ComplaintsforBTU

• Initial Complaint

  10/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  They are trying to make me pay twice in one mouth not giving me accurate date of my bill nit changing my due date to my discretion it took a whole yr now they trying to make me pay twice in one mouth and my bill is caught up

  Business response

  10/14/2022

  We appreciate the opportunity to respond. The customer called on August 23, 2022, and asked that her billing cycle be changed to cycle 20. Bills in cycle 20 have due dates normally around the 22nd 24th of the month. The customers original cycle, cycle 4, have due dates that generally fall on the first few days of the month, around the 1st 3rd. We changed the customers billing cycle to 20, as requested, and the next time cycle 20 accounts billed her account also billed. While on the call when the customer asked to have her cycle changed, we explained how the bill due dates would fall, that in September she would have two due dates in the same month.
  
  Billing history of the last 3 bills:
     1.  The customer had a bill generated on August 11th and the due date was September 1st. This bill was for a service period of 30 days and was on cycle 4.
     2.  After the customers request to change cycle numbers, she had a bill generated on September 1, with all other cycle 20 bills. The due date for this bill was September 22nd. This billing period was for a shorter amount of       time, 26 days, because the meter was read earlier in the month to be on the cycle 20 reading and billing schedule. This is why the customer had two bills due in September.
     3.  The most recent bill was generated on October 3rd and is due October 24th.  
  

• Initial Complaint

  08/26/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  They are illegally trying to put other people bills on my credit to get me to pay them as well as harassing a friend and has put my bill on his account due to illegal circumstances

  Business response

  08/29/2022

  BTU appreciates the opportunity to address the concerns of our customer. Below are the details of the account history and the multiple attempts we have made to work with our customer.
  
   - March 4, 2020, customer requested that utility services be transferred into her name at ******************; services were connected in her name on that day   
   - The account began with a $0 balance
   - Customer billed for 5 months before making a payment (during this time disconnections for non-payment were suspended due to the pandemic)
   - July 14, 2020, BTU worked with the customer and set her up on a payment arrangement that she agreed to and that would begin to reduce the account balance
   - Customer defaulted on this payment arrangement and the next 2 pay arrangements, all over a 2 month period
   - After defaulting on all 3 agreements, services were disconnected for non-payment on November 12, 2020
   - Having not received a payment, the account was closed and considered a finaled account on November 17, 2020
   - The balance on the account was and currently is $1,521.97
   - BTU attempted to contact the customer and began normal collection procedures
   - February 17, 2022, BTU received an application for service from another customer for a different location; the customer mentioned above was listed on the lease as a tenant
   - The BTU Residential Application states certain requirements that customers agree to when they apply for services to be connected. Requirement #4 states, I agree that BTU may hold me responsible for the past unpaid utility bills of any person that I allow to live with me or to occupy any building that has utility service in my name. I authorize BTU to transfer the balances of such unpaid utility bills to my account and to disconnect my utilities if those balances are not paid in full.
   - After acquiring the information, BTU began the collection process to transfer the past due balance to the active account (where the original customer is listed on the lease), this began on May 31, 2022
   - Customer received our letter that explained her balance would be transferred to the new account and she called to discuss on June 8th
   - A second transfer letter was mailed and emailed on July 19th, the customer called the same day and agreed to a payment arrangement, this arrangement temporarily stopped the balance from being transferred
   - First payment she agreed to make on the arrangement was due August 1, 2022
   - Customer called August 1st and requested an extension until August 5th, BTU granted the extension
   - Customer has not made any payments on this payment arrangement to date. Steps were taken to transfer the balance to the account where she is listed on the lease
   - Customer was upset that the outstanding balance was transferred and continues to dispute the entire bill that originated from her own account and is still owed. BTU has worked in good faith with the customer on multiple occasions as outlined above. To continue to work with her on her balance, we transferred the amount that is owed back to her original account
   - All of our records show she is directly responsible, on file we have her signed application for service, social security number and other personal information for that account. We have also given our customer, multiple times, copies of the signed service application and the account history that shows all transactions including billed amounts, payments, all charges and the resulting balance after each transaction
   - BTU has given our customer ample opportunities to begin making payments to clear the balance she owes and we continue to try and work with her
  

  Customer response

  08/29/2022

  Complaint: 17770267
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I dont feel I owe them anything theyve illegally put my names on several accounts that were not in my name but someone rises and tried to pad them off has mine, I have proof 
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************

  Business response

  08/31/2022

  BTU would like to address the concern of our customer. ********************** takes very seriously the responsibility to maintain accurate and thorough records on each of our accounts and every transaction; that includes audit trails of every instance an account is accessed and all activity associated with current and closed accounts. We want to ensure our customer that records on every account are maintained in the most strict manner, signatures are obtained, copies of information is collected at the time accounts are opened and all agreements throughout the life of an account are also kept on file. In this situation we do have several records, including the account application, rental agreement at the time of application that include the customers name and family members, payment extensions and driver license that all include signatures and other identical account information.All of these records have the same address, account number, signatures and are for the same address as noted in our previous reply. Also as noted in our previous reply, we have given our customer copies of records and the transaction history showing all activity on this account. If records are needed again, we are more than willing to provide them.
  
  As we have relayed to our customer on many occasions, we are willing to work with her to resolve her outstanding BTU debt.    

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