Public Service Electric & Gas [PSEG] review: lack of customer service 24

Do yourself a favor. DO NOT get this service. You will be wasting your money for months, and when you need service, they will come to your house to tell you that the part is not covered, simple as that. The tech didn't even bother to open the equipment. he just saw it and say, it is not covered. Months ago, I had a problem with the dryer. the first technician couldn't even figure out what the issue was. the second technican ordered parts that were already working. I was going to close the service and the rep ask me to give them one more chance, and they end up sending yet another tech. the third tech knew right away what he was doing. come to find out, it was a screw that he needed to tighten. . I let it go back then because after many tries, at least they fixed the problem. but now is a no no. I don't trust them and I'm not paying for a service that later on, when I need service, I'm told is not covered.

if you are thinking about service, instead, pay outside warranty. not only you will pay less, but also you will be assured that you will get the service when you need it.

I had PSE&G install a A/C unit for my one family home, the unit started to mal function and I called WorryFree to come out and fix it. It's been over 1 year and they still have not been able to fix it. Last summer they came out at least 8-9 times and about 5 of those were a waste of time because the repair person makes an excuse to come out another day or they tell me that I have to wait 2-3 weeks, in 90+ heat.

Never again will I make the mistake of paying about $8k for the unit (York) through PSE&G and $500+ in Worry Free contracts through them. They don't back the products they sell and don't really care about the customer.

***DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME & MONEY***

PSEG will find a way not to honor the coverage you have been paying for.

***ALSO, be prepared to wait AT LEAST 30 MINUTES whenever you call***

I had WorryFree for my refrigerator and the freezer door started icing up and not opening well. I called and scheduled a service appointment. The technician came out and after looking at the fridge for 30 seconds said he knew exactly what the issue was. I was told I needed a new compressor. I asked if that was covered by WorryFree and he said it sure was, but he kept repeating that someone will call me in a day or so to discuss coverage and if anything needed to be paid out of pocket. I thought it was a bit odd since he just told me it was covered by WF.

Next day I was left a voicemail by someone from PSEG saying the parts are NOT covered and I would need to pay +$600! I called, waited for 45 minutes, and asked WHY?! I spoke to a rep who was useless. She confused me initially by her rudeness, I thought I called the DMV by mistake. I was told a supervisor would call me back in a few days. Took a few days for the supervisor to call but it was the call center supervisor, not the service department supervisor I needed to speak to. More time waste!

Finally spoke to a service department supervisor who spoke in a tone just shy of angry yelling, and was repeatedly told they do not cover pre-existing conditions and that the issue had to have been present for a long time and their policy will not cover.

...then WTH is the point of buying insurance?! One buys an insurance policy to cover unexpected expenses. What’s the point of getting flood insurance if the insurance company tells you your house was in a flood zone so won’t pay for your flooded basement?

I just could not believe they were running such a scam! I realized after the call how well scripted and executed this supervisor’s response was. From the tense intimidating tone to the repeated barrage of reasons they are right and you are wrong and stupid for not knowing the items hidden in the fine prints, rarely allowing for a response to be made.

In the end, I cut my losses and cancelled the WorryFree coverage. I plan on just calling a local servicer. Unfortunately PSEG is the only option for gas in my area so reluctantly I still give them my business.

What I feel the worst about is that I used to have WorryFree for YEARS at my old house. All that money I gave them for service they would have never provided!
Don’t be a sucker.
It’s not “Worry Free”.

My wife has lymphedema which requires constant air conditioning in the summer months. Our bill averages over 400 dollars from June until September. We also had a worry free contract just in case something broke down. Her doctor faxed the requirement to PSEG explaining her need for air conditioning. We got some help from the state, but was not enough to cover the costs. We are on a fixed income and every penny counts. When we make a payment, PSEG takes that money and puts it toward the utility bill leaving out the worry free payment. I got a notice stating my worry free contract has been canceled. How can I pay for both? They will not take a partial payment to reinstate my worry free plan. If something breaks and cannot be fixed, do they care if she dies? They don't care !

