Florida Power & Light [FPL]
Reviews and Complaints

Last month I called an FPL representative asking how I could lower my monthly electric bill. I stated I had a space heater I brought with me when moving from New York. I read him the information on the unit and he told me if I ran it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for a month, my total cost would be $135.00. He never asked or mentioned that before turning it on, I should check to see if my panel board could handle the wattage so based on his recommendations, I plugged it in and the room in which it was plugged in blew a double electrical-braker costing nearly $250.00 to get my power to work in a room in my home.

I called FPL and spoke to a claims representative who stated she would look into the matter and one week later she contacted me stating she listened to the recorded call and FPL did nothing wrong. I asked for a copy of the recorded conversation stating I would be more than happy to pay for the cost of reproducing the tape and she stated this is "confidential information" and the only way I could obtain a copy is by a subpoena. Imagine, FPL would rather someone file a lawsuit than to simply charge the customer to purchase a copy of the recorded conversation to hear if perhaps FPL could be at fault.

FPL realizes that it would be costly to file court papers so they win every time however I am going to sue them asking for a jury trial.

It's about time consumers took their ground refusing to allow these giant companies to walk all over us.

If anyone else has had similar problems, let me know.

Florida Power and Light is the only show in town, it has a clear monolopy. That is one reason. They keep increasing theyr costs, wheil fueld has gone down, along wiht the economy (more unempoyment, lower wages, etc). When late in paying, they will not offer any assistance (personl experience, as well as the many websites where people have complained of the very same issue) but will make you pay a deposit, some times you end up paying several deposits, many of which are over the allowed amount (no more than 2-3 times the average bill). I want FPL invistigated for unfair business practices, unfair rate increases, heartless demands for deposits (pay it or have no power), and being a monolopy here. I would also want a lawyer to start a class action suit, i know of many, many people who would sign up in a heart- beat). Thank you,

Problem:
Recently I was sent a letter by Florida Power and Light Company asking me to pay an additional $246 for my deposit. However in reading the letter that was sent to me I was under the impression that how this amount was calculated was based off the last two months of electrical billing. When contacting the company and speaking to a representative I was informed that the amount is actually based of the average of the last 12 months and that the amount that is due is the average of at least two months. When reading the letter it does not state this. Now if I were to use my assumption about the last two months average the amount that should be due is $65.82. Which is the difference between the current deposit and the average of the last two months of bills, including late payments that have been made. This company also tries to tell me that I am a valued customer, however the one question I asked has yet to be unanswered. If this company understands tough times, and allows a person to ask for payment extensions, why then am I being penalized for my situation? I have paid all of the amount due to this company on top of paying a late fee every time. Looking back at my check book and the bills due there has been only two times where the bill was paid late the first by four days and the second by two. I also paid the late fee on that. All bills were paid according to statement dates, by this I mean the dates on the statements sent to my home address. This would include the extension amount due plus the current amount due. The representative was telling me dates that a bill was due that I do not recall. I was told I could avoid this additional deposit if I enrolled in automatic bill pay however, I would have to be enrolled for one year. I would take this option however, I am currently planing of moving out of state by the middle of next year so this would not be an option for me.

FPL stole $418 out of my checking account. I was told that if I enrolled in the Automatic bill pay, my deposit would be waived. I enrolled and they used that access to my bank account to take out the deposit without my consent. They won't even call me back and it is impossible to reach a rational person at FPL. What can I do?

FPL is run by ### who hire ### with no souls to work for them in "customer -DIService." We've been without power for almost 1 month now. We applied for a $600 community agency voucher. FPL took the money and still disconnected the power. "Whoops...our mistake. We weren't supposed to disconnect your service, but we'll need $1, 000 to reconnect it." What the &$^#%? If we had to go to a community agency for help, what makes them think that we have $1, 000 lying around! They then decided that $250 was enough...no, they wanted $500...no, make that $700. My husband had enough and called the PSC who is supposed to help the consumer...BIG BIG BIG mistake. FPL got pissed when he did, and now they refuse to connect the power unless we give them the $1000. We are done here in FL. FPL can take their electricity and shove it up their collective butts...I hope everyone soul-less sorry excuse for human beings that work for them rot in hell.

