Duke Energy
Reviews and Complaints

We have a small rental problem and last month's power bill was $333. For some unexplainable reason, I did not call about it. When I spoke to the renters, they advised that they did not run the best pump high, they are not even home for 10-12 hours a day. Only two people reside in this residence. Well, the light bill came again yesterday and, surprise, it is $674. So, I called to have them make sure the heat pump, only a year old, was not running on emergency heat. It was not and they said they weren't running the heat pump very much because they are both home sick with the flu and they had restricted themselves to the two front rooms and were using a space heater. They had closed off all the other rooms. So, I called Duke Energy...big mistake. Never have I been so rudely treated by a customer service representative. She advised that the bill was that high because they are using a space heater..ha! I asked to have the meter, I am sure it is probably one of the new smart meters, checked. She advised me that there would be a charge of they checked it. She had more to say, sarcastically, so I asked to speak to her supervisor. She, rudely, put me on hold, only to come back and inform me that her supervisor could not help me anymore than she had and that, no, they would not send any one out! I informed her that I would be filing a complaint, which did not bother her at all, since, if I don't pay this bill, they will just disconnect the service. Between a rock and a hard place!

This is the worst company in the world. On January 29 I made payments thru Wester union on my account and I called Duke energy regarding my payment and was told that Western union is not an authorized vendor for them and that they did not get any payments from Western Union, I decided to call Western Union and according to them its all a lie because they accept payments all the time for duke, so I asked western union to cancel the payments and was told that they couldn't because it was already in duke's account and that duke would need to send the payments back to them. I called duke again and was told they cant send a payment back that they dont have so I was back and forth with duke and western union. I spoke with a Trevor and was told to fax ove the copy of the receipt and I did, when I called back Trevor left the office. I called the next day and was told it would take 2 days to call back on Thursday. Some guy said we would just apply it to your account I said no because my bill is not due, to please refund my funds. I called Wester union Today and was told they are still waiting for Duke to email them back. Last time I check u recd emails in sec maybe a 1 min or so but not 3 days. I called today and I was told oh I see you have made 3 payments on your account. I said ok now your company needs to refund one of those payments. Western union have email your company about it since Jan 29th and she said we dont have that email. Really, I have already confirmed with Western union regarding the email. This email is not coming from space. Seriously if my bill is not due refunds my account I dont care whether my bill was due next week. Refund my funds Today.

My bill doubled from Dec - January. They are claiming that it was "Christmas Lights" which we didn't have any. They also claimed that it was "colder" this Dec. (by only 3 degrees vs Dec 2016 per Fox News). We did not change our electrical usages practices but we saw that as soon as we got the new "smart meter" installed, our bill doubled plus some.

EVERYBODY I have talked to and posts I have seen on Facebook are all having the same issue.

Some people will have to choose between keeping home heated or buy groceries and/or medication. We are on a fixed income and will have a horrific time with this overcharging.

Something is wrong SOMEWHERE and nobody seems to take responsibility!

Account #[protected]. My power bill for November 2017 was $ 247.36, my power bill for December 2018 was $ 478.61. I have lived here at the same house for 30 years. Until the year 2017, I have never had a light bill for $ 300.00.in 2017 I had at least three.in recent years I have updated windows, insulation, and even had your company come in and do a energy audit. If you can explain to how my bill can be this high. I know your answer will be the cold weather. We have had cold weather before. I also have a gas water heater, and gas log fire place. I hope I wrong, but something about this does not seem honest on your end. What I cannot see is how you people can ask for a price increase and get it. I think that there should be an in vestication into your company, and the public service commission of South Carolina. Yes I am pissed along with a lot of other people.

Crooks! If you are selling a home make sure to cut off services! The bill were doubled and then triple after the moving out of an entire family. The bills were around the same as last year with an entire family present...How Is this possible? The rep explained it's average to last year...uh? However, if you question your bill and have a tech come out to reread the meter, be prepared to pay for it by having them cancel the previous bill and increase it and explain the last reading was misread and it should be higher. How does a meter go from 1, 244 a month with an entire family to 3, 505 without one. Welcome to America where just can't question nor properly dispute the oppressor? Robbed without a gun

Duke Energy turned off our services even though I have an appointment for help through community service. Duke claims that they weren't informed of my appointment, and I even proved that I have an appointment and they still won't turn my services on. That's the whole reason I made the appointment to get help. They were rude and didn't care. Because the community action failed to communicate to Duke, and Duke failed to accept the proof from the agency and me of the upcoming appointment I'm sitting here with my family and no electric in the winter.

