American Electric Power Company [AEP] review: AEP electrical service bill over 18 yrs old!

I recently moved into an apartment that said they use an alternative electrical supplier and turns out, they do not. The form the office gave me was incorrect and I had to use AEP. The reason I didn’t want to use AEP is because they have stuck an old bill on me for a house I don’t live in for the last 6 months of the account. That went from under 2K to over 3K with their extra charges. I had no choice as I had already signed a lease but to come to an agreement by way of payment arrangement that is causing hardship. I’m almost 60 yrs old and have no support to help with any bills let alone help me in aiding in providing for many grandchildren that rely on me to get by. After I agreed to this terrible arrangement, I received my first bill for OVER 6 THOUSAND DOLLARS! I contacted them immediately thinking they had double charged me for the old account. Nope…get this… they said they found an old bill from over 18 YEARS ago for over 3 thousand dollars and thy attached it as well. So now they have forced me to make an arrangement for that total plus my monthly bill resulting in $1000 monthly bill. I live in a small 2 bedroom apartment by myself and my first actual monthly bill was over $400! This is nuts. They leave people with no choice but to stay broke just to have power. I spoke with multiple “supervisors” who told me that there is no statutory limit of years that they can enforce payment of an old bill! So it was pay up or live in the dark and freezing apartment! I have little grandchildren that stay with me about a third of the time so I am stuck. This hardship has been more detrimental than any words can describe and they could care less. Now mind you, I have had no other power source but AEP for 40 years so how did that almost twenty year old bill just magically show up now? This feels like a scam and is plain shameful. I considered getting an attorney but who could afford that when you’re forced to pay over a grand monthly for electricity?! This is just awful.