DTE Energy
Reviews and Complaints

DTE has even charging me anywhere from $120 to $150 a month for electricity and vase in my apartment. I knew it was far too much and they kept blaming it on usage but I am often away on business. I was away for 2 whole months with all utilities off ( I click hair conditioning) and I come back to the same expensive bills. The company keeps putting the burden of proof on me. I was in a different apartment for a long time in Mi ands was there everyday and never had a bill over $30 a month. This seems so unethical and they know that they are doing it and are not trying to fix it. I want to go to the news outlets. I can't be the only one having this issue.

Supervisor not completing work order agreed to. Work that was done by their subcontractors is not code after two different crews came out. Other line is also not code and they won't correct the issue. Legal action is the next step I believe i will have to take to get resolved if they don't correct within the month.

DTE has a monopoly over the detroit metro area energy supply acquisition. There is nobody that is competing with DTE in Garden City and my Bills in the winter average 350 and in the summer average $250. I cannot afford such a huge chunk from my SSD and hope that by filing this complaint action can be taken to some way some how either bring in competing business to force DTE to lower rates or make DTE reduce their energy supply costs. DTE rubs it in my face that I am among the 1% that have had the most usage of gas and electric and was subsequently being charged the most.

Storm hits Sunday night and power is lost along with the other 599, 999 people in lower Michigan. Fine, that is expected at times. After a few hours, the estimated restorion time was 11:30PM Monday night. Ok, not a big deal and managable. This is where it goes south;

Monday night around 7PM, a text update is received, pushing things back to Tuesday night @ 11:30PM. Not ideal but still bearable.
Tuesday morning while at work, receive another text update indicating my work order is complete and power is restored. Great, ahead of plan. Try to call my answering machine to confirm...no answer. No answer = no power. I had to re-report my outage. Update a short while later indicates 11:30PM again. Early evening another update received stating my repair will be completed within an hour. This update remains in affect through Wednesday, blowing right past the previous Tuesday night estimate. It's finally updated again and pushed to Wednesday @ 11:30. Again, this is not met and now it's Thursday with still no power restored so far. Latest update is for 11:30PM tonight. I'm not buying it, they've been wrong every time.

I'm not ticked about no power, I am ticked about the poor poor piss poor communication from this company. I now have a couple thousand dollars worth of food that is spoiled and rotten in my fridge, freezer and deep freezers. If they would have simply provided an estimate of say Friday right off, I could have planned accordingly. Instead I was fed bad information and pushed back every day until things were past the point of no return and it's all spoiled and rotten.

Hey DTE - Ever Hear of Under Promise and Over Deliver? This makes for a happy customer. What you did instead is repeatedly over promise and under deliver.

Sometime in the end of 2012, dte told us that our meter was malfunctioning and that they were going to come out and replace it... We said ok. A little while later we get a bill for around $600! Dte claiming back payment for when their meter was not working... This is ridiculous!... Prior to dte telling us our meter was broken, I called in inquiring if something was wrong because our payments were so low. I was told nothing was wrong, "we were just doing a good job". I do not believe it is our responsibility to pay this back energy cost. It is dtes equipment and they should be liable for their equipment and what goes wrong with it. I did my due diligence and called in to the company. When I first complained about this, I was talked into a $70 a month non-shut off agreement. This however, does not cover my monthly bill, so why would they set me up this way in the first place? Shady for sure….. I have been paying $125 (What I can afford) , which would be enough for my current bills if I did not have the $600 back charges. No, I am not low income, but yes, I have other bills besides an energy bill I have to worry about. Does dte care about this?... No! Dte initailly set me this way: instead of paying the $125 they are going to increase my bill to $209 a month! This is almost 3 times the amount I am required to pay & hellip;.. I can not afford this! Do I expect to hear from anyone at dte corporate or get any help….. No, I really don’t. It would be nice for dte to take some responsibility for their part in my situation here though…..

Then... I was contacted by valencia turner-williams to discuss our account. I spoke with her on 10-3-13; I was not able to complete our conversation that day and told her I would call her back. She told me that she would grant us an inconvenience credit (We talked about 50%) due to the issues we had with dte and when I called back she would have some payment options for me. I returned her call on 10-7-13 and left a message. I called numerous times that same week and left messages. My husband even called her once or twice. I called on 10-14 and left a message. Neither of us has gotten a return phone call from her. There should not be a reason that this "customer service" representative has not had the common courtesy to call us back. I consider this stalling on the side of dte so that we will have to pay the whole amount instead of dte taking some responsibility for the bad position they have put us in. I see on my account that a payment plan has been set up. I did not agree to this. Valencia seems to think this is settled and it is definitely not! I cannot over emphasize how unimpressed I am with dtes customer service, it is horrible!

