ComplaintsforAmerican Power and Light, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  04/22/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  System issues where I can not make an online payment since April 19th (use checking on 19th, then not able to use checking over weekend). Error message received every time. Called to report and all told was pay over the phone for $10.00 fee plus credit card fee. Spoke with “head of customer service with no manager above her ***** who blamed me for eeeor and refused to listen. Multiple emails to email on website with no attempt to resolve or get IT on case. Used two different browsers, cleared browser cookies/cache, still error message. Snipped screenshot and sent to email on site 4/22 after 8pm. Still not able to make payment online for my power bill. Exposes billing shadiness as bill notifications sent out first of month, payment due approximately 14 days after, and another 3-4 days before disconnection notice.

  Business response

  04/24/2024

  We apologize you had this experience with our payment portal. We do see that payment was successfully made through the website on 4/23 via checking account. If this occurs again, please contact us right way and we can look for any errors live, while we have you on the phone. 

  Customer response

  04/25/2024

  While after numerous attempts at payment and multiple communications, the way they treat customers is a culture of not doing the right thing, blaming customers, and what turned out to be a flaw in their billing system.  When I finally was able to make the payment, I noticed what the problem was.  When a paymis being made, and this case an ACH payment with a saved checking account information on file, the link they claim to provide was very ambitious and not clearly marked.  I even copied and pasted a screenshot example which I never received a response on. Phone conversations containing empathy but just make payment on line and pay more.  Billing practices are inconsistent and if an employee states the manager who I spoke with had no one above them, that makes them a CEO (*****). She at the start was non-empathetic, hostile toward me, resulting in me being out in the defense, no remorse, and never attempted to do the right thing and look into. All she did was blame me and never explained why the system issue occurred in the first place when probed.  I am owed a phone call from not only *****. but the rude employee on callback (***** I believe) with an apology and an offer of collaboration to improve their online system as it not user friendly at all.

  
  Regards,
  
  Jerome Lotz

• Initial Complaint

  03/24/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I moved into my apartment in Feb of 2023 and my electric usually runs 150.00 a month even though my first month I was never there but my bill was 200.00. Ive noticed the past couple of months no matter what I pay on my bill it seem to get higher and higher so finally I looked at my bill it went from 150.00 to almost double. I had to get some kind help because I was working part-time due to an illness. When I emailed the customer service I was told its a better rate than *** which is not true because I know people who have *** and their bill is not this high! I have a 2 bedroom and its only me and my daughter. I am rarely home and my bill is still over 300.00 for one month

  Business response

  03/26/2024

  American Power & Light is a submetering billing company that provides the meter reading and billing service for the owner(s) of Tussing Place, where ********* resides. Per the PUCO (Public Utilities Commission of Ohio) we must charge the resident the same cost as the area’s default utility if we were not their billing provider. In the case of ******* *****, the default utility provider would be ***. The rate for *********’s usage totals come directly from ***. We have included a bill calculation comparison that is on ***’s website located at (link redacted). *** asks that the resident enter their usage totals into the corresponding month to find out the *** total for the billed amount of kwh. We have included this spreadsheet as an attachment, so that ********* can see the *** cost for the same amount of usage. Please compare ***’s total listed on the spreadsheet to our Electric Generation, Transmission, and Distribution charge. Their comparison goes back April of 2023, so we have included Ms. *******’s usage totals going back to that date. 

  Winter is far and away the most expensive months in an all-electric unit and that reflects in *********’s bills. The coldest service period was the invoice issued between the dates of 12/27/23-1/27/24, and the usage reflects as such because there was most likely more furnace usage. Please keep in mind that the larger the difference between inside and outside temperature the more energy is required to satisfy the stats on the thermostat. This is why usage totals are higher in the winter than in the summer months. We’ve included a daily breakdown that shows the average outside temperature, as well as daily usage totals for *********’s unit that start a few service periods prior to when she started to see an increase in the usage totals through today, 3/26. From this information, you’re able to see that there is a direct correlation to the colder days and higher usage. As we start to transition into spring, and the temperatures warm, ********* should start to see a decrease in her usage as she will not be using the furnace to heat the apartment. We hope this information helps answer Ms. *******’s questions and concerns.

