because the end of it all nothing will be done. I understand the billing process like your usage is a day or two behind with all that said don't feel like you the customer is the problem. It's the economy And country we live in can't wait until ******** dollar collapse it want effect us customers that are already struggling. To all that read this this world is temporary an it's all a game when you learn the rules of the game then you play as many times around the board until it's your time is up. Blessings to all that are having a hard time. You are not alone????

  

  Business response

  01/18/2024

  Thank you for the opportunity to address this issue.  First let me state that ***** is correct about his electricity usage . It is very low and looks to average around only 6 KWH per day . However, he is under a plan that  includes a daily customer fee of $2.91. This feel covers up to a customers 17 KWH per day at no additional charge. Payless Power also changes a minimum payment fee of $4.95 each time a payment of under $75 is applied . As a courtesy, this is not deducted from the customers account balance all at once. We deduct $.99 per day for 5 days so that the daily impact  on the customer balance is less impactful.  However, if the $2.91 daily fee is coupled with the $.99 fee installment its is plain to see that the daily charges for a very light usage customer would seem inflated. Unfortunately, those are the terms of the plan. We will have a supervisor reach out to ***** to discuss some alternate plan options.        

• Initial Complaint

  12/14/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Payless power issued a notice out on their website that states that you may see larger-than-usual charges as we reconcile previously unbilled amounts. My daily usage was previously in the $4-$5/per day range and they have now increased my daily usage to more than $8/per day, even though my usage has not changed in the past few days. It seems as if this company is increasing the daily rates in multiple customer accounts so that we would have to pay more. This is unfair and does not seem like it is a fair practice. The customer should not have to pay more if the company didnt bill correctly. My account is now in the negatives because this company decided to increase my daily usage by over $4 per day!

  

  Business response

  12/18/2023

   Hello and thank you for the opportunity to address this complaint.   On the evening of Saturday 12/9/23, Payless Power experienced a serious server issue that prevented billing processes from running normally until 12/14/23. Payless Power did not disconnect customers during this time. Payless Power also sent messages to its customers advising of the issue. The message also advised that accounts would not be disconnected until noon on 12/18/23 and that customer's would experience a higher balance on the 14th once the  billing was corrected. Please note that the *************************** allows retail electric providers to  backbill for up to 6 months. In this case Payless Power is well under that threshold. Payless Power responded to ********************** negative reviews on our internal website and ****** + and a supervisor  attempted  to contact her on 12/16/23 at 10:50 AM so that we could answer her questions. She did not answer and a voice mail was left. 
  ****************** is correct that her recent daily average for her pre-paid electric charges is generally between $4.00 to $6.00.  On 12/14/23 her charges total was $20.20 so it is very understandable why she would be alarmed. The reason for this increase on 12/14/23 is because no charges at all were deducted on 12/10 and 12/11. On 12/12 the system started catching up but her charges that day mostly consisted of the non recurring charge installments and DPP installments from the missing days.  She still did not see energy and TDU delivery charges catch up on 12/12. On 12/13 there were also no energy charges... just her normally scheduled DPP installment and the scheduled non recurring charge of $.99 ( when a customer makes a payment under $75.00, a $4.95 fee is charged to the account but the system deducts this in five $.99 daily installments.)    
  12/14/23 was the day that Ms. *************** billing  finally caught up and she saw 4 days worth of energy charges ( Payless Power always bills 2 day in arrears so she saw usage from 12/9, 12/10, 12/11 and 12/12 .. which is the service date that was regularly scheduled to be on that invoice.) She was also billed for her daily customer fees for the missing days , a DPP installment and a .99 minimum payment fee installment. I am attaching documents that show itemized charges  from the 12/12/ and 12/14 as those dates have the most unusual billing activity.
   It is completely understandable why ****************** would be frustrated and upset but Payless Power does not agree with the viewpoint that an electric company should not be able to go back and correct a billing mistake. We do understand that when a customer is managing their money day to day, that it can be impactful if they thought they had gotten through a day with having to pay less than expected. That's why we took all reasonable steps to alert customers that adjustments would be forthcoming. The last message posted on our customer portal was this : 
  "Important Update
  Payless Power's payment, billing, and support operations remain fully online. Between 12/14/2023 and 12/15/2023, you may see larger-than-usual charges as we reconcile previously unbilled amounts. Service disconnections will be postponed until 12:00 PM (noon) on Monday, 12/18/2023. We anticipate much longer hold times on 12/18/2023; please make payments, request extensions, or arrange for a Deferred Payment Plan before Monday. Our automated systems are available 24/7. We thank you for your patience and understanding during this challenging week."
  Thank you and Kind Regards,
  *************************
  Director of ************* and Regulatory Compliance
  Payless Power
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/29/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company has charged me almost $1500 for 3 months of electricity for a 2 bdrm apartment. I have reached out to them repeatedly and have let them know that there is an issue, and all they tell me is that there is definitely a problem, but its my issue and I need to pay the bill or they are going to cut off my service. My electric service has been cut off at least once a week for the past two months due to this. They also have a block on my meter so I cant switch electric providers and get away from this chaos.

