TXUTXU Energy Poor Customer Service, Rude Phone Behavior, Ignorance of TXU Representatives. Dallas Texas

The incredible incompetence of TUX s first responders for customer service is so ridiculous poor it's laughable, yet incredible alarming that a major regional company here in the southwest cares so little for their presentation to the public. They are still a giant in the utility industry and obviously know they will get plenty of residential business by mere default.

My dealings with their incredible incompetence is just bewildering, especially in light of how simple my request isconvert a residential account from a landlord's name to my own. The following (TXU Dialogue) depicts my efforts, at length, with the misfits in their customer no-service department.
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TXU Dialogue:

The following are my notes taken from several phone calls generated since my initial attempt to establish a separate electrical account on the morning of Saturday, June 6, 2009. On this date I called the service enrolment phone number (866-430-4418). I spoke with a customer service representative named MaryAnn. I explained that I wanted to transfer electrical service from landlord's name and account (account #: XXXXX) that is currently on a month-to-month plan charging 14.7 cents per KwH to a one year plan that was on average billing. The agreed upon one year average billing plan was called The Texas Plus Choice Plan. At this point I was given a generated account number (XXXXX). The The ESI # for this address is: XXXXXX. The confirmation number for this call with MaryAnn was 43118021.

Immediately after receiving this information the call was unexpectedly terminated. I redialed the same number and spoke with another representative named Mark, where upon he was able to verify my account number and to proceeded to explain that a credit check would be done and the reported results would determine whether or not a deposit would need to be paid to TXU prior to having the electricity transferred into my name.

On Thursday, June 11, I called TXU and spoke with what sounded like a black woman with a name that was poorly enunciated, but sounded like Shurondra? I was confirming that the electricity would be transferred on the 15th in my name, and inquired the status of my credit check to see if a deposit was necessary. She stated that my account number was available but not active, and that there was nothing in the computer indicating that I would owe a deposit.

On Wednesday or Thursday, June 17th or 18th spoke with Bart XXXXX on an unrelated matter regarding the XXXXX rental. Landlord wanted to be sure the electrical had been transferred into my name. I told relator that I spoke with TXU last week and was told the transfer would take place on the 15th.

On Thursday, June 25th, the light in the residence were flickering arbitrarily during the morning and late afternoon hours. I called ENCOR, the line and pole maintenance entity for the PUC in Texas. I was told that the area had no reported issues. I called TXU twice and was disconnected both times before I could even state the nature of my call. I spoke with Roma at 4:34 pm and was informed that although I have an account number, TXU still had the residence under Mr. Montgomery's name. Roma said that she showed no record of my Sat., June 6th call, despite my having the name of the customer service representative (MaryAnn) and a confirmation number (43118021) for that phone call. Roma then proceeded to ask me if I had MaryAnn's last name. I told her no. She said there was nothing she could do without MaryAnn's last name in order to further determine a record of what I may have been told during that Saturday morning call. I asked Roma if in her training she was told to relinquish her last name to perspective clients? Roma crassly responded: Well, next time you'll ask for the representative's employee ID #. I said: live and learn! How about you give me your employee ID and ditch the attitude. She went on to tell me that she is trying to help me and did need to be spoken to that way. I then asked Roma how a confirmed account number, such as mine, could be generated and not be traced back to the employee who generated the account? I asked if that wouldn't be a security issue? She said she didn't know. I asked to speak with someone who would knowmaybe a supervisor or someone higherRoma told me there was no one in her department higher than her supervisor that I would be allowed to discuss this with. I congratulated her on being such an authoritative gatekeeper, then requested to speak with her supervisor.

