Complaint Review: progress energy

ok, this is the first year i have lived in this address, it is a single wide single family residence. the first 3 months of living here the bill was at less than 1000 khw per month on the bill and i was pretty satisfied with the cost and usage and felt progress was a good company. then i noticed, the power company doesnt even send people out to read the meter...that is when i started realizing something was suspicious.

we moved in mid december 2011. come april 2012, the bills started climbing slowly every month by about 500 to 1000 khw. since we moved in the ac usage has been the same. 2011 had a fairly warm winter and by the time we moved in it was already getting hot, so the ac usage has been the same throughout the year. throughout the year the bill climbed and got worse when i called in with complaints and started requesting extensions because i cannot afford the raise in charges and the bills got worse!!!

everytime i call i get the usual shpeal of, set ac at 78 degrees, run ceiling fans, its during summer months, etc and then they tell me they cant give me an extension. i have 5 children that i live with. we are not even here all day and we have been very conservative since the usage rose and it got even worse! raising higher in khw usage. up north companies cant shut off power with children in the house and its a shame that is not the case here down south. my bill is now past due and i am going to be out of power soon.

i know people who have huge 2500 sq. ft houses with a pool pump that runs all day  with ac all day running t.v's and fans with automatic lights at night and pay for water usage as well and dont pay more than 250.00 per month.

here i dont even use outside lights at night, i have no street light so its pitch black, my children are in bed early and i dont use lights at night! and my bills have been in the late 380.00 to 430.00 range...

i cant believe i am being ripped off this is bad.

if you read reviews about this company youll notice i havent been the only one they are ripping off.

here are several recent reviews:



1: It's way too hard to get in contact with a live person, and unless you want to add an extra five dollars to your bill every month, you can't pay them over the phone. You can pay online with a direct transfer only - NO credit card - or you can MAIL in your bill. If you want to use a credit card to pay, you'll have to go through the phone system and pay the extra $5. If you can't find your account number while you're on the phone with the machine to pay your bill, you cant select any option to get you to a customer service rep. Pressing zero does nothing but get you the annoying, mechanical, "I'm sorry, we don't recognize that option. Please try again." They are unhelpful in *all* respects

2: Worst company ever. Borderline extortion of their customers. Anyone who works for this company has sold their soul to the devil. Evil, putrid, the WORST COMPANY EVER!!!  

3: I'm perplexed by this company and the monopoly they have created.  I am to pay an outrageous deposit based on the previous owner's usage.  It seems extremely unreasonable to me.  When calling to confirm this was the case ( I just could not believe it; I had to call again),the guy was completely rude.  Obviously, I have no choice as there aren't any other companies that service the same area.  Amazing that this could take place in this country.                                                                       

4: Progress Energy has no human factor. They are part of the cold, heartless and uncaring wealthy companies in the country that are destroying this nation. I have recently filed for disability and that takes awhile to get and I even use an oxygen machine but PG still will shut my power if I dont pay the rediculous amount that they demand.                                   



5:

My energy bill continues to increase each month. I have not increased my usage, and in fact I have been cutting back and monitoring my usage. But somehow my bill continues to go up. In August 2011, my bill was $220 and in August 2012 it's $470. I am tired of these games. I can no longer afford this energy bill. Is there an alternative energy company I can go to or am I stuck with these crooks at Progress Energy?