Ok so i have read a lot of boards pertaining to FPL domination of electricity in Florida and can see I am not alone in my frustration and anger towards this company...They are
complete bullys with awful customer service and no care or concern as to who they F over to put in lighter terms all they want is there money and they dont care if your
walking around with 1 penny in your pocket they will push you til no end to take that penny away from you. My husband and I are both unemployed and getting by doing little odd jobs to help put food on the table and a roof for our 3 small children whom 2 are asthmatic and require using a nebulizer to receive treatments since they are too young to use an aerosol pump I take complete responsibility not being able to pay my bill on the due date but i do make the payments before the shut off notice comes little do they care they continue to charge me Deposit after deposit regardless of my MULTIPLE calls to them pleading and begging them to please give me a chance and explain my situation I get their standard "I'm so sorrys" but theres nothing we can do to help you we'll refer you to the automatic payment extension line to see if you qualify...OF COURSE I DON'T QUALIFY their requirement for payment extension is 6 consecutive on time billing cycles! despite all the deposits i have paid for mind you my initial deposit was a 450! their credit rating system is completely BOGUS! its like they pull numbers out of a hat and whatever comes out is what they charge their customers. So i get disconnected..I drop everything I'm doing take the little bit of money I have saved for my next months rent and go pay them on the phone pleading them please send someone to reconnect my one year old is very sick and needs his treatments this Miami heat and humidity is not helping I have no money to pay for the emergency room deductible if I need to take him to urgent care I get the run around on the phone get transferred to a Supervisor only to be shot down time after time ALL SHE DOES IS SEND ME A LETTER TO APPLY FOR MEDICAL ESSENTIAL WHICH IS SUBJECT TO THEIR APPROVAL...ALL IN ALL FPL IS AN ABUSIVE MONOPOLY SUCKING THE LIFE OF FLORIDIANS MANY OF WHOM ARE STRUGGLING TO MAKE IT DAY TO DAY THEY DO NOTHING FOR CONSUMERS BECAUSE THEY KNOW WE HAVE NO WHERE ELSE TO GET POWER FROM SO THERE THEY SIT ON THEIR THRONE AND LOOK AWAY AND HARM MANY WITH THEIR UNJUST WAYS SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE THEY MUST BE STOPPED WE NEED HELP NOT SOMEONE KICKING US DOWN WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO GET UP!

Hi My Name is Celestine Sanders i am a single mom of 5 sons and i am also on disability i am writing because i think the practices of Fpl is unfair they have continually raised my deposit i believe i have about 375.00 as a deposit already and they are now asking for 50.00 more dollars that is more than half my income there requiring the reason stated is because i have been late paying a bill but if im late its because there is a struggle why would fpl add to the struggle i dont understand i have lived in other states and have never been treated the way i have been treated by fpl...My service has never been disconnected but they keep upping my deposit...bad practices

FPL is once again asking for a rate increase. Meanwhile, they are boasting record profits for 2008 and the frist quarter of 2009. So much profit that Armando Olivera and Lew Haye each received bonuses in the millions (if that gives you any idea what there pay rate is). Part of the increase is to "replace" a 10 year old jet that is in a fleet of three. Mr. Olivera who resides in Miami takes a company helicopter to Juno (FPL headquarters) to go to work. Guess who pays for the fuel? US. At the same time FPL, which won an award for being the most ethical company to work for, treats its union employees like slaves. Lineworkers have one of the ten most deadliest jobs (Forbes article from 8/26/2009). These men are told they have to call a supervisor if they need to use the bathroom. Seems ridiculous for grown men and women to ask permission to use the bathroom. Supervisors return calls at there own convience so they might end up waiting for hours before getting an ok to pee. FPL also put GPS systems in line tucks to keep track of lineworkers. Since the installation of these systems they have suspended and terminated several employees just for stopping to use the bathroom or get a cup of coffee after 16 hours of work putting our power on. FPL says part of the rate increase they say is to make lines stonger and provide cleaner power. My question is if AT&T and cable companies pay for part of the cost of the poles you use, how much more money do you need? All of us in Florida know when there is a hurricane we ARE going to lose power, but I and everyone I know has experienced a loss of power in one of our wonderful Florida thunderstorms. So what the hell are YOU really doing with my money? As far as cleaner power, I suggest Mr. Olivera reads EPA laws. I has seen several transformers that have leaked, how well were those cleaned up? Taking a helicopter to work does NOT provide cleaner air. Check your carbon footprint you overpaid axe man. Oh, and back to how you treat your employees pray we don't get a hurricane and all these men and women walk off on you. Let's see how many transmission and distribution lines you and Lew can get put up.

