Complaint Review: Cobb EMC - Marietta Georgia

My Cobb EMC account has been placed in past due status, because I have not paid the monthly Round Up charge.  

If that sounds like a -voluntary- charge, then you are sadly mistaken. 

The new Cobb EMC board is proving to be bigger crooks than the last board. 

I have tried to Opt Out several times, yet the Round Up charge continues to appear on my monthly bill.  There is no way this is a so called voluntary charge.  Customer service will tell you they have removed you from the program, but surprise, your very next bill will still have the Round Up charge on it!

Making matters worse is the fact that the money going to these so called "charities" is a sham.  Most of the so called charities are political goups with an agenda, and they do not in any way reporesent the values of the local community. 

The Cobb EMC Round Up charge is a MANDATORY charge, and you cannot get out of paying it, or your account will be placed in past due status. 

First the person stating it is voluntary,I guess in an underhanded round about way is it but once again Cobb Emc has shown their unscrupulous business practices with "it's owners". It snuck this little insert into a bill stating you will automatically be enrolled into donating your money for them to chose who to give it too!!

Most people as my self did not even notice the Junk they mail every month.

THIS TYPE OF PROGRAM SHOULD BE OPT-IN, NOT HOPE THEY DONT SEE IT AND WE WILL GET AWAY WITH IT AGAIN.

YOU WOULD THINK THE BOARD AND THE PERSON THINKING THIS IS SUCH A GREAT IDEA WOULD LEARN WHAT A FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBLITY IS AFTER A 98 MILLION SETTLEMENT THIS PAST YEAR (2013) FOR THE SAME UNDER HANDED BUSINESS PRACTICES!!!!!

WHAT A BUNCH OF CROOKS- TOO BAD THEY ARE A MONOPOLY DISGUISED AS A CO-OP AS I WOULD DITCH THEM IN A HEART BEAT FOR SUCH SLEEZY PRACTICES!

TOO BEAT ALL!!!- I EMAILED TO HAVE OPT-OUT AND HAD CUSTOMER SERVICE EMAIL ME BACK STATING THEY WOULD REMOVE ME AND CREDIT ME ON MY NEXT BILL. THE BILL ARRIVED TODAY AND THEY HAD THE NERVE TO MARK MY BILL PAST DUE!! BECAUSE I DID NOT PAY THE $0.61 THEY HAD ROUNDED MY BILL UP

CROOKS-  A TRUE RIP OFF

The Cobb EMC Round Up charge is by no means voluntary.  Nothing could be further from the truth!

The Round Up charge was automatically added to customer montly electrical bills with no notice being given to customers, and if you refuse to pay it, your account will be placed in a past due status.  Does that sound like a "voluntary" charge?

The Round Up charge is illegal, and it is by no means voluntary.

Cobb EMC sates one may file an Opt Out request to eliminate the Round Up charge.  Well, I have filed several Opt Out requests to no avail.  The Round Up charge continues to appear on my monthly bills. 

I have also emailed Cobb EMC and requested to have the Round Up charge removed from my bill.  That course of action has not worked either. 

I have also telephoned Cobb EMC customer service and told them to remove the "voluntary" Round Up charge from my montly bills.  This does not work either, and the monthly charge continues to appear on my bills.  Again, does this sound like a voluntary charge to anyone?

The new Cobb EMC board of directors is taking the same path as the old one, probably worse.  Customer service and customer satisfaction are not their goals.

Now, as to the type of charities this Round Up money is supposedly going to.  In examining the list, none of these so called charitable organizations reflects local community values, nor are they the type of organizations I would donate money to.  What these organizations are is favorites of the Cobb EMC board of directors, organizations that average citizens of Cobb county would not normally donate to.  They are special interest orgainizations which are often associated with political causes. 

In summary, the Cobb EMC Round Up monthly charge is not voluntary, and the organizations this money is being given to are very shady, at best, and do not reflect community values.

Cobb EMC Cobb Electric Membership Corporation Unlawful Round Up Charge Automatically Added To Customer Bills Marietta Georgia

Cobb EMC knows that most customers just pay their bill, without checking each individual charge. 

A list of the so called charities reveals organizations which do not reflect the values of the community and are special interest groups.  More likely, these are favorite organizations of Cobb EMC management but not Cobb EMC customers.

Once this illegal charge is on your monthly bill it is virtually impossible to remove it, and the charge will continue to appear on your monthly bills.  If you refuse to pay this Round Up charge, then your account will be placed in a Past Due status.  This is a huge Rip Off.

Numerous telephone calls and emails to Cobb EMC go ignored, and the Round Up charge continues to appear on monthly bills, despite promisis from the company that you can Opt Out of the Round Up charge. 

Cobb EMC is a Rip Off!

If you see a rebuttal here telling you otherwise, in likelyhood it has been submitted by the Cobb EMC PR dept., conducting damage control. 

More and more people are finding out about the illegal Cobb EMC Round Up charge.  Cobb EMC is not honoring the so called Opt Out form and is continuing to illegally charge customers' bills. 

I checked out the so called charities that Cobb EMC says they prescreened, and most of the charities do not reflect the values of the local community.  

This guy Hackett is a PR man for Cobb EMC.  His job is damage control.  Don't believe anything he says. 

Of course Hackett is going to rebutt anything negative about Cobb EMC.  The Round Up charge is NOT repeat NOT voluntary.  It is taken out of your electric bill without your permission.  The Opt Out that Hackett refers to does not work, and the charge continues to come out of your electric bill.  The new Cobb EMC board is more corrupt than the old one.  Fairness you say?  What a joke!  Cobb EMC illegally adds a charity charge to its customers electric bills to support the companies favorite charities.  These charities DO NOT reflect the values of the local community.  These charities are Mark Hackett's favorite charities and Cobb EMC's favorite charities.  Now, Hackett says it is oh so easy to stop the Round Up charage.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  Your electric bill charges will be screwed up for months, once Cobb EMC gets around to finally stopping the illegal Round Up charge.  Hey Hackett, here's the big question?  Why didn't Cobb EMC first ask permission, BEFORE they started adding this illegal Round Up charge to customer's bills?  We all know the answer.  Cobb EMC knows most customers will never review their electric bill close enough to spot this illegal charge, and the money will continue to flow into Cobb EMC's coffers and on to radical left wing charities.   Give it up Hackett.  The Round Up charge is a HUGE loser for Cobb EMC and will become a bigger loser as more customers find out they are being RIPPED OFF by Cobb EMC. 

I am a member/customer of Cobb EMC. Over the last several years I have been actively involved in getting a new board of directors elected and supported change at the EMC to encourage open governance that is focused on low rates and fairness to member/customers.

The Ripoff Report alleging an illegal charge to customers in innacurate on its two major points.

Firstly, the Round-up Charge for charity is strictly voluntary. Member/customers can opt out of the charge and Cobb EMC will even refund any Round-up payments made for the entire year if a customer so chooses.

Secondly, the money collected from the Round-up charge is donated to charities that are vetted by an independent committee of member/customerss in good standing that are selected by the Board of Directors. This committee represents a cross section of the EMC's electricity consumers and there is no "left wing liberal" bias as stated by the person who filed this report. I personally know one of the committee members, and would consider him to be a solid conservative by political leanings.

Prior to the new Board there was no clear charge on a rate payer's bill that reflected how much of the bill was being donated to charity. Furthermore, the donations were made internally by a committee of Cobb EMC employees with no oversite by members/customers.

The new Board of Directors has done a great job on this issue by making the whole processs transparent and allowing customer/members to opt out of the Round-up Charge if the choose.