MET ED FIRST ENERGY representative misleads and omits information creating inacurate file that causes repeated payment issues. Akron  Ohio

We have been paying our Met Ed electric bills over the phone utilizing the automated service for years. In October I got an uncooperative representative on the line who insisted I pay over the phone using a check from our check book. I was surprised and asked if he was sure because we know they have our information and that we have not had to provide a check in the past. He insisted after I expressed my disbelief. After getting him the check and (filling it out while on the phone for accounting accuracy) asking him what number he wanted he asked for the routing number and directed me toward the location on the check that was where the check number was located. When he repeated the number back to me, he repeated the wrong number. This repeated exchange of numbers went back and forth several times until he finally gave me a payment confirmation number and got me off the phone.

Since that phone call we have not been able to successfully pay our bill, although we have repeatedly gotten confirmation numbers confirming payment. Finally after several seemingly succesful attempts to pay our bill, we got a letter in the mail that said our payments have not been made due to "Account not found".  I even left work and went to the local grocery store and stood in line for 35 minutest to where I knew my electric bill payment has been accepted in the past and where they continue to except Met ed payments. That attempt was also thwarted after I payed the crocery store employee 2 dollars along with my check and Met Ed Bill. She told me that Met Ed is not accepting checks in association with our account. I left discouraged and knew that I really had to get to the bottom of the problem. On the way home I recalled the difficult time I had communicating with the Met Ed representative in October and suspected that his data entry process and poor listening skills were responsible for this mess.  My wife figured out the problem.

Tonight we called Met Ed to get to the bottom of it and found that there was an innaccurate account number associated with our records.  (Meanwhile we are paying late charges and our bills are acruing because our payments have continually been declined.)  We explained when we believe the problem occured and Met Ed refuses to except any responsibility for the problem saying that I gave them the wrong account information. They are refusing to allow us to pay by phone using automated service using  our long standing account of choice. Also, we can not pay by check at the grocery store as we have done in the past. They say we can only pay by cash.  They refuse to waive the late fees that have accrued since there representative while smacking gum and cewing in my ear. re entered the wrong account information.   The insult to injury is the pervasive attitude and lack of cooperation as if to say  customer dissatisfaction is irrelevant to a company that has a monopoly on our electric generation.  Where can we go?