No issues. Always come out within a day or two and repairs are done correctly. If the problem is a part they do not have on the truck because it’s an oddball you’re gonna have to wait for it to be ordered. Happened with my exhaust blower for my boiler last year. This year they replaced a faulty gas valve on the same visit. Have replaced capacitors on ac units the same day also. They can’t carry every part for every make and model unit out there. They would need a tractor trailer. So far it’s payin off for me. Have never told me I needed a new appliance. Repairs always fixed the problem. Sorry you other folks are having issues.

After reading all the previous comments, we feel very fortunate. We've had a worry free contract with pse&g for more than 20 years and we update every time we purchase a new appliance. They kept our central ac unit going with repairs, including replacement parts, for 25 years. Yes, our ac unit is over 25 years old and at the end of last summer, the fan broke again, and we knew it was past time for a new unit. They have repaired and replaced parts for our refrigerator, our wall oven, and our glass cook top. We purchased a new dishwasher which came with a 2-year warranty. We didn't initially add the dishwasher to the worry free contract because of the warranty, but thankfully I was diligent and added the dishwasher to the contract at the end of the warranty period. As fate would have it, 2 months past the warranty date, the dishwasher broke. We called pse&g, the repairman told us the motor was shot and it would be a $600 repair - all covered by the worry free contract! They ordered the new motor and they had to pull the dishwasher out from under the kitchen counter and turn the dishwasher upside down as the motor was on the bottom of the unit, with no access other than from the top of the unit. The repairman was pleasant, skilled, and cleaned the entire area after putting the dishwasher back underneath the kitchen counter. We have absolutely no complaints but kudos for their service. Please keep up the good work. We are having pse&g give us an estimate for replacing the ac unit.

In 2005 I moved into my house and it was a financial stretch so I got worry free to help protect me. 2008 on the hottest july day the ac failed. I called worry free and they were out so fast the next morning. they examined the system and gave me the bad news — it needed to be replaced so I got three options and selected the high efficiency unit. it has not worked dependably since installation. heat was a problem because a 12 v fuse kept going out. one tech said that the vent was not glued and the condensation was causing it to burn out. I called for all the problems and had to do that menu and miss work. a few times they never showed and I waited eventually I complained to the nj board of public utilities and then I had a contact person. that was 2012. since that time I have had problem after problem. most problems are in the cooling season so much so that I have had to buy roll away ac units and window units. I also have electric space heaters. last year the thought they fixed it all but come may I put on the ac and it froze again. I was livid and still am. I made contact with the man who had been working on my system and he promised me that if the system had not leaked freon then they would replace the system. two days later he told me his supervisor told him not to come and all my contact should be with claims because it is a bpu issue. claims said he was unaware of this development. i'm done. worry free is a waste of money and the utility cannot fix a system that they installed. I plan to call the $12, 000 installation a lesson... get a new system then sue.

Stay away from the WorryFree contract. After several calls and speaking to a supervisor I finally got an appointment for repair of my hot water boiler. I have the premier plan. Two service calls later they decide to just start changing out parts to see what works. The tech says don't worry you have the premier plan. The parts are covered. The boiler works now but who knows what part fixed it. My bill comes with an extra $265 charge for a part. I call the customer service who says my contract is for a hot water boiler and the tech notes they worked on a furnace. After trying to explain that my furnace is a hot water boiler system I ask for a supervisor. Conveniently there are none available. Thanks Josie. A call the next day resulted in me at least understanding what the equipment is and that I am covered. However he say one of the parts, a gas valve, is not covered under the premier plan. I advised what the tech told me and he had to refer me to the worry free department for a ruling. Been days and no call. As soon a s the winter is over, I will cancel this scam of a contract. Stay away people.

I have been paying for my "worry free" warranty for about fifteen years. I used it once about six months ago for a small repair. a few days ago, we noticed that our upstairs unit was not heating the area. we called for service. they arrived as scheduled. the two men opened up the furnace and told me that they had bad news. they said that the furnace could not be repaired and had to be replaced, which was not covered by the contract. they sent over a rep to give me an extimate the same day. he quoted me $5, 100.00 to replace my unit. I didn't feel right about having to replace a fifteen year old furnace so I made some calls. the net day, I was referred to a heating repair man who came over, on a sunday. he opened the unit and found that the flame sensor needed to be replaced. he charged me $200.00. did the pse&g guys lie in order to sell me a new unit? shouldn't they have checked the flame sensor before arriving at a more expensive conclusion.? I will be canceling my "worry free" contract.

