ComplaintsforMid-Carolina Electric Cooperative, Inc

• Initial Complaint

  03/01/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have had an account with MCEC since 2009 and since that time have never paid my bill late. My checking account was compromised while I was out of town, and this caused a scheduled payment to be returned. Upon discovering this, I paid the amount due and was assured that my equal pay would not be canceled. A few days later I received an astronomical bill and then learned that my "equal pay" had been removed. I have spent over 4 hours speaking with various people pleading for this to be restored. They were insisting I have documentation from my bank - which I am happy to provide, but as I explained to them numerous times it is virtually impossible for me to get to my bank during business hours and this letter would have to be obtained in person. Despite stopping the autopay, the bill still drafted from my account and caused a significant financial crisis - that could have been avoided if I had just been given the courtesy of my equal pay being restored. Per their website, the only requirement to have this payment plan is a satisfactory payment history. I have lost several hours of work, and now have $100's of dollars in NSF fees due to their refusal to honor their own policies. No where does it state that you lose your equal pay for one returned payment, and no one will provide me a policy that states this.

  Business response

  03/07/2024

  Mrs. *****'s electric account was on our budget billing plan and on 1/31/24 we received a return from her bank as Non-sufficient funds. As a result of the return, Mrs. *****'s internal credit history with our company dropped making her account ineligible to continue budget billing for the next 6 months. Mrs. ***** informed us that the return was due to fraudulent activity on her account. Since the bank had returned the payment as non-sufficient funds, we asked Mrs. ***** to provide us with a letter from the bank stating that the return was due to fraud and not insufficient funds and we would promptly reinstate her account on budget billing. On 3/7/24 Mrs. ***** provided a "Notice of Final Credit" letter dated February 14, 2024 listing the disputed ID from a transaction that occurred on 1/24/24 confirming an error. We reinstated Mrs. *****'s account on budget billing on 3/7/24 as per our agreement with her.

  Customer response

  03/07/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

       My concerns have not yet been resolved. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** *****

  Business response

  03/08/2024

  We have reinstated the electric account on budget billing since receiving the required documentation. We have also refunded our returned item fee as a courtesy and sent her a letter regarding her draft that can be shared with her bank and credit card company. We are unaware of any additional requests from Mrs. *****.

• Initial Complaint

  07/14/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am not legally responsible for this specific debt with credit acceptance I do have a contract with the business they did not provide the original contract to me that was requested

  Business response

  07/14/2023

  Good afternoon Ms. Spears,
  
  We have received your consumer complaint through the Better Business Bureau regarding the debt that remains on the account in your name.
  
  I have included a portion of our Service Rules and Regulations, which is available to all our members on our website, regarding the matter.
  
  “An applicant for electric service refers to any person, partnership, corporation, firm body politic, or others, who desire to become a member of and receive electric service from Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative, Inc. “Cooperative”.
  Applications for service may be made either electronically, verbally or in writing, at the discretion of the Cooperative, at the Lexington or Dutch Fork facility. The applicant shall pay all fees and charges required by these Service Rules and Regulations. In the absence of a signed Service Agreement or Contract, the accepted application (by the Cooperative) or receipt of service (by member) shall constitute a contract between Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative, Inc., and the member obligating that member to pay for all electricity used on the premises in accordance with the Cooperative’s Rate Schedules as well as comply with its Service Rules and Regulations and Bylaws.”
  
  As you see above, a contract is made with the cooperative when electric service is received by the member.  If you have any further questions, please call Member Services at 803-749-6400 or toll free at 888-813-8000.

• Initial Complaint

  04/26/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Mid Carolina coop installed fiber optic cable without my permission to my yard They broke a sewer line from my house to street causing sewage to back up in my house toilets and bathtubs I hired love plumbing to clean out line costing me 500 dollars It backed up again costing me another 500 dollars I finally learned it was midcarolina that contracted a company to lay the fiber optic The company came out and fixed the sewer line but are giving Me a hard time in reimbursing me the over 1000 dollars I paid I total love lambing to clean out my sewer lines Ms. Rebecca B*** employed by mid Carolina is the project director who is in charge of laying the fiber optic cable I was not told the cable would be laid none of the workers spoke English I did not know what company they represented until spectrum told me midcarolina laid the cable Ms b*** said midcarolina is not responsible for damages their sub contractor caused while laying midcarolina cable I know both are responsible and I want to be reimbursed the 1000 plus dollars I paid love plumbers ng to clear my sewer lines twice I think you should contact Rebecca B*** project director at midcarolina electric and make them reimburse me the amounts unt I put on my credit cards for clean out of lines I also cleaned the sewer back ups in my house and I am 80 years old They are trying to blame it on each other and tying me up in red tape All I want is to be reimbursed They had to cut my concrete drive to repair the sewer lines they damaged Thank you ********* * ******

