MLGW here in Memphis has completely lost control of their billing periods. I've got clients with 22-day periods, 38-day periods, and one poor guy who got billed for 45 days because they "couldn't access the meter for two cycles." The proration is all over the place and their customer service can't explain any of it. This started after they switched to a new billing system in January. Anyone else in Tennessee seeing similar problems with their local utilities?
MLGW billing period chaos - anyone else seeing this?
Randy, KUB here in Knoxville had similar issues when they upgraded their system two years ago. Took about six months to stabilize. The key is documenting everything and filing complaints for each incorrect billing period. Don't let them tell you "it will work itself out" - it won't without pressure.
Terry's right about filing complaints. I dealt with KUB during that mess and the only accounts that got corrected quickly were ones with formal complaints. MLGW is probably overwhelmed right now but that's not your clients' problem. Push hard for credits on all the incorrect periods.
Randy, this sounds exactly like what DTE did to us in Michigan three years ago. New billing system, chaos for months, nobody could explain the irregular periods. I started charging utilities my hourly rate to fix their billing errors. If they want professional audit services to clean up their mess, they can pay for it.
Tina, that's brilliant about charging them your hourly rate! MLGW has cost me about 20 hours so far dealing with these billing period errors across multiple clients. I'm going to start invoicing them for time spent correcting their mistakes. Has anyone actually collected payment from a utility for this kind of thing?
I've never tried billing a utility directly, but I do charge my clients extra when utility errors require significant additional work. They usually don't mind paying since they're getting refunds that more than cover my fees. Might be worth exploring though - these system upgrades seem to create more problems than they solve.
Randy, Entergy Mississippi went through this exact scenario in 2019. New billing system, irregular periods, massive customer complaints. It took PSC intervention to force them to implement proper quality controls. You might want to contact the Tennessee Regulatory Authority about MLGW's problems.
Gerald, good suggestion about TRA. I've got documentation on about 15 accounts with irregular billing periods now. Going to compile everything and file a formal complaint. MLGW needs to fix their system or provide manual oversight until they do. This is getting ridiculous.
Randy, following this thread with interest since APS here in Arizona is supposedly upgrading their billing system this summer. Based on everyone's experiences, sounds like I should prepare for months of billing period chaos. Thanks for documenting all this - very helpful to see the patterns.