INDIANAPOLIS — 10% of the 500,000 AES users are seeing complications since the business platform system switch in November.
The electric company states that the new system will allow them to simplify the customer experience, including flexible payment options, easier ways to manage their accounts, and more options for stopping and starting services.
Although since November, AES said that users have reported out-of-balance bills, issues with auto pay, budget billing, difficulty with refunds, applying deposits, and general billing issues.
Michael Spradley is one customer experiencing problems.
His late mother’s house sits empty with only a lamp plugged in and a refrigerator running inside.
“I couldn’t understand why the bill increased in the usage that’s reflected on my bill, why it increased to such a point that it’s at times even triple the amount of energy that I’m using at the home that I reside in full time,” said Spradley.
Along with the kilowatt inaccuracies, he’s been frustrated trying to fix it with AES customer service.
“Based on the customer service and the service that I’ve been receiving, how can I be confident when they do resolve the issue, that they’ve correctly identified what usage I have been using and what my bill should actually be?” said Spradley.
AES said it has devoted company resources to have its employees respond to these customer complaints.
“We’ve got people in place that are working 24/7, to work on some of these issues and work with our customers to get the correct billing information out there,” said Kelly Young with AES Indiana.
Another frustrated user is 81-year-old Barbara Benson.
She said she paid her January bill this year and then stopped receiving any for three months following that.
“One time I called they said something about the upgrade. Why if they got an upgrade, why should a customer have to suffer?” said Benson.
Based on the meter reading, each bill was supposed to be around $70-80.
Just yesterday, a bill stating she owed nearly $400 showed up.
“I have concerns- for one thing getting the money up to pay it and another thing who says that’s accurate?” she added.
For the time being, AES said customers will not have their service disconnected or be charged a late fee.
“This is one of the hardest things that we’ve gone through. It’s one of the hardest things our customers are going through,” said Young. “We ask that our customers continue to work with us, provide us with that patience, and know that we are working and we are committed to getting this right.”
AES added that while it’s difficult to give a set-in-stone timeline of when the issues will be resolved, their team is pushing to get everything fixed and back to normal by this summer.
If you are experiencing AES issues, you can call 317-261-2085 to speak with a customer service representative.
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