  

  Business response

  12/12/2023

   Hello and thank you for the opportunity to address this issue.  The customer contacted ********************** on 11/28/23 due services being disconnected as a result of a past due balance of -$162.94. The company offered the customer a payment arrangement that allowed the customer's account to be ************************** immediately for a partial payment of $92.00. Services were restored as of 4:28 PM that day. During that call, ****************** also disputed the amount of power being consumed at her apartment. The Payless Power supervisor contacted ***** and confirmed that the customer was eligible for a free meter test. Oncor accepted this test request and the Company received Oncor's findings on 12/1/23 which stated that the meter was working properly and no usage adjustments  would be made. The Company contacted the customer on 12/2/23 to advise of Oncor's findings. 

   Please note that neither a customer's retail electric provider or their local electric utility (Oncor in the case) are responsible for excessive usage that results due to electrical problems inside the house. Oncor would be responsible for any issues up to and including the meter. Since their technician confirmed that the meter is functioning normally, the customer is responsible for any charges that result from the home's electrical consumption. At this point,  the property manager should be alerted (if the home is a rental property) so that an electrician can inspect the premises. If issues are identified it would be up to the landlord and tenant to work out any compensation. 

  Going forward, the customer can always audit the usage being reported by her smart meter at www.smartmetertexas.com . This is a fee site operated by ERCOT that allows a resident to monitor their meter usage in increments as small as every 15 minutes. Payless Power posts the information needed to enroll on each customer's ********************** Customer Portal however the site is not affiliated with either Payless Power or Oncor.  

  Kind Regards,

  Payless Power Customer Care  

• Initial Complaint

  10/09/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I started my relationship with Payless Power in May of 2023. It was required in order to lease an apartment. From May 9th, until early June, I was being charged almost $20/day for electricity. This was odd considering I wasn't actually living in the apartment yet. I moved to it in late June. Although I have had the services since May, the company has only populated Statements for me for the months of August and September. This is important to note, as the problem with the $20/day was not due to a Payless Power misunderstanding, as much as it was due to a broken Air Conditioner that was using more power than it should have been. The landlords in charge of the apartment have agreed to meet me in the middle with the excessive charges that were made to my account if I can show them statements and the cost clearly decreasing significantly from before, to after the situation was resolved. The problem was finally resolved in June, and again in July of 2023, but there are no statements to show what I PREPAID for those 2 months. Instead, I am left with only 2 statements that do not show anything prior to August. What can I do? I need the statements acknowledging the months of May, June and July. They charged my CC repeatedly in those 3 months near $1000! I wrote to them already asking for the statements and have not received a response. I have also since terminated my relationship with them due to an unknown daily charge of $3.14 on my account, with no explanation as to why the charge is made daily.

  

  Business response

  10/14/2023

  
   Thank you for the ability to address this issue.  Ms ******* account notes do reflect that she reached out to us on 10/2/23  to request copies of her billing and usage records. . Records show that we responded to her at 7:34 PM that evening .

  
  10/2/2023 7:34:48 PM *************montoya    -Email Reply   Account          Hello, Thank you for your request. We understand this is an important matter. I submitted a request for your statement to be sent. You will receive it on a separate email.Please check your SPAM folder in case it gets send there. Thank you for your time. Best Regards, *************.

  
   This morning on 10/14/23, I have sent a billing summary that covers the life of Ms. ******* Payless Power account to her gmail address. I will also attach it to this BBB response. 
     In addition, I am attaching a copy of her enrollment packet which includes her Electricity Facts Label and Terms of Service. The *** documents explains the daily customer fee of $3.14.  This customer fee includes of to the first 17 KWH per day at no extra charge. If the customer exceeds 17 KWH per day in daily usage the contracted energy rate applies to each additional KWH.