FPL in Palm Coast. Within the past month we have handed them over $800.00. We gave them almost $600.00 of it first and then they showed up like a week later and disconnected our power over what they said was an additional deposit. That day we borrowed the $250.00 and paid it and they turned the power back on. Now two weeks have passed and without first receiving a normal bill, we receive a final notice for almost $200.00 DEPOSIT. We have a couple of days to come up with it and we can't. When we called to ask why we're getting another deposit, they said the last time wasn't a deposit. This is on top of them continuing to try to take money out of my mother's bank account and causing the check to bounce... after she asked them to stop! (this is why they said they billed us that deposit which they now deny was a deposit!) They claim she didn't request them to stop automatic billpay but she did. I was sitting there when she requested it, I know she did. Anyway, when someone figures out how to sue them, let me know, I'll join you. teresa.[protected]@yahoo.com

I opened my once monthly email today from FP&L that tells me the amount of my current electric bill and when it's due, and the amount due was over twice what it is normally. I called to find out the situation, and the automated service said I am scheduled for disconnect today! Shocked (as the bill for electricity is due on 9/4 and I am completely current w/ payments), I got a customer service rep on the line and she informed me that they're charging me a $236 deposit b/c I have been late twice in the last 6 months, that they sent me notices in the mail advising the same (which I never saw because I am used to getting emails from them). So my electric is being shut off for not paying a DEPOSIT? That should not be legal. My bill for electricity isn't even due until 9/4. The supervisor would not negotiate. There has to be more regulation from WHATEVER department regulates utilities. The policy for reinstating a deposit fee is too stringent (late more than 2x within 6 mos). And it's not like you can choose to take your business somewhere else! We are browbeaton into paying OR ELSE! you live in the dark w/ cold water and hot air. What's more they send a thug ("field representative" is what they call them actually) out to your house to collect or else they go right to the back and shut you off. Does anyone know how to go through the proper channels to attempt to change some of the rules that FP&L force upon us?

Good news, the reason my FPL bill is over $700 is global warming. When I called FPL to ask about my high bill they told me "it's hot out".
They said maybe I should get better air systems, but I already replaced both my ac units this year. I asked about the rebate for my new ac units but was informed that I needed to buy them from an approved FPL contractor. What a scam!

Well, I hope this time worth, since I started my contract with the FPL compani I realized too many good tricks they have to get a great profits from people that ignore how this kind of business work, special the hispanic people, I had an experience since the begining where this company does not give the right information to the people in the case of foreing people, when I started my contract with the FPL the staff of the compani never told me that I had to pay a deposit of 200 dls. after they sent me a final notice, because thats the best way to start burning your record, making look the customer as a late payment customer, I spoke with the representative customer and a lady of it's staff told me that I might lost the deposit and that I should wave it. After I explained all the reason why I didn't send my deposit they tried to seem like the good company giving me one more chance. after certain time to be paying on time my bills, when was the time to recover my deposit the FPL company told me that I was a bad customer and that most of the time I was late in my payments and that they could not get me back my deposit by virtue of such late payments, when I told them that I had all my records up to date, they were reluctant to get back my deposito to my pocket. After severals calls and hours of been hanged on waiting for their response they decided to get my deposit back. no mentioning that at the begining they told me that the deposit was to be kept by them for a space of 6 months, then when I called them to recover it, they told me againg that that was 1 year, and after the year were 23 months and so on, till at the end I could see it in my hands, of course that they sent me a threat final notice that if I were late they were to shout off my power in case that I were late in my payments. well, after certain time I decided ti ask for an extention of 2 days because of this bad economi, you know what I was arepented to doit, no matter what but they charged me 1.65 dls., just for these days that I requested as an extention, they gave me 20 days grace, howerver I used just the next day to pay my bill cause what I was needing was just one day. furthermore I've been realizing that in most cities council most time do meeting to discuss about the increases of rates, over here in this city seems that no government body governs over this company, they raise the rates every time that they wish. no matter that taxpayers be on time on taxes any way this sort of companies are doing all what they want, seeming to be hand to hand with the government. and we are talking that there are hundres of hispanic people that is suffering the same or worst, of this kind of unetical business.

This company has been raping the citizens of the state of florida for way too many years. I live in a one bedroom apt. 800 square feet. and my fpl bill was usually around 86 bucks, i use to be on the budget plan, when i really looked at the budget plan i was getting charged for way too much than what i actually utilized, so i removed myself from the plan. My bills were now $73-74.00 a month.. great i'm saving money and i'm very concious about energy in the home.. shutting off lights, replacing bulbs, upping the thermostat to 85, etc. you know everything "they tell us to do". I get my bill expecting 75.00 or even $80.00... no.. my bill was $104.66! what! $25.00 INCREASE I was outraged.. and the only thing the customer service person said was i can connect you to a energy saving expert! he kept on saying it over and over like a robot! well obviously your expert isn't such a great expert! no reason for the increase, it was just really really hot this past month! huh? that's it? that's your reason? WE ALL NEED TO START COMPLAINING ABOUT THIS COMPANY'S MONOPOLIZATION OF THEIR BUSINESS . WE HAVE NO ALTERNATIVES... NO OTHER OPTIONS... THIS IS NOT LEGAL... NO COMPANY SHOULD HAVE A MONOPOLY OF THIS INDUSTRY.. THERE'S TOO MANY OTHER ALTERNATIVES OUT THERE! WE NEED TO WRITE OUR CONGRESSMEN/WOME! LET'S GET THIS GOING!

