Susan sent a message to John G. Russell President and Chief Executive Officer of CMS Energy Email Address that said:
My husband and I had a home built in Frankfort, MI, that was completed in July, 2011. It is powered completely by electricity from Consumers Energy. In January, 2016, I heard about the Senior Discount, and called to inquire. The agent (whose name I did not record) said, "You're a business, right?" Evidently, when the home was completed, and the electric bill was transferred from the builder to us, they kept the "business" coding (which is very cryptically noted on the bill). She also told me "The rate is the same" for business and residential (first incorrect info). I eventually spoke to a "manager," Perla Ramirez who again told me "the rate is the same." I had to press her for more information about the "other charges" on the bill, and she finally tole me that the "System Access" fee I had been paying was the "business" rate of $20/month. She said that they normally only go back 12 months when correcting an error, but she would talk to the billing department about going back further, and would receive a credit "by the end of next week" (2/5/16). I saw nothing on my on-line account by 2/19/16, so I called Ms. Ramirez that day, 2/22/16, and 2/23/16, leaving a voice mail each time. I also called the general CE number on 2/23/16, and spoke to an agent named Brenna, who said that she would send an email to Perla Ramirez, telling her I needed a phone call by he end of that week (2/26/16). By 3/2/16 I had heard nothing, so I left yet another email for Ms. Ramirez, and also called the main CE number. This time I spoke to "Tanya" , who told me that her supervisor, "Samantha," would call me back that afternoon. Samantha called me back a few hours later, and told me that CE would correct 36 months (out of 54 incorrect months) of bills, and that she would call me back "by the end of next week" (3/11/16). I heard NOTHING, and saw no correction to my account either on-line or on the paper bill. On 3/23/16, a sub-contractor for CE arrived at my house to switch out my meter to a "smart" meter. When I told him my saga, he told me to call the Michigan Public Services Commission, which I did. I eventually received a call from Julie Gates, who did some investigating, and the following day called back to explain to me that, despite what I was told by 2 CE agents, the residential rate WAS different from the business rate, and that even with the Senior Discount, and a reduced System Access fee ($7/month instead of $20/month), I would have been paying slightly MORE as a residential customer. Because it had been CE's error to mis-code my residence as a business, they would not charge me retroactively, and she stated that I would receive a $50 credit on my bill for all the time and trouble caused by the error. She also said that CE would do some re-training of employees to make sure they were more knowledgeable about rates. Bravo, Julie! The following day, I received a voice mail from someone who identified himself as "Mr. Clack," who said that I had requested a call from him to hear my complaint about managers under his supervision (I had NOT intended to waste any more of my time on this!) He repeated his phone number twice, but OMITTED THE AREA CODE! I had to call Julie Gates to ask her to find Mr. Clack's area code, which she did. She seems to be your only competent employee! I tried to call Mr. Clack today, but just got his voice mail, so I left a message, which I am ashamed to say included multiple uses of the word "stupid." That is my story, but I have a comment: Julie Gates had told me that from May to September, usage in excess of 600kw/month was charged at a much higher rate. We only used our air conditioning about 3 days last summer, but because we are powered ONLY by electricity for all our power needs, we often exceed that amount. In some areas, houses that are "all electric" receive a discount. Is this something that can be considered in the future? If you have actually read all of this, you have my deepest respect! Thank you!