5:03 pm, I spoke with Roma's supervisor, George (employee ID: XCK4), a Mexican with poor English. After explaining the history from June 6th to my nonproductive 30 minutes with Roma, George offered me a $25 credit. I told him that sounded great, but first activate my three week old account! He went on to tell me all the excuseshow this was a problem for me because all phone calls are entered into the computer and he can't understand how I received an account number before paying a deposit. I informed George that I was told that my credit report didn't justify owing a deposit. George said every customer pays a deposit, he further indicated, in broken English, that the deposit amount was dependent upon the customer's credit report and the electrical usage of the property from past electrical usage. I asked what that meant for me today. George told me the computer indicated that $1,012 was owed as a deposit. I laughingly told him there was no justification for such a ridiculous deposit amount. He said: maybe I could get this lowered for you a little bit. I asked how he would have the authority to make such a change that is otherwise computer generated. He said: I just can. I argued that the whole process sounded very arbitrary and that I was not going to negotiate with an hourly employee who may or may not be legitimately affiliated with TXU. We then argued what was and wasn't legitimate. George maintained that he is a full-time TXU employee.

I further argued that I'm talking in circles each time I have the misfortune of calling TXU, that the information I've been given with each exchange is ever changing, that the company lacked efficacy for departing, what should be solid customer information, especially in light of the fact that my request is so common and simplistic in nature. George told me that it is simple but I was making this hard. I said if you think I'm at fault because I pay attention to what I'm told and ardently fight against what is amounting to highway robbery for a deposit, than escalate this call to someone that has a mind to rationally think this through with common sense and transfer the account. I further stated that the customer service for TXU is non-existent. I went back to the initial call on June 6th. This idiot then stated as a possibility that maybe I was not speaking to TXU when MaryAnn gave me the confirmation number for that Saturday morning call. I told George he was a dumb a*s and hung up the phone.

On Friday June 26th I called TXU at 2:14 pm and continually received a recorded message stating that their system was down for maintenance. This went on through 5:45 pm.

Saturday June 27th, 9:40 am. I spoke with Sebathan. I immediately asked for his employee ID number, he bickered regarding why I would start off the call with this inquiry. The dialogue was interrupted due to his not typing my account number correctly. We then argued about why I have an account number but no active account. Sebathan told me the first thing I needed was an off meter reading and that a line check was necessary before having the electrical account changed from Mr. Montgomery's name to mine (yet a new burdensome twist and storyline). I told Sebathan all this crap was unnecessary to just change the account name and number. I said I was owed this, especially in light of TXU running my credit. I inquired about the Texas Choice 12 plan and was told the rate was 13.7 cents per KwH. Along with this was a 3% cash back savings that would be paid back to me in January 2010.

Again, the deposit issue came up where upon I was told that the necessary security deposit was an aggregate for the electrical usage over the past four years from this residence, that the amount equated to 1/5 or 20% of the estimated annual usage. This begged the question, was the deposit predicated against the four year aggregate or the some one year period over the span of these years? I stated that the difference could be significant, depending upon which tenant was leasing the property during that particular year. Sebathan could care less and said he really didn't know the answer to what I was asking. Sebathan told me that this deposit would be $950. I asked him if he could magically reduce the amount like the Supervisor George stated he could manipulate just last night. He said the deposit come from the computer and can't be changed. I said I wasn't interested and hung up.
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This was the letter of complaint I wrote and sent (7/15/09) to the PUC, the Dallas BBB and the Texas State Attorney General.

"Formal Letter of Complaint Against TXU Regarding Residential Electrical Service"

To Whom It May Concern:

I'm writing this letter of complaint against TXU relative to my exhaustive and unsuccessful attempts to convert an existing residential.

As of June 15, 2009, I'm the new tenant at this residence. The landlords are aware of the following issues, as both gentlemen and myself have discussed the details of over the phone on several occasions, and Mr. Gurley has been copied, via fax, on the TXU Dialogue documentation (see enclosed item A') on Tuesday, June 30, 2009.

On Saturday, June 6, 2009, MaryAnn, a TXU customer service representative generated my TXU electrical account. At the time of this call, it was understood that this account was running on a month-to-month basis. I requested that on Monday, June 15, 2009, the plan change over to my name under the Texas Choice 12 Plan. The confirmation number for this phone call was: 43118021.

Days later, I called to follow up with TXU due to the residence experiencing a day in a half of what I described to be electrical surges, as the lights indiscriminately flickered throughout. To my chagrin I was informed that my account number was not activated and would not be without conditions, none of which were discussed, nor disclosed, during my initial call to set up the account and energy plan.

