Complaint Review: WASHINGTON GAS - WASHINGTON District of Columbia

This is in regard to a perceived scam/fraud from a "well-known" utility company in the area. Let me preface the scenario by saying, you have permission to inquire about my particular account and my complaint concerning Washington Gas. My account # 3242757544 for the address: 3556 Veronica Ln, Woodbridge, VA 22192-6409.

Prince William County is home to many transient personnel in the military or government, due to it's accessibility to the metropolitan area and it's relatively low cost of living compared to the closer locales of living. The reason I mention this particular fact is because what's happening to me, could very well be happening to others.

I lived at the above stated address for over a year and I decided to buy a house in the county to avoid paying rent. I gave Washington Gas advance notice that I was going to be moving and I needed them to be aware of my new address and that I needed to start service in another location within the county (Dumfries... approx. 10 miles away).

To start my service at the new address was a farce, but that's not my complaint. With the advance notice that they were given, they estimated my bill and used an imaginative proration, based on a previous bill, that didn't factor based on their explanation to me.

For the two weeks that I wasn't living in the house, they (Washington Gas) were charging me based on a prorated ESTIMATE! When I confronted them (Customer Service Agents Ms. Briscoe, Ms. White, and Ms. Wade) about it during three separate phonecalls 1/12 and 1/14, I received no satisfactory response. I even left a message on a Supervisor's voicemail, Ms. Stephanie Jackson 1/14/04 @ 7:59 PM regarding the issue and asked her to return my call, but received no call. (Each time I requested to speak with a supervisor, but never was one available. I answered Washington Gas' customer survey upon completing business with them, and I even left a message for a Customer Survey Supervisor to return my call... but, to date I haven't received a response (1/16/04 @ 9:00AM).

If this is good customer service, then I'll resign to letting "big business" have the better of me. But, if this is a monopoly that chooses to treat its customers anyway it chooses and think that no one will question the old tenant and the new tenant to see that the meter readings are identical for a closeout and a start-up of new service, then I'm the one to question them and accuse them of frauding their customers!

Who's to say that they don't do this to two out of every three customers that move out of a residence? Who's to say that they won't call their CUSTOMERS back within THEIR proposed/self-prescribed "24 hour timeframe" as a metric to report to the state's regulatory agency, saying that they're "within the state's standards"? Just how much money are they making off of transitional accounts, such as my situation? If I took money out of their accounts, wouldn't that be considered stealing? Who's monitoring THIS type of activity? I have been cheated, and who knows how many other people that don't have the where-with-all to stand-up and say something to somebody who can make a difference?

I appreciate ANYTHING that you can do to rectify this situation...not just for me, but for countless others that don't know or didn't call "big business" on the carpet!

Please acknowledge receipt of this email and feel free to call/contact me anytime! (I'm very frustrated.) [Request status of my complaint]

Ron

DUMFRIES, Virginia
U.S.A.