Hugh from Buffalo. Client had actually called the utility and asked which rate was best for them before I came along. The utility rep recommended a rate. I found that recommendation was wrong — a different schedule would have saved them $1,100 per month and they had been on the wrong rate for two years based on the utility's own advice. Does the fact that the utility gave the wrong recommendation strengthen a retroactive claim?
Utility's own rate recommendation was wrong
Ray from Louisville. It can, but it depends on whether the recommendation was made in writing and whether the tariff has any language about reliance on utility advice. In some states there are consumer protection provisions that apply when a utility gives affirmatively wrong rate guidance.
The client says the conversation was by phone with a rate desk rep and nothing was put in writing.
Ray again. Without written documentation it is harder. But if the client can provide a sworn statement of what they were told, and if the timing of the rate change matches what they describe, you have something to work with.
Ida from Chattanooga. I would file the rate class dispute on the technical merits first and add the utility's incorrect advice as a supporting factor for retroactive recovery, not as the primary argument. Let the error stand on its own.
Ida that sequencing makes sense. The rate class error is clear regardless of who caused it. The advice story supports the retroactive period but does not have to carry the whole case.
Margaret from Charleston. Also worth asking the client to request any call records or notes from the utility for that original conversation. Utilities sometimes log account interactions and those records might show what the rep said.