  Kind Regards,

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

  Director of ************* and Regulatory Compliance

  Young Energy LLC dba Payless Power REP ****************

• Initial Complaint

  06/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am being charged extra and reoccurring fees after having satisfied my accounts. I would love a complete audit of my account. This is the second time Ive had nearly a negative 500 balance overnight. The lady I talked to said it was for a previous account, but when I started this new account they wouldn't let me even start a other account without adding the balances to the new account. I paid them off and 2 years later in being charged for them again, but during these 2 years I've been paying a daily reconciliation fee that varies depending on how much I have available. Id love an complete audit on any and all accounts. If I owe it Im happy to pay, but somewhere down the line I feel like I'm getting screwed.

  

  Business response

  07/04/2023

  Customer, *********************** enrolled for pre-paid electricity ******* at ************************************************** on 11/5/19 at 2:32 PM and *******s were connected at 4:32 PM that same day. The customer provided an email address of ********************** and a date of birth of 8/18/1993 as an account security identifier. Account # ******* was assigned during enrollment. The customer selected the Easy Choice Plan which is a variable price product with no early termination fee.  The customer was *************************** due to non-payment on 3/13/20 at 2:00 PM. The customer did not remit payment and after 14 days, the Company sent a move-out order on 3/27/20 due to account abandonment. The account as left with a final unpaid balance of -$85.80.

  
  On 3/28/20 at 3:16 PM, the customer contacted one of the Companys 3rd party marketing partners and re-enrolled for pre-paid electricity ******* at **************************************************. Services were connected at 4:31 PM that same day. Account # ******* was assigned during enrollment. The customer provided an email address of ********************** and a date of birth of 8/18/1993 as an account security identifier.  The customer selected the Easy Choice Plan which is a variable price product with no early termination fee.

  
  During the Covid-19 moratorium of 2020, the customer did not make regular payments and accrued a significant negative balance. The customer expressed an inability to bring the account current to avoid disconnection and accepted a DPP of $882.44 on 9/30/20. The customer made weekly installments until the deferred balance was repaid in full.       

  
  The customers account fell negative on 2/18/21 and during the Winter Storm Uri Moratorium of 2021, the customer did not make regular payments. The Company received an external drop request on 6/8/21 and there was no switch-hold in place on the ****ID at that time. After the final billing process was completed, the customer left with an unpaid balance of -$804.82 on her 2nd account and an unpaid balance of -$85.80 from her first terminated account.

  
  On 8/4/21 the customer called to re-enroll for pre-paid ********************** ******* at **************************************************. The customer provided an email address of ********************** and a date of birth of 8/18/1993 as an account security identifier.  The customer selected the Smatricity Premier 12 Plan which is a fixed price product with a $60 Early Termination Fee. Account # ******* was assigned during enrollment. During enrollment, the customer was advised of past due debts on her previous two accounts. The customer was advised that she would have ********************************************************************** full within that timeframe, up to 50% of each payment made towards the new account would be applied to the debt until it was paid in full. Contrary to the customers assertions, she was not asked to pay the debt at enrollment and did not do so. After the 10-day grace ****** expired, the Company began monitoring the account for payments and would apply small increments to the customers past due debt. In addition, the customer would generate negative account balances and ******ically request (and be approved for) deferred payment plans at various times. These DPP installments would be deducted from the customers balance automatically per the payment scheduled outlined in each individual DPP agreement. These deductions were separate from the payment deductions applied to past due balances on the customers terminated accounts.  

  
  On 7/30/22, the customer had occurred past due charges totaling -$445.39. The customer issued a low balance warning but the customer did not remit payment. On 8/1/22, the Company issued a disconnection request to Oncor which was completed that same day. The customer contacted the Company on 8/3/22 at 1:01 PM and was offered a deferred payment plan totaling $436.99. The past due charges on the customer's previous two accounts were not incorporated into this updated deferred balance. The customer was advised that a switch-hold would remain on the account until the new deferred balance was repaid in full. The customer acknowledged her understanding of these terms and accepted the agreement. A letter outlining the terms of the agreement was sent to the customer on 8/3/22.

  
  On 8/3/22 at 3:23 PM, the customer called back and reported that her meter had been pulled by Oncor due to tampering. Services were restored on 8/3/22 at 8:28 PM.