• Initial Complaint

  03/15/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My APL bill is excessively high and continues to increase each month as if my thermostat is in the 100s! Winter aside, there is no plausible way I can accumulate a bill for over $300 in a 30 day timespan! A tech was sent out and advised me that I’m not just paying APL but also AEP??? This is unacceptable and highway robbery. I don’t have a washer or dryer and I wash my dishes by hand so I don’t use the dishwasher. You would think this would make my electric bill cheaper. In my previous apartment with AEP my highest bill never touched $200 let alone $300 and I had a washer and dryer while maintaining my temperature year round. Because I did not have $300 at the time I still managed to make a payment for half of what I was being charged rather than skipping the payment entirely. Now I have a disconnect notice telling me to pay $380 by card and not able to use my savings account to bypass their absurd “convenience” fee! I called customer service 3x to be hung up on while waiting in the queue twice and the 3rd time after finally being next in line was sent to a voicemail! System says they close at 4:30 and it’s 4. AEP was never this money hungry and did not threaten customers with disconnection notices who made payments each month. This company needs to be investigated and from my standpoint shut down for scamming people.

  Business response

  03/21/2024

  American Power & Light is a submetering billing company that provides the meter reading and billing service for the owner(s) of Arden Park, where ****** resides. Per the PUCO (Public Utilities Commission of Ohio) we must charge the resident the same cost as the area’s default utility if we were not their billing provider. In the case of ***** ****, the default utility provider would be AEP. The rate for ******’s usage totals come directly from AEP. We have included a bill calculation comparison that comes directly from AEP’s website located at (link redacted). AEP asks that the resident enter their usage totals into the corresponding month to find out the AEP total for the billed amount of kwh. We have included this spreadsheet as an attachment, so that ****** can see the AEP cost for the same amount of usage. Please compare AEP’s total listed on the spreadsheet to our Electric Generation, Transmission, and Distribution charge.

  Winter is far and away the most expensive months in an all-electric unit and that reflects in ******’s bills. A new invoice was just issued on 3/4 where the average temperature rose 9 degrees from the previous invoice. Because of this, there is less furnace usage and that reflects in the amount due in the bill. The overall bill cost dropped from $303.33 to $211.98, and as it continues to warm up outside ****** will continue to see significant drops in usage. The latest invoice is very similar to their December bill when the outside temperature was almost identical. Their bill total during that service period was $210.94.
  

  In regards to our call center- The phone system allows a caller to stay in the call que for 10 minutes at a time. If the call is not answered because our representatives are busy helping other callers, the system asks that you leave a voicemail for us to return as soon as the next rep is available. 

  Customer response

  03/26/2024

  Not only does this response fail to address the oppressive measures APL took by threatening to disconnect my power despite receiving a form of payment for the previous month. But the number difference in temperature change (9 degree increase) is not that drastic of a change, yet my bill miraculously decreased by nearly $100. This creates more skepticism seeing as how post my complaint my following bill was more rational. I still stand on what I said and believe this sub metering company needs to be looked into. It's rather unjust for me to be forced to have APL while still being subjected to pay both APL AND AEP, while not having the option to just solely get my electric from AEP. 
  

  Business response

  03/26/2024

  ****** is not paying APL and AEP, they are only paying APL. We are simply stating we are charging AEP's residential rates per the PUCO guidelines of submetering and billing practices. We are billing the resident exactly what they are using at the AEP residential rate.

  The only disconnect notices the resident received were for a total of $153.33. A payment of $150.00 was made on a balance of $303.33. Because of this, a 14-day notice was issued on 2/29 as $153.33 was the remaining balance owed from charges due on 2/23. An additional 10-day notice was issued on 3/14, once the 14-day notice expired, for the same amount of $153.33. Both of these notices are attached. ****** was never issued a notice asking for payment of $380.00 to avoid service disconnection. When an account has an active disconnection notice we require guaranteed funds to be paid to close the notice, and unfortunately paying with a checking account is not considered guaranteed funds. We apologize to ****** for this confusion, but we are following disconnect guidelines as well as the rate guidelines established by the PUCO.  

• Initial Complaint

  02/15/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have signed my lease on December 30th. I was still in the process of moving to this apartment. During the entirety of this time, I have not resided in this unit ever. Then comes January 25, 2024 I receive a bill totaling over $240. 1. I was not aware nor informed of how much per KWH I would be charged. 2. After reviewing many other customers reviews, I learn that I just made the mistake of moving to my new apartment unit merely because this company is their electric provider. Why does this company charge so much ? I have been with AEP for over 10 years and my bill never crossed over $120 during winter. I do not think this company is pricing and billing fairly, for these reasons I will look into the legality of this.