Your failure to build a new power plant and your dumping coal ash to ruin local water systems in NC do not in any way constitute a right or entitlement to increase charges to your customers. They are already overcharged and many freezing from so many long term outages. Grow a conscience. Develop some ethics. Overcome your greed. Sleep well. Many of us haven't been able to in freezing cold and have had to double dip by using other power sources.

I have owned a residential property for forty five years. Have had service on and off because it has been a rental for the last thirty years. I called on January 2, 2018 to have the service transferred from a tenant to my name. I was told I would have to pay $111 to have it turned on. If I did not pay that amount the electricity would be turned off! I said, and you would let my house freeze solid? And the rep said, we will not turn the electricity on unless this is paid. A forty five year customer should not be treated like this. You would actually just turn off my power? She said this was an overdue bill from September of 2017. The bill had been sent to 202W Lincoln, Swayzee, Indiana. I have not lived at that address for twenty five years! I asked to talk to a supervisor and got the same abrupt message. Then she added that I also had to pay another $154 from a past due bill from 2015. So I must pay $265 immediately or have my power turned off with the current temperature of eleven below zero. Then I mentioned that I had a landlord agreement that guaranteed the power to be left on. She said yes. I then said if I had not called, you would have automatically left the power on and transferred the bill to my name. She said yes! Common sense? The address of the landlord agreement is accurate, 9297W 400S, Swayzee, Indiana 46986. Yet the bill would have gone to 202W Lincoln. Figure that out? I have had power in my name numerous times over the years and never had this problem. Then I tried to give her my current address and she refused to list it accurately! She said her computer pulled up Sims instead of Swayzee with my zip code. She literally refused to change it to Swayzee. I have received mail at the Swayzee post office for thirty years at 46986. When I had her read my address, to be sure it was correct, she left out the name Swayzee and would not repeat the proper address. These past due bills are not my fault, we pay all of our accounts on time. I resent the accusations and the the fact that I could lose power. I also resent the accusations that it has been my fault with addresses. I would not have given a false address for the last twenty five years. Your landlord agreement is also not reasonable. The power can still be turned off in some situations. If you did not have a monopoly, I would sure change providers. You promo of keeping your customers safe and happy is sure a total joke. I can life with the dollars if necessary, but to arbitrarily lose power is unacceptable. I will be contacting the better business bureau if not others.
Larry Hale, 9297W 400S, Swayzee, Indiana 46986, [protected]@swayzee.com, [protected]

Since the day I moved into my new place with my son I've caught nothing but grief from Duke Energy. They are determined to charge me the balance that the previous tenant owed when they moved out. I had to send a notorized lease stating that I was the new tenant before I could get service started. I paid the deposit, they put in a new meter, then I received 3 bills in 1 month. Each of these bills increased the amount by $200. I called and they want me to pay over $400 of the previous tenants bill or they are threatening to turn off my power. I've offered to pay the amount from the time that MY meter was installed on more than. One occasion and they insist that I pay my bill and the previous tenants bill or they will turn off my power. I sent the money for 2 months online tonight because I get nowhere on the phone. I cannot be held responsible for the previous tenants, I can barely pay my own bills much less everyone elses.

I keep requesting e-bills at Quicken Bill Pay, but my requests always fail. Why won't you send me e-bills there?

Today I received at least my third denial by email.

Furthermore, Duke Energy doesn't seem to have an email or chat way to communicate with this--they only way to communicate seems to be synchronous. You should permit asynchronous communication; I don't have time to sit and wait on the phone; plus I just don't like calling businesses.

Hope you can help resolve this.

for several months, I have a loud humming noise in my house. not all the time it might skip a couple days then most of the time about 4:00 pm it will start. two things happened about the time it started.
someone came out and replaced some light poles & about that time & Wake Tech moved in the building on Bush Street behind me. I don't know what it is but sometimes I have to turn the tv louder. if you can help me I would really appreaciate it. I called & talked to someone about 3 times but never heard from them. Thanks again,

Willard Andrews

Power outage on 12/24/2017 - zip code 45152

Power went out at 10 p.m. on 12/24/17. Did not come back on until 8 a.m. on 12/25/17. A portion of our street was out yet our next door neighbor on the corner of another street had power as did most of the people who live behind our street. This happens repeatedly - our section goes out and rest of the neighborhood stays on.

In addition, anytime we hear a weather forecast calling for winds of more than 20 miles an hour, my wife and I always say - "hope the power does not go out."