  Business response

  04/27/2023

  The original complaint/reimbursement request was received on Thursday, April 20, 2023. Rebecca B***, MCEC's Fiber Optic Project Manager, received copies of the invoices from Ms. ****** on Friday, April 21, 2023. There were additional charges for a garbage disposal installation included. After clearing those discrepancies up with Ms. ****** on April 25, 2023, reimbursement was hand delivered to Ms. ****** the morning of April 26, 2023 by our contractor. Mrs. B*** called the member on April 26, 2023 after the BBB complaint was received and she confirmed that she received the reimbursement.

• Initial Complaint

  04/18/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Mid-Carolina subcontracted installment work for fiber optic cable back in October/November timeframe. My front property was destroyed and has yet to be returned to original state. I had made several phone calls to Mid-Carolina Connect who say the issue needs to be resolved by the Mid-Carolina Electric Engineering Department supervisor, Ron Craven. Ron has called me back only once, back in January in which he stated he would personally come out the next day to take care of wires left above ground and get the subcontractor out to replace the sod and fix the landscaping. THAT NEVER HAPPENED. I had to waste my time again sending more emails and making calls. They did finally get R&J (the subcontractor) out who did a subpar job of getting the wires covered back up (note they are still sticking slightly above ground) but they never came back to replace the sod. So I had to call and email again. I have an email from CarolinaConnect sent February 1st confirming the work was on schedule for that week. IT NEVER HAPPENED. So I once again had to waste my time calling and emailing. On March 9th, I have a voicemail from CarolinaConnect stating they talked with Ron Cravens who confirmed to them that there was an "issue getting sod" and I was on a "list" and would be one for the first ones to get taken care of. Well, another month has gone by and no resolution. Yet there was a crew out here a couple weeks ago installing a line up to my neighbors house (***uming they must have ordered the service) and they made a further mess of the landscaping - yet did nothing to fix it! Mid-Carolina has a LEGAL OBLIGATION to return this property to its original state. This is supposed to be a company for its people. You cannot destroy people's property for the sake for profit and gain. Every time I call, I get told Ron Cravens is the one that has to resolve the issue but he never calls back. I am tired of this. This is not how business should be conducted. Fix my property!!

  Business response

  04/19/2023

  Ms. ****** had some yard damage from main line construction that was repaired sometime in January/February 2023 timeframe. More recently, this week, Ms. ******'s neighbor had CarolinaConnect services installed and our contractors were in Ms. ******'s yard to access the handhole that is located between Ms. ****** and her neighbor to provide CarolinaConnect service to the neighbor.

  Our contractor went out on Tuesday, April 18, 2023 to Ms. ******'s yard and made repairs, installed sod and spoke with Ms. ******. Rebecca B***, MCEC's Fiber Optic Project Manager, also made contact with Ms. ****** on Tuesday to ensure she is satisfied with the work that has been done. Rebecca B*** made sure Ms. ****** had her name and number if she has any future questions or concerns.

  Customer response

  04/21/2023

  
  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.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******

• Initial Complaint

  05/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My son recently passed away and his Mother ******* **** came to my house and has been temporarily staying with me. Well Mid Carolina Electric found out she was here and she had a previous past due account with them and now they are charging me for the bill. ******* **** and I were Never married and have not been a couple for over 20 years. How can this company possibly charge me for another person's bill. I am on Social Security Disability and have very limited income and this is a pressing financial hardship. I have a A credit rating with this company and I Don't see how it's right to be responsible for someone else's bill.

  Business response

  05/27/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/05/19) */ In response to BBB case XXXXXXXX: In the Application, or by accepting electricity from the Cooperative the Applicant agrees that any person residing at the service address listed in the Application, who has a past due account balance including any interest and penalties owed the Cooperative, shall have that past due account balance added to the Applicant's bill for the service address before the Cooperative will commence new service. If found later, the Applicant will become responsible for the past due balance and it must be paid upon the normal billing terms described in Service Rules and Regulations Section 400 once billed by the Cooperative. Failure to pay the past due amounts owed the Cooperative by other persons residing at the service address upon the terms and conditions set by Section 400 shall be a reason for denial or disconnection of service pursuant to Service Rule and Regulation 111. The former member in question provided a forwarding address that matches Mr. *******'s address. We were informed by her previous landlord that she provided Mr. *******'s address as her forwarding address as well. That same address also aligns with internet searches for her current residence. MCEC has these reasons above to show that our former member now resides with him. Our member can contact our member services department to inquire about possible ways to get assistance if desired.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