I just read a complaint from customers in Houston and Fort Worth who complain about being charged a disconnect fee and a reconnect fee when their electric service was never disconnected. Many responses doubt the validity of their complaints and whether or not they are actual Ambit customers. Well it just happened to me and I will be cancelling my service with Ambit as soon as my contract expires in September.
First I get a bill saying I never made payment for December. I immediately get on the phone to paying thinking I forgot during the chaos of the holidays, I'll make my $126 payment and that will be that. When I make the call I'm told that in order to avoid disconnection I need to make a minimum payment of $321.00 (My $126 late payment a $125 deposit $20 disconnect fee $50 reconnect fee). I'm thinking they surely are having computer problems because my service has not been disconnected. I'm watching television as I make the call.
I call and am told that this is the case. I'll need to pay the disconnect and reconnect fees because they sent out a disconnect order. I'd also failed to pay the $125 deposit which was required when I first started service with Ambit in September. It's now January so that's definitely not the case... I believe I'd been notified by now. I told the associate that it makes not sense to pay disconnect/reconnect fees when I still have service and that I was never required to make a deposit. She then changed her story and said that the deposit was now required to reinstate my service even though it had never been disconnected. She wouldn't budge on the $70 reconnect/disconnect either... I was annoyed, threatened to change providers and hung up on her.
I then realized that I may have a contract with Ambit so I called back. I was first told that my contract expired in February and that I'd have to pay $199 early termination fee. $199 for 1 month I asked? I was then told that my contract didn't expire until September. I questioned her again. She told me that she misspoke ans that it was either the $199 early term fee or the $125 deposit plus the addl $70 to reinstate my never-interrupted-service... I hung up, filed a complaint with the BBB and the Public Utilities Commission online since... Guess what? I still had service.
Being somewhat stalkerish and also afraid that they would actually disconnect my service I called again and asked to speak to a supervisor and make a payment. I don't remember her name but the supervisor agreed to waive the deposit but wouldn't budge on the disconnect reconnect. I made a payment of $195 by telephone.
I received a call today from Myra at 214-270-1900 who left a vm that they are in receipt of my PUC complaint and that the $70 is a legitimate expense that they will not waive since these fees are applied when a disconnect order is issued. Also, they are unwilling to waive the early termination fee.
I'll switch in September unless of course, the date changes again.
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