Ameren UE and Piss Poor Customer Service

Ameren UE just tried to deny me electricity service. Ameren UE is the only source for electricity in this city and they just tried to deny me service based on the fact that my last name happens to match the last name of someone who stayed in the apartment building I just moved to and they didn’t pay their bill. My furniture is in my new apartment, my gas has been activated, my cable and telephone service has been applied for and they’ll be activated in a couple of days. But without electricity the apartment is practically unlivable according to standards here in America.

I applied for electricity the same day that I applied for the other utility services. The Ameren representative gave me a fax number for me to send documentation such as a copy of my lease, picture identification, and some information regarding my last electric service provider. The next day I called to check the status of my order along with everything else. The electric utility informed me that the application was under review and that if it was approved then service would begin in three or four days. Today, three days later, I called to check the status of the electricity. I was told that my application was denied. Why? My last name matched a previous tenet. Who? Somebody else who shares the same last name.

Now I have one of the most common surnames in America. It ranks right up there with Smith, Jones, Nguyen, Gonzales, Madison, Ford, and Taylor. I come from a large family. I have a number of brothers and sisters and we all have pretty common first names as well. If people are considered guilty by nothing more than name association then my family is as guilty as sin.

I continued my conversation with the representative, but this is where our conversation starts going south. I asked the Ameren representative for information about the people that stayed in the apartment previously. Believe it or not the representative on the other end of the line actually replied, “Oh, you know exactly who we’re talking about.” I tried to explain to the Ameren representative that I was new to the area and that I had just come from several states away and that I didn’t know who she was talking about. My driver’s license from the previous state should prove that I am new to the area. The woman replied that the investigation that Ameren conducted proved beyond their less than reasonable doubt that I was trying to circumvent their payment collection process and that I was indeed related to the people they were trying to collect from. I asked for information about the previous tenets. We don’t give that information out to just anybody. But you just said that I know who you’re talking about so by your supposed logic you are not telling me something that you believe I already know. Well we don’t give that kind of information to family members. So how can I prove I don’t know these people if you don’t give me the information on who these people are? Not our problem. You have a good day in your dark, no electricity house. Click!

My next call was to the state’s public utility commission. I gave them my side of the story. I gave all the information I had. The woman at the state office took all the information and then informed me that a state investigator would call back. When? Well they have to contact the utility and the utility had up to fourteen days to respond. So what am I supposed to do until then? Well don’t you have some place to stay that has electricity? It doesn’t matter, what if I don’t have somewhere else to stay what are my options? Well sir that’s our procedure and they have up to fourteen days to respond and then the investigator has up to thirty days to determine what needs to be done to resolve the situation. This was truly unacceptable.

My next phone call was to the Mayor’s office. The call after that was to the city alderman’s office. The next call after that was to the Governor’s office. The woman at the Mayor’s office admitted that she had a similar problem with the electric company. Ameren UE appears to have a reputation for poor customer service. Obviously, because they are the only electricity provider in town they can run rough shod over people without fear of a loss of business. If you want electricity and you don’t have a windmill or solar cells on top of your house, if you’re not the professor on Gilligan’s Island and you can’t make electric batteries out of coconuts, you’re going to deal with Ameren UE whether you like it or not.

Two hours after calling everybody who I could think might be helpful in getting me the service I am entitled to I received a call from one of the Ameren UE representative. The woman on the other end of the phone was curt and not at all very customer service oriented. She was calling to inform me that the Governor’s office called and that the electricity in the apartment would be activated within the next twenty four hours. It was strongly recommended that any circuit breakers be examined prior to the switch being thrown in order to prevent problems. I didn’t even get a thank you for doing business with Ameren UE. From the way she was responding you would have thought that she was Ms. Ameren herself.

The representatives of Ameren UE do not understand that as the sole provider of electrical services the company does not have the luxury to deny service to potential clients based on little more than coincidental last name and address combinations. Ameren has absolutely no channels for conflict resolution when there is a discrepancy with their woefully less than thorough outstanding payment investigative services. I didn’t even have the option of giving a larger than necessary deposit in order to activate the service until the matter could be resolved. It was Ameren’s way or the highway.

I thank the Governor’s office for their expeditious help in getting this matter resolved. But, I also hold the Governor’s office and the other political entities responsible for the conditions within the state that is making Ameren the unresponsive juggernaut that is able to operate with impunity. The representatives of Ameren may feel that the fact that they deny service is not their problem. But I plan to make it my personal goal to help change the laws that have given Ameren its monopoly. Hopefully, soon this company will realize that me not having electricity truly is their problem.