  
  On 8/30/22, the Company received two 810_02 invoices from Oncor for non-recurring charges on the customers account.  At 9:07 PM, the Company received tampering charges totaling $680.07. At 10:23 PM, non-recurring charges from Oncor, totaling $358.77 were also received. These charges resulted from onsite disconnections with an inaccessible meter, etc. As a courtesy, the Company amortized and deducted these fees and charges from the customers balance at a rate of $1.00 per day. The Company does not apply a switch-hold while the amortized charges are being repaid (although the *** would apply a switch-hold in cases of tampering) and the customer has the option to cancel the payment plan at any time and pay the amount due in full. As a result of the customer debt history, the customer was settling the past due balances on her terminated accounts, her DPP balance, and the amortized Oncor recurring fees/tampering charges simultaneously.

  
  On 2/6/23, the customer accrued a balance of -$338.14 . Although the customer was not *************************** at the time, she contacted the Company and expressed an inability make a payment sufficient enough to avoid an interruption of her *******. The customer was offered and accepted a DPP of $358.14. The customer was advised that a switch-hold would be placed on the account until the deferred balance was repaid in full. She acknowledged her understanding of the terms and a letter outlining the terms was delivered to the customer that same day.         

  
  On 3/8/23, a system glitch cancelled all active account amortizations and applied any unpaid charges to each customers balance. In ****** Browns case, $450.51 in remaining tampering charges were applied to her balance. Although this did not result in a ******* interruption, the customer called to inquire about the increase to her balance. The customer was advised that her updated balance included her remaining tampering fees and daily charges. The customer made a payment of $544.01 on 3/13/23 which was applied to the account balance, but she did not call back to report the payment as instructed. Following this payment, the customer still had a.) unpaid debt on terminated accounts b.) unpaid non-recurring *** charges c.) unpaid DPP charges as well as her current daily charges.  

  
  In late May 2023, the Company developed a process which would allow past due debts on terminated account to be transferred to an active account with a proven association. As part of this process, the customer was contacted on 6/2/23 and advised that she would have 10 days to settle the remaining past due debt from her terminated accounts, totaling $475.89. If this did not occur, the full remaining debt would be transferred to the active account. The Customer did not settle the debt and on 6/14/23 the debt was transferred resulting in a balance of -$483.16. This account was not *************************** as a result of the transfer and the customer contacted the Company on 6/15/23 and accepted a deferred payment plan for $622.83 which consisted of her negative balance and the remaining balance of her previous DPP. The customer was advised that a switch-hold would remain in place until the deferred balance was repaid in full. The customer acknowledged her understanding of these terms and a letter out lining the terms was delivered to the customer that same day.             

  
   In summary, the customers outstanding debts have generally consisted of unpaid final balances on prior accounts, tampering fees and DPPs that are requested following various disconnection moratoriums combined with above average usage. The account is currently active with a balance of -$265.47 and unpaid deferred charges of ******* as well as $131.86  in unpaid *********** ******* charges which are also deducted at a rate of $1.00 each day. 

• Initial Complaint

  06/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 04/13/2023, I did a card transaction of $100 on my Payless Power Account #*******. ********************** flagged the transaction and is saying that transaction was fraud. I am guessing they flagged it because I had recently changed debit cards. Payless Power still loaded the money into my account, but it never went through my bank because PP flagged it as fraud. Now Payless Power is claiming I am the one disputing the charge and my bank sent them documentation. How can I file a dispute on a charge that never even went through my bank account?! Why would I want to dispute my own charge? And how would ***** dispute it without me filing a claim? ***** has no record of a claim or this charge at all occurring. I have called Payless Power multiple times since April and explained to them that it was me trying to make that payment and trying to get the flag removed. Payless Power still loaded the $100 on their end (even though it was flagged), NOT from my debit account. Now I have to drive halfway across town to make my electricity payments via MoneyGram because I cannot make any more card transactions. That is so inconsiderate for a faithful paying customer. Attached is my bank statement proving no transaction occurred on 04/13. Get a better accounting department!!

  

  Business response

  06/09/2023

   Thank you for the opportunity to address this complaint. Ms ******************** has stated that Payless Power has inappropriately blocked credit cared payments on her account due to fraud.Ms ******************** claims that she posted a payment on 4/13/23 but that payment never was deducted from her card and was inappropriately marked as fraudulent by either ***** or Payless Power. She has contacted Payless Power several times to rectify this without success. She has also provided documentation of her bank records showing that the payment never came out of her account and thus should not have been marked as fraudulent. She feels this is related to the fact that she received a new card around that time and based on this, she wants the fraud block lifted and her credit card payment privileges restored.  

