Complaints for Crawford Electric Cooperative in Bourbon, MO

Complaints	Type of response
0	Making a full refund, as the consumer requested
0	Making a partial refund
0	Agreed to make an adjustment
0	Refusing to make an adjustment
1	Refuse to adjust, relying on terms of agreement
0	Unanswered

Customer Complaint

11/2/2023

I am 54 years old and unemployed. I have been getting help with paying my electric bill for the past 3 months from Jefferson/Franklin community. I have contacted Crawford electric a few times asking to be placed on some type of budget billing that would help me out tremendously but never get a answer or the help. Each month when I receive my bill it's always in default and needing a payment before they shut me off. The times that Jefferson/Franklin community has helped me it never showed the payment on the bill so it looks like the payment was late and they charge me even more for late fees. My last bill said my total was 935.00 and I told them it was wrong and that another payment was made but they shut my electric off. When this happened I called and asked what was needed to turn back on. I was told 755.00. They said 650.00 for the bill and another 100.00 for a deposit. I could not get the help from anyone so I have been with out electric for almost 3 weeks. I lost all my food that I get with snap benefits and it has been freezing cold out and has my wife very sick. Monday October 31st I checked my bill on line and it stated that it was 450.00 and behind 270.00. Today I checked my bill and it was 408.00 and 250.00 behind and it showed the payment I told them was coming in. My wife called today to ask why the difference and she was treated with ignorance and disrespect along with or bill is 843.48 and that includes a 400.00 deposit by a lady named Amy. Resolution Sought All I want is my electric turned on and I paid a 310.00 deposit when we moved in our place. It's not fare that we are told that a 100.00 deposit would be required and now being told that we have to pay a 400.00 dollar deposit. The billing is changing with no reason. But the main thing is the unprofessional service my wife received today by being left feeling belittled by this lady Amy needs to be addressed. She called for help and answers but received ignorance.

Company Response

11/21/2023

Company states: According to our notes, Mr. Van Fleet submitted a web request asking to go on budget billing on Oct. 31, 2023. We tried to call him to discuss our policy about budget, but he did not answer, and we left a voicemail he did not return. Our policy for budget billing is that the member must have an active account at that specific location for a minimum of 112 months. Mr. Van Fleet connected service at this location on 6/22/23. He is ineligible for the budget billing until June of 2024. We tried to contact him about this policy, but no return contact was made by Mr. Van Fleet. He has received energy assistance from Jefferson./Franklin and that is always reflected in red ink on the left side of his bill. It has always indicated what the company has pledged. It is a government organization and takes 30 days for the funds to get to us, so this is why we acknowledge that the organization has made a pledge on their behalf. Mr. Van Fleet made an initial payment on 6/22/23 of $310. He had not made another payment himself, he had received some amounts of energy assistance, but not enough to take car of his bills. There was a pledge of $319.00. This pledge did not cover all his past due bills and we had not heard from the Van Fleets regarding any type of payment arrangements. When he looked at his bill on the 31st of October it had already gone through the finalization process. When this occurs, we refund the membership of $20 and their deposit, which for Mr. Van Fleet was $310.00. This is why he is seeing the difference in prices between the two days. Spoke with Mrs. Van Fleet and gave her a couple of different options regarding reconnecting their electricity.

Customer Rebuttal

11/21/2023

My wife was able to speak with someone else at the company who was more professional and supportive but was not able to help us. The person she spoke with the first time treated her with disrespect and really upset her like she did something wrong. The phone situation on my part was my phone was turned off and I couldn't receive messages because I did not have the money for that bill as well and my wife contacted crawford electric from our neighbors phone. I figured with getting help from Jefferson/ Franklin community on prior months, everything was taken care of but I was wrong. Sad thing is, we been without electricity for over 4 weeks now and no help is available and no one cares. It's been very cold at night and very hard to deal with and has really ruined alot for us especially the holidays. It's an embarrassing situation for me and my wife. We are not bad people, we just are having a rough time. I lost my job of 17 years,I look for work everyday. So since no help is available, we will do the best we can to stay warm and healthy and keep praying that soon we will have electric. I hope everyone has a great holiday. God bless

Company Final Response

Complaints and Resolutions

Crawford Electric Cooperative complaints