  Business response

  02/23/2024

  Your electric charges from 12/31/23-1/23/24 were for a total of $206.71. Because this was your first bill there was an additional account setup fee that added to your total. The winter months are far and away the most expensive you'll have in an all-electric unit. We cannot speak to your last residence, as you may have had a gas bill to defer some of the utility costs. If you look at your bill we list the default utility price, which is AEP's cost for your usage during the billed service period. We're including a spreadsheet from AEP's website, located at (link redacted) under the submetering bill calculation spreadsheet. This is where you would check our cost against theirs. The price they list on this spreadsheet would need to match our generation, transmission, and distribution cost +/- $0.01 due to rounding. Also attached is a daily breakdown of your first billing statement, so that you can see where your power was used. You can see that your usage per day in February has dropped tremendously, so your next bill will be significantly less expensive. Hopefully this answers your questions/concerns. Thank you. 

• Initial Complaint

  02/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  these electic bills are way over priced for us consumers this is a rip off company so many reviews on this company everyone is saying the same thing I've nenver had an electric bill 400.$ or highrer all neagtive reports they also don't have no budger plans or off no type of bill payments pricing is a straight rip off needs to be reported and something done elelctric should be no more tah $150 -200$ or less in the winter and def lower in the spring and summer months going to an Attorney w this as well.

  Business response

  02/14/2024

  We absolutely understand the frustration when it comes to the cost of the electric bill. The two main factors for this would be the general increase in the cost of a unit of electricity, as well as the colder weather experienced during resident's service period of 12/22-1/23. The winter months are far and away the most expensive when residing in an all-electric unit. The main reason for this is the furnace. The greater the difference between inside and outside temperatures, the more energy is consumed to satisfy the stats on the thermostat. To start- the equivalent usage last year would have cost a total of $288.76, as opposed to the charges of $390.05 this year. This is because the area's default utility (AEP) saw a rate increase, and per the PUCO (Public Utilities Commission of Ohio) we must match the rates of your area's default utility. During the cold snap from 1/14-1/21 the unit consumed a total of 535 kwh, or almost 30% of your total bill. The average usage per day for this unit during that time frame was 66.87 kwh/day, compared to 56.76 the rest of the month. The cold weather alone, caused a usage increase of about 10 kwh/day. The good news is, as the weather starts to warm your usage will drop dramatically. Since the resident's last reading taken on 1/24 the usage per day total has dropped to 41.59 kwh/day. This equates to roughly 1,247 kwh over the course of a month, as opposed to the 1,954 kwh billed last month. For maximum efficiency we do recommend that the thermostat be set between 65-68 degrees during the winter months. We hope this helps the resident better understand their electric usage. 

• Initial Complaint

  02/01/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I moved into my place 11/7/2023 my first bill was $125. The first month I was barely home due to the fact it took all month to move in. My second bill was $378 which I thought was insane and my current bill is $527. This is robbery and it makes no sense to how they can charge people these high amounts for a small 2 bed room apartment!

  Business response

  02/05/2024

  American Power & Light (APL) has been contracted by the community owner(s) to meter and bill the electric usage for the individual units at ****** *****, where Mr. *** resides. As APL is a submetering company, the PUCO (Public Utilities Commission of Ohio) regulates our rates to match those of the areas default utility. The default provider for ****** ***** is AEP. We've attached a spreadsheet from AEP's website, that allows the resident to compare our rates to AEP's. This can be found at (link redacted). As you can see from this spreadsheet, our costs match AEP's. 

  Mr. *** also resides in an all-electric unit. The winter months are when these types of units see their highest usage totals throughout the entire year. How the resident is operating their thermostat will heavily influence how much they use during the colder temperatures. We've also attached their usage going back to November,; so that they can see how cold temperatures have affected their daily usage totals. From November-February there is almost a direct correlation to the total amount of usage and the colder temperatures. To help combat this we have also attached or efficiency tips for the resident to review. Their usage totals will start to drop quite considerably was we get out of the winter months. We hope this helps address Mr. ***'s concerns. 