I was then contacted by earl folks on 10-15 about our account, he told me "he does not care about my situation". I can not believe dte has this kind of people working for their company. I cannot over emphasize how unimpressed I am with dtes customer service, it is horrible!

I also found out that this problem with our meter was going on for over a year! How incompetent is dte to let this go on for so long and then try to stick me with a bill that is not my fault!

A very unhappy and disappointed dte customer!

I wish there were another option for electricity in the suburbs of detroit because dte would never have my business! I had a heart attack two weeks ago and am home on bed rest without electricity and am now going on day 5! I have called them 5 times explaining I can't take the heat (Was 87 degrees yesterday) and the only response I get is your not on the schedule yet! I have asked to speak with a manager and they tell me she is on the other line! What kind of second class company is this? I bet we would have their attention if we quit paying our bill, i'm sure it wouldn't take them 5 days to be here to shut it off!

My husband and I were just at the Detroit (Mexican Town) facility. We were also told by a DTE customer service rep, that we would have a better resolution time if we came to the office. Last Tuesday my husband was there by himself and spoke with Rose #9. She assured him if he brought the proper paper work she would be able to correct the issue we were having. We came back up there today. It was about a 45 minute drive. I spoke with Erica #18. She was incredibly rude. Two people could not see her at the same time, so I let her know that I would like to have my husband talk to her about my account. She did not let me finish and said "Sit down". Then she asked a question, as I was answering, she said "stop talking". I was appalled! My answer was less than 3 words out before she cut me off. She then proceeded to say I can't help you before she even knew what I needed help with based on the 3 words I did get out. MY husband then spoke with her, and with the same attitude asked if he could speak with her supervisor. As we were waiting we heard her and her supervisor talking and her laughing and being loud. We were on the other side of the cubicles. It was ridiculous! Needless to say, she would not help and I had to call the friendly DTE to help and resolve my issue.
My husband and I took the day off work to resolve this issue and were met with utter disrespect.

Our electrical bill has been substantially higher than our neighbors. (We live in a condo building consisting of four other units.) Over the 20 years that we have lived in this unit, our electrical bills consistantlly run 30-50% higher than our surrounding neighbors as confirmed by DTE. There have been times when our monthly bill has actually been higher while we were out of town than when we were living in the unit! I've had the electrical meter checked by DTE representatives prior to them converting to the new electronic meters. They assured me that the meter was working properly. Since the new meters have been installed in our area, (about 3 months ago), our monthly bills seem to continue to vary widely. Are there any other folks out there who have the same or similar circumstances or am I living in Amityville?

Dte aloud someone to open services in my name. At the time I had a fraud alert on my social, then when I got in touch with them they asked me all the questions they were supposed to ask the thief. They then refused to send me a fraud report wen I had a police report number and actuall report they want me to pay the balance. The state of Michigan should allow other service for gas and electric. Dte takes advantage of there customers. I say we start taking advantage of them they can screw them self

I live in the 48223 area of Detroit, in Rosedale-Grandmont neighborhood. In my area, there are frequent power outages and the power stays off a day or more. Whenever there is so much as a basic rain storm, the power is affected. My power has been off at least four times this year alone...However, the power two blocks up going North and one block going South is still on and unaffected. Recently, from September 3rd to today, the 6th, and possibly until tomorrow, my power has been out. Out of 120, 000 customers out, over 110, 000 have been restored by my power is still out. I have lost all of my food. I have had to stay with my young child at a hotel a few nights. I had to get him and myself ready in the dark this morning, to get to work and school on time. This is the most inconvenient situation.
Apparently, DTE sent crews to help on the east coast, while its customers here have to suffer because of that decision. I applaud your willingness to help, but at the same time, the weather ALL WEEK was predicted to be severe on Saturday, and never once did it dawn on the company to get crews into place should the storm knock out power. I, as well as countless others in my area, pay our bills, are expected to pay on time, yet you don't feel as though you owe it to us to maintain our service and restore it as quickly as possible.
I look forward to moving out of Detroit, as this is one of the myriad of reasons, poor customer service, why I cannot stand to live in this environment of mediocrity any longer.

Today on August 31, 2011 at approximately 1:00 p.m., a DTE representative came into our Law Office to read and record our meter. Supposedly, he got locked in the back room/garage. To get our attention, your representative turned off our electricity and then turned it back on. We’re an office of approximately 20 staff members and many were working on important documents at the time your representative chose to shut off the power. His actions were very unprofessional.
Secondly, when two of our CEO’s went outside to ask him for his name and ID number, his response was, “It’s around my neck. Go f*** yourselves!” and then he proceeded to walk away to the next building. Again, very unprofessional! This needs to be taken very seriously as it was not a good representation of DTE. I am very dissatisfied with the service of this representative and expect that he is never sent out to take the reading on our meter at this firm again!

