Consumers Energy review: budget plan scam 9

The budget plan is a scam people are paying a high set rate for gas they are not using year round.Its a big scam.And the amount continues to get higher then they threaten with shutoff.A big ripoff!

I have had the same problem with Consumers Energy bill around 2, 000.00 + shut off had trouble buying the home from the owner who had no idea the bill was even owed one bill was 1, 200 the next was over 2, 000 but here is a possible answer as to why. put this in your web browser http://www.michigan.gov/mpsc/0, 1607, [protected]_[protected]--, 00.html

I've been kicked off of 3 plans so far with Consumers - and this is just my homeowner's. I also have 4 business accounts with them and they are just as horrible with those. I was first on the shut off protection plan. They kicked me off of that because my payments were "late" (note NOT missed, just 1 week late) and since I was late 2 months in row I was no longer eligible. So then I got on the Winter Protection Plan and had to put down over $600 -- again same thing. I was late 2 months in a row. This is because my paychecks which are biweekly do not always line up with their dates. It was not like I missed a whole month! So then, like this person's complaint, they wanted $2000 RIGHT NOW! I got into my last option, a payment plan. I had to pay $900 up front and then $209 every other week until the $2000 was paid. Once again, my paychecks did not match their due dates. I paid online and they said I was still on m plan - that was on a Sat at 8 a.m. On Sunday at midnight they kicked me off the plan with no other options open to us. Not sure what to do, can't have a house w/out Electric (Consumers is Electric where we are and DTE is gas - backwards, but ...) - especially with 4 girls, 2 of whom have serious medical problems.

Hey...I am to getting screwed by them...so far 3 times been kicked off the program in less than 6 months. Now I am not getting into prior times being with them on a program..they were okay back then. Anyway, I was paying them on my due date no later or earlier. None-the-less, I was also charged late fees and each time I was reinstated... because I complained tirelessly with them, my payment plan got a monthly increase-due to being kick-off then reinstated back on the program. 2 days later..well, how is it my fault? Fire them. Consumers Energy They are some crooked mother-fo's..let me tell ya. Now I am back on the plan again higher of course and can't afford it and they know it. The whole plan is a real joke and their intention is to cut your service off and for you to pay reconnect fees. I am going all the way to whatever to report them...I have had enough with their crooked behavior.

i moved and they continued to charge me for a house i didnt live in for 18 months 6, 000.00 i have proof i did not live at the address they are charging me for but apparently that does not matter if i want gas now i will have to pay. 700 down and 450.00 a month (thats a frickin bmw payment)

The Budget Plan is simply a guaranteed income for CE - it is not designed as a benefit for the customer in most cases. Also, since the new SAP software was installed in 2008, the monthly amounts have been excessive for more than half of the customers. The company pushes the reps to get as many customers signed up for the plan as possible because it means the anticipated income, but when a customer requests to have it re-evaluated, the reps are instructed to stand firm and deny this to the customer, OR, a message will be sent to the department that heads the program and the recalculation is almost always denied. The rep knows this, so, instead of being caught in the middle, they will simply deny recalculation right away.

I wish I had never signed up for the budget plan. Last month I did not have to pay because I had such a large credit built up, but despite having a large credit built up they are upping the monthly payment $30.00 a month! Go figure. Then, this month, still having 124.00 of credit left over AFTER my months charges were deducted, I assumed I would not be expected to pay anything, or at the very least only the difference between my credit and my budget payment. No, they want te whole budget payment of 139.00. So I have a credit of 123.76 AFTER the energy charge is deducted and they want me to pay another $139.00 now? Money they get to store in their bank account all year. This is just downright dishonest.

The exact same thing happened to me. I had a month where my bill said I owed $19, this was in May which was supposed to be their settlement month. I assumed we overpaid so I paid the $19 and thought I made out. I missed our budget plan payment by a day this month, August (made it but was a day late), and was kicked off. When I called, our bill that needs to be paid by next month is $1000! How can you have an overpayment like that when the settlement month in May states I overpaid for the year? She said I should have known my bill was $160, not $19! WHAT THE HELL?!?! If you got a bill for $19, isn't that what you would pay? How would I know otherwise, especially since it was a settlement month? So crooked and it really stinks that we have no other options, of course they know that!

I wasn't kicked off. I made the payments, and at the end of the day, they hit me up for a GRAND! I had just received my first paycheck in months, and they took it ALL. So they were collecting interest on my money when they were billing me in the winter for power I wasn't using, and the money I was supposedly saving on the budget plan, was just being pushed back to later and I was going to have to pay thousands! That shouldn't even be legal. Who do we call about this, certainly not them, they have absolutely NO concern.