TXU ILLEGALLY TURNED OFF ELECTRICITY WITH NO NOTIFICATION AS REQUIRED BY LAW DALLAS, Texas

This is a followup to a previously filed report. It will be lenghty, so be prepared to spend a few minutes to see how I received satisfaction from TXU. IT WAS NOT EASY! I am doing this after noticing that TXU seems not to have improved their deplorable customer service since I threatened to take them to court in 2008/2009.

First I will paste a copy of my communication with TXU in Jan. 2009. I have "XXX   XXX ED"  out my personal info. Read this letter to get the flavor of the issues and I will then tell you what happened next. That is really interesting.

January 4, 2010
 
TXU Energy
POB 650700
Dallas, Texas 75265-0700
 
This signature receipt correspondence concerns two accounts:
 
1.     xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Arlington Texas 76001-4833
2.     xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Arlington, Texas 76015-1129
 
The xxxxxxxxxx account is my personal residence where I have resided for 13 years with essentially problem free electrical service.
 
In June on 2009 I purchased a rental property at xxxxxxxxxx. The account was opened by phone with your customer service personnel. Because there were no occupants at  xxxxxxxxxxx I instructed your representative to have the billing invoices for that account mailed to the (xx home xx) address. I very specifically told him that the xxxxxxxxxx account was my personal residence and that the xxxxxxxxxx account was a business/separate account.
 
What should have been a simple transaction has become a nightmare. TXU combined both accounts and posted xxx the rental property address xxx as the mailing address for both accounts. Of course, that property was not occupied at that time.
 
When my wife, who normally pays our bills, noticed later (sometime in August/September) that we had received no electrical bill I called your Customer Service Department (972-791-2888/800-242-3113) to resolve the issue. Again it seemed a simple action to merely separate these accounts and bill accordingly. I spent approximately 2 hours on the phone trying to get accurate figures for the separate accounts. At that time, I paid what was supposed to be the amount due for the xxx rental property xxx and xxx personal residence xxx accounts. I was assured that the accounts were now separated and being billed separately to the xxx personal residence xxx address. That did not happen!
 
Several times I requested a local address in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area where I could visit and resolve the issue face to face with a TXU representative. Your personnel would not do that. Neither would they FAX information to me.
 
The same cycle repeated itself again! One end result was TXU ordering my xxx personal residence xxx Service disconnected. On Dec. 22, 2009, at approximately. 3:00 PM two (Oncore service men) came to my house and disconnected my electricity with my 13 year-old son home alone. (This is a bit traumatic for a 13 year old during one of the coldest seasons we have experienced in Texas in many years). None of the procedures required for a legal disconnect were followed. You may refer to an immediate conversation I had with Supervisor Cathy ID16246 in Guatemala City. To the credit of Cathy my service was promptly restored, she apologized, and informed me that a $100.00 credit was being applied to my account for my inconvenience. Of the 10, or so, different service representatives I conversed with since June, she was the only individual who seemed completely responsive and responsible. The hundred-dollar credit is irrelevant to me except to point out that TXU in this case did admit to their error at best or illegal action at worst.
 
I am an experienced businessman and a retired Marine Colonel. I can handle such actions in a forceful way, which I did. What concerns me is what happens to elderly and physically vulnerable individuals who are incapable of exercising their rights in such situations. That is why I am requesting the Public Utility Commission of Texas to investigate. It seems to me that a reasonable procedure would require a signature on receipt of a certified letter or a summons type procedure where a notice is presented the same way as a court summons.
 
In Conclusion, this entire mess could have been prevented if TXU would have simple billed my accounts correctly as I originally and repeatedly requested. One problem is that the TXU customer service program I experienced is serviced from the Philippines and Guatemala. While polite, these personnel have little authority and seem to read a script while doing nothing. That was my impression and the results confirmed it. Also, there seems to be little or no accountability. Once I pointed out to Cathy that the illegal disconnect could have serious consequences, that attitude quickly changed.
 
Regarding the issue of the outstanding bill for the xxxx rental property xxx account I am enclosing a check for $900.09 even though I am not sure that is a correct amount. This payment for invoice number 056175171462, supposedly for xxx rental property xxx, was finally mailed to xxx personal residence xxx within the last 10 days the address set up in June. Additionally I have enclosed a copy of an account history that was supposed to be a breakdown of xxx rental property xxx transactions I requested, dated 12/26/2009.  The property was rented on Oct 15, 2009 and the renter was supposed to have opened a separate account and apparently has not done so. Consequently, I accept responsibility for the total account to the day is was disconnected.
 
What I am again requesting is a complete reconciliation of both accounts from June 1, 2009 until now. That includes separate meter readings by month and all payments credited to each account. Also, I will be delighted to have an appointment with a person-to-person meeting with an accountable TXU representative. Can this be arranged?
 
Sincerely


XXXX NAMEXXXX
XX PERSONAL RESIDENCE XX.
Arlington, Texas XXXXX XXXX
 
Enclosures:
 
1.     TXU Account History Dated 12/26/2009
2.     TXU Invoice 056175171460
 
CC:
1.     Public Utility Commission of Texas
2.     Better Business Bureau, Arlington, Texas

If you had the patience to read this far-congratulations. Now for the result. You have noticed that I mentioned my intent to take this case to the Public Utilities Commission PUC and inculded the BBB and PUC in the CCs of the letter. Without any further prompting, the PUC sent me a letter stating that they were initiating an investigation into this case. The BBB never responded in any way. Shortly, I received a call from a TXU rep who was a bit vague as to why he was calling. I first requested his name, phone number, where he could be reached, and his physical location. He gave me a first name and informed me he was in Dallas.  He refused to provide the additional info I requested. I refused to discuss the case under these conditions. I politely informed him that we would communicate only by formal written correspondence and that the PUC would be an additional Addee on every letter I originated. The conversation terminated. A few minutes later I received a call from his boss who was a true pro in the PR business. I still have his office phone number in my files. He was so polite and agreeable I was almost sick. He aplolgized profusely  and provided me what I had requested for six months and added a $200 credit for my "inconvenience". It is deplorable that I had to go to this extreme effort to flush these corporate cowards out of hiding!!