  Customer response

  02/08/2024

  someone needs to come out and do another read. Secondly I don’t not live at ****** *****, thirdly I am a woman while you proceeded to call me “ Mr. *** “ which is very rude. Winter months are not the cause of a $500 nor $300 electric bill! You are robbing people because we have to choice but to have power is inhumane. 
  

  Business response

  02/14/2024

  The name of the complex the resident resides in **** ****, our apologies for this confusion. Winter weather and the increase in the default utility rates are absolutely the cause for the high bill totals. Now that we are seeing warmer temperatures since the most recent bill has been issued the usage has dropped significantly. In the three weeks since the meter has last read, the resident has used a total of  1,111 kwh. In comparison- over the first three weeks of last billing cycle the resident used 1,404 kwh. As the temperatures continue to get warmer the furnace will run less and less, causing a significant decrease in usage as we are already seeing. The cost comparison of these three weeks is $229.39 versus $285.22. Over the course of the eight days when temperatures where in single digits the resident's unit used a total of 750 kwh, averaging 93.75 kwh/day. So they used a total of $179.65 worth of electric in those eight days alone. Which again, can be boiled down to the outside temperature and furnace usage.

• Initial Complaint

  01/07/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This is my second year with American Power& Light the first year the payment was not sent correctly and so they tried to tell me that I owed way big amount for a covered the whole year which nobody let you go a whole year. Oh now they’re trying to make me pay I pay half of the money upfront to keep the service on. I was told that as long as I keep my current, my that wasn’t true. They scheduled me a payment arrangement without my knowledge. And that’s where it went sour my doctor was telling them that I have a medical condition that I cannot be disconnected and he sent things to them. I don’t know what they’re trying to do but they’re not scamming me.

  Business response

  01/19/2024

  Ms. ********* resided in an address within the ******** ***** Apartments complex, and relocated to a different unit within the same complex. When she transferred units, an outstanding balance owed to APL was still due on the resident's previous account. As this account had been closed the balance was transferred to the new account for payment. Our customer service staff encouraged Ms. ********* to enter into a payment arrangement for the transferred balance to pay this down over the course of 3 months, while also paying the current charges issued to keep the active account from falling into disconnection status. Ms. ********* did receive a 14-day disconnect notice on 1/9, but only for the what was billed for the service period of 11/7-12/6, not for the transferred balance. This balance has been paid, and the resident is now back on track, only having the current charges due. Since this past due balance was paid there is no longer an active 14-day notice open on the account. The transferred balance has also been paid in full. We do have a medical certificate on file for Ms. *********. APL follows the Ohio guidelines for medical needs and the disconnection of electricity. The medical certificate, per the state of Ohio, prevents disconnection of the unit for 30 days. The resident is able to use 3 medical certificates in a rolling 12-month period, and Ms. ********* has the 2 more available to her between now and 11/8/2024. We hope this response fully answers the resident's questions and concerns. 

   

• Initial Complaint

  12/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Wow. Wondering why my electric bill is so high at my apartment. Come to find out the owners of AP&L are also related to the owners of my apartment complex. It is obviously in AP&L best interest to price gouge our bills. Seems like it should be illegal. Going to look more into the legality of this.

  Business response

  12/14/2023

  American Power & Light bills the individual units for their electric usage and maintains the electric distribution facilities for ******* ****, where Mr. ******* resides. The owners of this complex chose APL from a number of companies to provide this service for their residents. APL is in no way related to the ownership other than wanting to use our services. Mr. ******* contacted APL on 12/12 about the increase in his most recent bill, which went from $208.56 to $295.61. It was explained that this is most likely due to the colder temperatures bringing the need for increased furnace usage, which can cause a significant increase on the utility bill. We directed the resident to our website to find energy saving tips for the winter season, as well as provided them with our flyer that has more information broken down on how to save costs during the winter heating months. APL is regulated by the Public Utilities of Ohio as to what we can charge per kwh. We must charge the resident what the default utility would charge them for their amount of usage. In the case of ******* ****, American Electric Power would be the billing provider if APL was not chosen for this. AEP has an area on their website where residents can double check their rates to make sure they are being fairly charged for their usage. Mr. ******* can use the following link: (link redacted) to double check his APL charges. They'll need to click the Submetering Bill Calculation Spreadsheet and enter their usage into the corresponding date AEP provides. Plugging the resident's usage of 1,460 kwh into the December column tells us that AEP would have charged Mr. ******* $289.14 for their electric usage, which if you look at the attached invoice, is what we also charged the resident for their electric usage. Please use this tool provided by AEP to check our charges, and we hope ythe resident will follow up with questions if they require further information. 