During this incident, we called and were told via recording/text message that a crew had been dispatched, would assess the damage, and then estimate a time for the power to come back on. The original estimate said 2 am, then around 1 we got a revised estimate of 3 am, and around 2 we got another revised estimate of 4:30 am. we received no further estimates. I called again at 7 am and was told that "as soon as a crew could be dispatched, they would estimate the damage, and give an estimate on time to restore. My guess is that Duke did ABSOLUTELY nothing all night to fix this and if they did, they were so underprepared that they were shorthanded -on purpose- to keep from having to pay double time and left hundreds of people in the cold and dark on Christmas Eve and morning.

We have lived in 4 states and 5 cities with different power companies (we've lived in our current location for 19 years) and there is no other power company that has been remotely close to as bad as Duke is.

We will be retiring shortly, and when this house is sold, one of our top requirements for a retirement home is to purchase something NOT serviced by Duke.

The power outages seem to be increasing with regularity as well as the length of the outages. We just had a similar one in mid-November.

I see two issues - greed and incompetence. I wish there was some reasonable competition - Duke would be out of business.

The remedy that I would like to see is for Duke to address what I perceive to be these two issues:
Incompetence - for 19 years, the power grid we are on has continually had issues. Even last summer, they shut down the power for more than 1/2 a day to make changes that were supposed help this - whatever they did has not helped at all - in fact, possibly made it worse.
Greed - Start paying people to be ready to address outages so that we are not without power - especially during the winter - for 8-10 hours or more. There can be no other reason for this - you just refuse to prepare.

I realize that stuff happens - but this is getting ridiculous - and especially on Christmas eve and Day for what I am guessing is simply VERY poor management on Dukes part.

My name is Ted Dahmus, Owner of Petermann Properties in Cincinnati, OH. We have 22 accounts with Duke Energy.

I sit on both the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce and am also affiliated with the City of Cincinnati for the John Cranley petition group. I am also very connected with Dusty Rhodes, and also members of the Treasury for the state of Ohio.

We have been absolutely fed up with the customer service Duke Energy has exhibited over the past 3 years, specifically with the total lack of professionalism, followup, and being lied to numerous times by your staff and associates- and enough is enough. We have documented each phone call over the past 27 days and have the record of who we spoke to, and what they promised us. We made a request service call for a property we closed on 11/27 and have written documentation since 11/29 with service reps and supervisors (even though they are not supervisors as they don't reveal last names) and we still have no gas at our property.

In the state of Ohio, we are represented with Chris Finney and the Ivy Pointe Law Firm. In the state of Ohio, it is a direct violation for utility services once 30 days have passed and we have every intention of filing a lawsuit for the total lack of both professionalism and correspondence from Duke Energy-and are absolutely determined to identify who is accountable for this, outlined in full detail talking to numerous associates over the past 28 days and are fed up. If the situation is not attended to (as the company has lied to us 8 times- and by company, Duke, over the past 18 days on installation dates we will contact every and all corresponding representative at the state level, including the city of Cincinnati, publicize socially to the media what has gone on, and also will present the documentation to the same lawyer group that filed the class action A lawsuit against Duke in March of 2016.

The address pertaining to this problem is 5805 Peabody Cincinnati, OH 45227. It is unlawful in the state of Ohio to purchase a property and not have the gas turned on within 30 days. My number is [protected] I am the President of Petermann Properties and if I have not received a call back from an actual supervisor in the next 24 hours I will proceed with my above intentions of notifying all respected parties mentioned above detailing this total disregard to our situation- so please, do not take this lightly- we are not just a homeowner- and we expect to be compensated and responded to immediately.

Ted Dahmus
Petermann Properties, LLC
709 E McMillan Suite 5
Cincinnati, OH 45206
[protected]
[protected]@peteprops.net

My deposit was waived prior to move in because of my good credit. I used my savings account to pay my first bill online. For some reason my payment was returned. I used the same savings account to pay my first bill the second time and it went through. Now I'm being charged a deposit of $160.00 because of my returned payment. I had until December 4th to pay my light bill, in which it was paid before then. I don't understand why I'm being charged $160.00 for a returned payment that was paid before December 4th. Customer service was rude and of no help. I feel this deposit fee is a scam and unjust.

On Nov 14, my father-in-law came home to no power & discovered the meter box had been pulled. Since there was no kind of notice, he thought it had been stolen until a neighbor stated they saw the power company there. After calling we were told a "digital message" was received that the house was unsafe for service, & the technician that removed the meter stated the house was "falling in." The only thing indicative of falling in was a back porch that was in the process of being rebuilt. My father-in-law is an indigent farmer that we have to help support and leaving him in the dark was absurd. The power company refuses to restore service deeming the house unsafe which isn't the case & now my father-in-law is living in my home. The least they could've done was sent him a notice.