For the first time I tried to make an online payment using my Credit Card, things have been tight for us, just like the rest of the country.

My choices with FPL were only Master Card and Discover!

No Visa.

I would like to know why they do not accept Visa which is the only Credit Card I own and with times being as hard as they are I cannot get approved for another card.

I dont know many people who own Discover.

I thought the whole world was M/C and Visa.

Very angry! I phoned and did not get an answer. Emailed Customer Service to see if there is an explanation!

Still Waiting

I have had numerous problems with FPL in recent months, the worst happened today, I recieved a final notice pending shut off, my bill was due 6/23, I attempted to pay this bill everyday for 5 days starting 6/19 through western union speedypay, ( FPL's Credit/Debit payment processing). I Continuously received the error " This card is not allowed". I have used this card several times in the past, at one time charged $16.00 fee, which is supposed to be $3.25 or $3.95 over and above the amount of payment. After recieving the final notice I attempted once again, only to receive the same error.
I thought maybe my balance was low on the card, not the issue, I had more than enough funds to cover my payment, the card I was using was a pre-paid debit card that had been used before numerous times. I tried another card that Is owned by WESTERN UNION, ( they are the ones I pay to load the card with funds), again DENIED. I called FPL to complain, all they could say was "We apologize sir, Western Union no longer accepts Visa"
WHAT? No one could tell me this the first time I attempted to make a payment?, I had to spend over $20.00 in ATM and Pre-paid load fee's to transfer money and spend 4 hours at a local bank to open a checking account to pay this bill. I have had several problems with FPL, I am unemployed and have informed them that I am the only person with an income. That means nothing to them, THEY DEMAND YOUR MONEY, BUT ONLY UNDER TERMS THEY SET! I have never had ANY utilility reject any form of payment! At one time several months ago, I requested an extension with a partial payment, informing them that I would pay the remaining balance within 3 days, I was told the extension with a partial payment of $46.56 was granted with no threat of disconnect as long as the remaining balance of $53.65 was made within 3 days, my power was shut off the next day, I have a $266.00 deposit with them, and now have been billed an additional $56.00, due in one week. My bill never goes above $150.00 a month

FPL has monopolized many area's of Florida, they need to be stopped!

Anyone interested in starting a petition to the Governers office of Florida, please e-mail me at [protected]@yahoo.com

FPL is charging me another $116.00 in another deposit on top of my $70.00 deposit that they still have. Just moved here from Chicago IL in August of 2008, single parent living on a fixed income due to this ruff economy and FPL had the nerve to come to my apartment and turn off my power because i was 10days late on the bill. I called them when i recieved a bill from 108.00 that I currently owe to $363.00. I called FPL and thier response to me was that their policy if you are late they come an shut off power.

How can this be legal what if someone is on oxygen, or even a baby that is sent home on a nebulizer survive? Or even the elderly without power they would probably die ?

How can politicians allow any of this to happen in this time of need.
Nina Baez

I am aware that deposits are required at the time of hookup.. but, $640 for a deposit is unheard of... I am a mother of four and have a daughter who had a heart transplant and is on medications that have to be refridgerated..I was floored when they told me I have ten days to pay the balance..I fought hard and was able to get an extension..but, I still haver to pay $200 every two weeks for a month and a half on top of my normal bills... Are you kidding me...I asked why the deposit amount is so high..She stated it goes off what the average bill was for the individuals who lived there BEFORE me..So basically I am being punished for there high bills..Thats nuts..So then she proceed to tell me they also use credit as a source...OMG!who in this time has good credit after the jobs loss, and housing loss..I lost my house to foreclosure last year and of course my credit now sucks..what happened to a community coming together to help eachother out..don't you think the higher up at the power company could have a heart.. after all my daughter had to get a new heart at three weeks old and she has never done anyone wrong like these power companies are doing...I hope they realize, they are not just hurting parents..but, children as well...sincerely, DeAnna Hooker