• Initial Complaint

  09/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  APL is massively price gouging us. I've looked at the past complaints and I see that they respond to price gouging complaints by claiming that their base rate is the same as AEP's. But whether the gouging is in the kilowatt hour rate or all the extra fees they add on, the end result is the same. We pay more than we would if our apartment complex allowed us to do business directly with AEP. Our electricity bill each month for a two bedroom apartment is consistently more than friends and family who are heating and cooling entire houses!

  Business response

  10/03/2023

  Per PUCO regulations, American Power & Light charging structure matches that of the areas default utility. In the case of this resident's address their utility supplier would be AEP if APL was not their billing service.  Because of this our rates come directly from AEP for the amount of usage the resident is billed. To verify this, the resident can visit AEP's website to verify that are rates match theirs. The customer will enter the web address of www.aepohio.com/company/about/rates/. If they scroll down to the bottom, they will find the Submetering Bill Calculation Spreadsheet. Once they have opened AEP's spreadsheet they'll enter the usage they are checking into the corresponding month. Since they have only received one bill so far, they will enter the usage of 681 into the September 2023 row and compare AEP's cost to our Electric Generation, Transmission, and Distribution line item. They cost of the electric should match what AEP's spreadsheet lists, which in this case it does. AEP charged $141.68 in the month of September for 681 kwh, which is the amount listed on our invoice. Please use the attached website to verify the information we are providing you. 

• Initial Complaint

  09/14/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My electric account is past due. My hours were cut down at work and now I’m part time. I had a disconnection on the account for the end of august 2023 and everyday I called to find out the disconnection date since I didn’t have all the funds. Last week I was told that my services would be disconnected 9/15/23 if account not paid for $230. On 9/12/23 I received an email from ap&l that said disconnection was on 9/14/23 if I did not pay $485.07. On 9/13/23 I called to confirm and was told if I paid the $230 by 9/13/23 my services would not be disconnected. On 9/13/23 I paid $50 with a credit card and on 9/14/23 I paid $38 with another credit card and after those 2 payments the system did not allow me to make any more payments. I called to make sure my services were still scheduled to be disconnected on 9/14/23 and the ****** who answered the phone told me that now I had to pay $370.96 to avoid disconnection and not the $230 he told me the day before. I tried to pay again and it did not allow me to do it since it would only accept a payment of $666. So I called back for the third time and now ****** said even though my services were not disconnected and the disconnection person was not even in my neighborhood yet I now had to pay $428 which includes a disconnection fee even though my services were never disconnected. I know it’s my fault my account was past due but it’s horrible I was charged for a disconnection that never happened. This company does not work with the customers at all

  Business response

  09/14/2023

  American Power & Light is a submetering company that provides a service to the owner(s) of the complex *** *** resides, by billing the electric usage to the individual units. We take pride in our ability to make sure the residents receive the correct information from us when inquiring about their accounts.
  
  Originally, a 14-day notice was issued on 8/10/23 stating that $230.10 needed to be paid by 8/24/23 to avoid disconnection on or after that date. *** *** did contact us on 9/7, and was told that the past due balance could be paid on 9/15 to avoid disconnection. After this conversation a final notice was issued on 9/12/23, with an updated balance of $485.07, stating this needed to be paid by 9/13/23 to avoid disconnection on 9/14/23. The disconnection of the address had not actually been scheduled as of the original conversation on 9/7. Another bill had become past due at the time the final notice had been issued, which is why this amount was included on the notice. The notice still should have read that $230.10, and not included this most recent past due balance.

  
  With the updated disconnection date moved to 9/14/23 with the final notice, the full account balance is due on the date of disconnection, and is stated as such on the final notice. We cannot accept the past due balance on that date to avoid disconnection or to reconnect the service, meaning that amount due on 9/14 to either stop the disconnection, or to resume service for this account would have been a total of $474.32 including the disconnection fee. A bill for the newest service period had also populated on the account as of 9/13, which we did not include in the disconnect balance to be paid. We removed the 2 most recent late fees from the account at the time of the disconnect payment, and will also credit the $53 disconnection fee because of the confusion caused to *** ***. 

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