Getting our meters read at our new home as been an absolute nightmare. Originally, last Wednesday, a technician was supposed to come to the house during a 12-4 window and call before they came. Apparently, the technician showed up at 7:30 AM without a phone call and since we weren't living at the new house yet, we missed the service. We called and rescheduled for Thursday. We were told by 3 seperate customer service representatives that our new window was 8-12 Thursday morning. Nobody showed up. When we called to inquire about why nobody showed up, a 4th representative said we were incorrect and our window was from 12-5:30. Both of these days, we took off work to ensure that someone would be at the house to let the technician in, but again, nobody showed or called. Today, after rescheduling for the third time and taking off work again, I was told the gas technician would be out between 8-10 and the electricity technician would be out 10-12. When the electric tech never showed after waiting 2 hours, I called Duke and was informed that the gas technician did both reads on the meter but failed to inform me. Again, taking off work and sitting at home 2 additional hours for no reason. Every time we called through this nightmarish process, the representatives would tell my spouse and I contradicting stories. This was far more complicated and frustrating than it needed to be for a 3 minute meter read. If you didn't have the monopoly of energy providers in our area, we would have switched providers without a second thought.

This year has been the worse year I have had with Duke Energy. I run a business that requires freezers to run not be off four times plus so far this year 2017. It cost me a lot of money to recover. If instead of a rate increase to fix your problems, give me a rate decrease every time the power is off over 2 hr. And I want loose everything in my freezer. I can't go to a commission and request money for my loss like Duke Energy can. Try making it fair for your customer's and give us a gairentee to have the power back on so this quits happening. Start doing more Maintance and checks on the lines to make it less outages. Or put them under ground, I know you have the peoples hands tied thinking your the only power they can get, but there is other ways around you Sir. You are the most convenient way for power, and then want to pay half price to buy made power from a person who has a went off grid and make to much power. There power should be the same cost as you sell it to others. What if the hand was turned the other way. Well I guess it's like everything else not fair to the poor only for the rich.

I called and spoke with a Representative about a late fee payment that had been applied to my bill. Stayed on the phone for almost 30 minutes and was told that the fee would be removed because I mailed my payment as always in the correct amount of time to post to my account. As of today's date 12/2/2017 the fee is still on my account in the amount of $1.45.

I could never get the gentlemen to put a manager on the phone and going back to my past history I do not have late payments and the credit should be issued on my account.

Approximately six months ago I reported that my tree had grown up over my neighbors fence and grown around her Duke Energy line causing tension on the line. I have now made seven phone calls, last time I was on hold for 34 minutes. Each time I have to explain the problem to the first person I speak to, I am then transferred to another department and put on hold again and then have to explain the problem to the second person.
Four different people have now visited to look at the situation. The first decided the power pole was rotten and the easiest way to cope with the problem would be to take the power pole down. It isn't rotten. He left and failed to put in an order for any work to be done. The second person on November 1 stated that the limb could be trimmed, again nothing happened. I called again on November 13 was promised a call back by the end of the day. This didn't happen. I then called again on November 15. A man called me back and made an appointment to come on Nov. 17 at 11 a. m. He didn't show up. I had his direct number, when I called him back he said he forgot. He came later that day and said he'd come out with a crew on Monday 20. He did but he hadn't put in an order for the power to be turned off to my neighbors house so again the work wasn't done. He promised that he was putting in a work order as he sat in his truck outside my house. When I called today, Nov 29, there was no work order. This time I got a completely different "story" Because the tree is wrapped around my neighbors wire she has to deal with it, not me. I was also told as no one can actually touch the wire from the ground they won't cut the limb anyway. After six months of calls and visits that is the first time I have heard either of those pieces of information. I am extremely frustrated and disappointed by the time wasted, inefficiency and total lack of service from Duke Energy.

On Saturday October 28th, our 3 phase power went out in our restaurant right at dinner time on Homecoming Football Weekend at UNC Chapel Hill.

We had to close immediately because 3 phase runs all of our bigger kitchen equipment and half the lights in the restaurant were also out.

We had a large amount of reservations and we were packed at the time the power went out because it was after the football game. We couldn't reopen that night because the power was not restored until after midnight.

We lost approximately $5000 due to this. I would like to file and official claim with your insurance company.

Thanks
Josh Wittman