From Saturday, June 6 through Saturday, June 27th, I have come to the disappointing realization that there is no continuity for how TXU processes new customers, and that the ignorance that TXU customer service personnel continually exhibit is further exacerbated due to the fact that none have the authority, nor autonomy, let alone the common sense that God gave to a goose, for elevating phone calls with predicated circumstances to personnel that can actually bring some semblance of customer service which, at the very least, could perhaps marginally meet the satisfaction of the customer, via rational, progressive dialogue.

Two situations are most perplexing and paramount to this complaint. Details of these accounts, and more, are evident in the enclosed (see itemA).

First, how is it that when a TXU representative provides a generated confirmation numbers for a phone call which procures a new account (see above), then suddenly becomes unknown and invalid to another TXU customer service agent, that further investigation doesn't become the immediate priority? What recourse does the customer have when the agent maintains a provocative attitude and demeanor steeped with rhetorical questions and circular arguments? Additionally, when the customer presses the agent for a logical response to simple questions for how a legitimate account can be authenticated, the TXU customer service agent's response is to grill the customers for the last name of the previous customer service agent(s) from a previous call(s). Surely it is not protocol for TXU to have their representatives offer first and last names to those who call the TXU customer service toll free number. Beyond the fact that such stonewalling of any kind is never productive for the customer, it's furthermore not relevant to this situation. Needless-to-say, these tactics are incredulous to the customer. Thus, complete disregard is given for how and why an account number would be generated to a prospective customer without any deposit or credit check investigation. However, TXU customer service agents ardently proclaim that residential accounts can't be converted irrespective of what was previously stated, agree upon and otherwise generated. If, in fact, this is true, how can any efficacy be established and maintained from one call to another?

Secondly, late in the month of June, TXU introduced the issue of placing a deposit against my account. Again, depending upon my luck of the draw for whom I spoke with in TXU's customer service department, the amount for such a deposit (required to simply convert name and account number) fluctuated between $950-$1,012. I even had a representative tell me that he might be able to lower the deposit amount a little. Three weeks into this debacle; I was amazed to learn that such financial latitude is apparently given to first responding employees, yet no grace was allotted to them for communicating turn key solutions for what is seemingly an everyday customer relations business transaction.

More to the point: This house is approximately 2,200 square feet, and the June 2009 electrical bill was ~$176. The question for how deposits are determined is further unknown by me, and clearly not understood by the TXU customer service agents. From what I can ascertain, whether the amount demanded is 20% of one year's usage or an aggregate of a year's usage through the span of several years, the implied usage from this residence would equate to ~$4,700-5,000 per year. Absolutely ridiculous! Such an amount, either for annual electrical usage, or an arbitrary requested deposit amount, is not even close to being accurate, let alone justifiable. Again, I, as a potential consumer, have no recourse to appeal, or gain any other form of justified understanding, because such pleas for assistance for rectifying the issue(s) at hand won't be elevated to someone outside of the circle of customer service subordinates and supervisor. Again, please refer to itemA.

Lastly, yesterday, July 14, 2009, I received a form letter that declined service for no specified reason (see enclosed item B). I found this letter of no value and quite encrypted relative to the specifics that I have spent hours on the phone discussing with TXU representatives throughout the month of June. The letter's opening stated, in part, we regret to inform you that we are unable to serve you at this time due to one of the reasons below. The mentioned reasons below were bulleted. Three of the mentioned possibilities included declining to pay a guarantee for a required deposit based upon previous payment history, poor performance from a credit reporting agency, or not paying an agreed upon deposit. None of the three are applicable. Per this letter, I now question whether or not a soft credit check, or otherwise, was made with any of the three credit reporting agencies. If not, in light of all that has transpired, and full knowledge that my TXU account is impotent, I fully expect the privilege and right to reauthorize running my credit, should I decide to further pursue service with TXU.

Suffice it to say, I am not alone with my disgust for the continual poor performances that TXU customer service employees render. I have found countless internet portals and postings that speak in detail of unbelievable non-service and despicable phone demeanor.

Please let me know if further information is necessary. I look forward to a timely response.

Respectfully,

Reno
Plano, Texas
U.S.A.