My friends gas recently was turned off in February in Michigan. A 2 year old and a disabled man along with the rest of the family.The family finally found help after a few days of frezing to pay the bill in full on a Friday, but DTE refused to turn the gas back on, because it was a weekend...I feel the is B.S., it doesn't tack that long to push a button, don't people care any more? What is this world coming to...this is a low income family from Big Rapids, Michigan, at 315 Woodward, that should be appoligized to. Next time someone has a heart felt problem, DTE needs to find a HEART!

Just when life can't possibly get any worse, I just received my dte energy gas bill today. Normally I pay $40 per month for gas but my bill has dramatically increased to $167.00 per month. According to dte energy, there was a & ldquo;gas rate change” and I have to pay it or they will shut it off. Crazy right, I don't recall ever receiving a notice from dte energy letting me know my gas bill would be over 4x’s what I use to pay per month. This is just so wrong, I am unemployed right now in michigan like many others. Talk about kicking somebody when their down... God knows I will be boiling water real soon. If anyone can shed some light on this subject, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Michelle in trenton michigan

I would like to complain about customer service in the city of detroit, dte energy customer service. my husband is responsible for the gas bill i am responsible for the lights, ironically, one income can't cover charges. husband recieved shut off notice of 582.00. he went to the company paid 400.00 to a customer representative, with entire bill, the money was taken, reciept given. friday @ 5:00 field rep came shut off gas. called spoke to a manager regarding remaining balance. paid remainder balance plus reconnect fee plus more expenses/all to be informed that no heat until monday with 2 children, 2 dogs, the manager asked me could i find friends or family to stay with after taking 400.00 no i don't nor can i go to a hotel without money. merry christmas in this 21 degree weather.

Over the past 10 months, dte energy has mis-read my gas meter three times resulting in outrageous charges, which I at first refused to pay. In prior years, it was common to have this happen once or twice a year.
I complained each time and was promised the problem would be fixed. It was not! Furthermore, their customer service department throws up roadblocks at every opportunity when I called, including refusing to transfer your call to a supervisor, and putting your call on endless hold to discourage you. I have also been told "sorry, there are no supervisors available today". They also ask you to repeat your service address, phone number, account information, etc. Repeatedly - again to discourage you from pursuing your complaint.
Right now, I have been waiting over a month for copies of my past bills, so I can compare them with the checks I have sent them.
Trying to escalate to a higher level in dte is futile. They do not publish phone numbers or email addresses of their employees. Everyone above the level of clerk is totally insulated from the public. I am able to email the president of the united states, but I can't contact a supervisor at dte energy!
I involved the michigan public utility commission, but they also seem to care little about customer complaints. There has been no follow-through initiative on their part to push for a resolution to my problem. It has been up to me - every time - to initiate contact and complain about the lack of resolution. They respond, but take no leadership role.
Early on, I insisted on corresponding by email so I have proof of what happened (Or didn't happen) and when. This hard-copy may be needed if this problem ever gets to court.

—bob

Dte energy company is billing me for gas and electric used at a home I sold over 4 yrs ago. I finalized all elec. And gas bills upon sale of the home. Don get it. I have been told they do this as ascam to hook former homeowners for bills on homes that have been forclosed or walked away from by the present owners.

I sold my property, paid all final bills, and cancelled all landlord automatic utility transfer agreements about 10 years ago. I got a call out of the clear blue last month, april 2009, from a collection agency, alliance one, stating that i owed a balance for services used at a house i sold 10 years ago. I called dte, they sent me a fraud package, i returned it, and landlord/tenant customer care dismissed it saying that the landlord automatic transfer was never cancelled, and they would not remove me as the responsible party unless i showed them the letter from 10 years ago showing that i did cancel it. Despite the fact that i sold the property 10 years ago, and am a resident of ohio who did not use any utilities from dte in october 2008. I also sent in a title search showing i did not own that property, the suddenly claimed that it was for a balance for a different property... That was also sold 10 years ago. Both dte and alliance one have been extremely rude and will not listen to reason. I told them i have no intentions of paying a bill for utilities used by someone else, at a property i sold 10 years ago. I asked that they send me all documentation in writing showing the claim, and i have not received anything from dte or alliance one. The dte landlord automatic utility transfer policy states that dte will not charge the landlord for services used by the tenant that the tenant did not pay. Again, i have no tenants, property, or accounts with dte. Can someone help me with this? Has this happened to you? Is there someone at dte, other than landlord/tenant customer care, who can help me? In 2002 i had a near fatal accident, and no longer work anymore. I cannot afford to pay for someone else's utilities... Also, what's to say that another 10 years won't go back and the resurface again? I feel that what they are doing is unlawful, and should be reported to some organization. Can someone please help? I was an excellent customer and paid all final bills, and made sure all accounts were closed with dte. I owe nothing.