  
  Please note that Payless Powers fraud prevention policy dictates that future credit card payments will be blocked on any account in which a credit card chargeback is received. The Customer does have the option to make card payments to Payless Power through www.moneygram.com  using receive code *****. Please note that a ***************** fee would apply.    
  

   A review of the case has been completed and the facts of the fraud review are listed below:

  
  A payment of $100 was posted to Ms. ********************s account on 4/13/23 at 4:44 PM with a **** card ending in ****. This card was saved on the account previously by the customer and named Moms **** by Ms ********************* This payment was made through Ms ********************s online customer portal meaning that only someone with Ms ********************s log on credentials could have posted the payment.

  
  On 4/15/23 Payless Power received a call from a non-account holder stating that her card ending in **** had been used to make a payment to Payless Power without her consent. Payment records showed that this was the payment made by Ms ******************** on 4/13/23. Based on this, a fraud flag was placed on the account which prevents future credit/ debit card payments from being processed.  Contrary to the customers assertions, ***** did not notify Payless Power of potential fraud. The card holder contacted Payless Power directly.

  
  Between the dates of 4/18/23 and 4/19/23, Payless Power left a series of voice mails to advise the customer about the fraud flag. On 5/10/23 the customer responded and was advised of cash and Moneygram payment options.

  
  On 5/12/23 the customer called back to inquire about steps to either close the account or to remove the fraud flag and was advised that she would need to contact her bank. The customer insisted that her bank advised her that the issue was on the merchants (Payless Power) end.  Please note that the customer should not have been directed to her bank. The representative was not clear on the nature of the fraud flag as the account had not been properly notated previously. Due to this, she was under the assumption that a chargeback had already been received on the account however this was not the case and since there was no chargeback at this juncture, the customers bank could not have provided any documentation contradicting the fraud flag.

  
  On 5/30/23, Payless Power received an official chargeback dispute for the $100 payment on card ****.  The notification stated that the customer claimed that services purchased by the customer were either cancelled or merchandise was returned or the customer was unaware of the return policy.  These statements are of course inaccurate. The customer made a $100 payment to pay for ********************** service and the payment has already been consumed and subsequent payments have also been posted and either consumed or partially consumed. Based on this claim, Payless Power is in the process of disputing the chargeback. Please note that the $100 disputed payment has yet to be deducted from Ms ********************s account balance. Once that occurs, Ms ******************** account will have a negative balance and she will either need to make a cash payment to bring the account positive or be at risk of a service interruption.

  
  On 6/6/23 the customer called and stated that she spoke to her bank and no charges for $100 went through her bank and this indicated that the situation was on our end and needed to be fixed. The customer sent screen shots of her bank account to prove this. Those screen shots show that the card number associated with the bank account ends in ****. As stated earlier, the card used to make the disputed charge ends in ****. It also must be noted that Payless Power has never received a payment from the customer using a card ending in ****. Most payments have been made with a card ending with ****. A third card was used to make 2 payments at the outset of the account.
  
   Summary:
  Based on the facts of the case, Ms ******************** made a payment of $100 in April and an individual contacted the Company 2 days later and advised that the payment was made using their card without their knowledge or consent. Based on this a fraud flag was placed on the account. The card used does not correspond with the bank statement information provided by the customer and this explains why ***** (the customers bank) does not show that a $100 payment was ever processed. The Company did indeed receive a chargeback request for the payment on 5/30/23 however this claim does not state that the card was used fraudulently. It indicates that the customer either didnt receive what they paid for or tried to unsuccessfully return the purchase. This is not accurate and Payless Power is disputing the chargeback on those grounds.  While the dispute active, the amount of the $100 will be deducted from the customers balance and she will need to take steps to bring the account active once this happens.  If Payless Power is successful in its dispute of the chargeback, the $100 payment will be restored to the customers balance. If Payless Power is unsuccessful, the customer will not have the $100 restored as Payless Power will have returned it to the card holder.

  If the scenario unfolds in away where the customer accidentally used her mothers card in error, and her mother simply disputed an unrecognized charge on her bank/ card account, the card holder can either cancel her chargeback dispute and send in documentation confirming the events. Payless Power will be happy to continue to work with the customer to retore her credit card privileges. If the customer is unable to provide documentation showing that the payment was not fraudulent, then the fraud flag will remain in place.            

  
  

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