I had a very bad experience with them today. We've been paying for their plan for 10 years (almost $800!) and we just moved houses a few months ago and did not realize the plan did not transfer.

Ironically, we never needed them when we had the plan but we used them for the first time today without the plan. They would not retroactively let us add the plan even though we had it at our previous address for 10 years, and I explained how we mistakenly thought we still had it, but I let that go because that might have been expecting too much.

So I agreed to pay for their service, but I had to wait 2 days to get an appointment - no exceptions for the fact that its december and very cold. I agreed to tough it out with space heaters, and when they finally get here, they diagnosed a simple "thermocoupler" problem which we had already researched and learned that the part only costs $10-$15. But they charged us $123 for the whole thing (including labor). Which is not anything cheaper than what a private company was charging, probably a bit more in fact, since one private company was charging about $90 for a thermocoupler change (which we suspected was the problem from our internet research and attemps to light the pilot).

Even that I was okay with, I had hoped pseg would be a bit more reasonable in price, but at least they agreed to come out for free and diagnose the problem first before charging, most private companies charge just to come over, period. So I let the pricing go as well.

But what really made me mad was that the pilot went out again after they installed the new part and they wanted to make an appointment 2 days later to come fix the same issue! I was quite angry - I was able to excuse them for the first 2 days of delays and no heat, but to come out and not fix the issue and give me appointments another few days later made no sense. This should all have been part of the same service call.

After much polite but insistent pushing on my part, they agreed to make an "exception" and come out after 4 pm, but they said if it didn't work in the evening, I would have to make another appointment. They wouldn't necessarily charge me for more labor if they were replacing the same part, but the fact that I had to wait 2-4 days to get them over here, possibly more if parts needed to be ordered, was unacceptable!

I even tried to talk to a supervisor about it (and since they knew I was going to ask for an "exception" they put me on hold twice for 5-10 min each just to get through to him). When I finally got him on the line, he was very cold and unsympathetic. I offered to let them off the hook for the 2nd appointment if they would not charge me for that morning and I could prove that I went with a private company for the same issue. I let them know very nicely that I trusted their work, it was just that I found it difficult to make an appointment for something that was an emergency and should be treated as such. They kept making all kinds of excuses for themselves (it's cold, a lot of breakdowns, it takes time for us to free up a technician, etc).

I'm sorry, but if you are in the business of heating repairs, you should have enough techs on hand to deal with emergencies! That's part of your business. Otherwise, don't claim to be in that business. Would it be acceptable to go to an emergency room and be told that critical injuries couldn't be looked at for 2 days? They argued with me that all contractors in this field have delays, but that isn't true, the 2 private companies I called were ready to send someone immediately, and i'm pretty sure they would have costed the same if not less, and been available to make a repeat trip back if the issue wasn't fixed.

Even though I rarely write reviews, I am one of those who will do it occasionally for exceptionally good or bad service. I have done good reviews as well since I believe people's good deeds should be recognized as well.in this case, I was angry enough to get off my lazy duff and write this time-consuming review. Because I rely on reviews from other people and I believe its only fair that I contribute mine occasionally to warn people so they don't go through the same hassles I went through.

I hope that was helpful... This review was written on dec 2, 2014, in case the date is in question. So if anyone out there is thinking of getting pseg iworryfree in the next 6-12 months, I wouldn't - perhaps try again in 2016 and pray their service is better.

worryfree is a disgrace.the billing is all wrong.i had a 12.00 pm appoinment they called on time and hung up.they suck.i am cancelliny worry free.

Three week ago, I scheduled PSE&G Worry Free service guy to come to my house to repair a Kenmore 90 Series electric dryer. I took off 4 hours from work to wait for him. The service guy came and did some diagnosis and told me he did not have the parts with him but can buy the parts from a local store and he will be right back. I asked him to please call me whether or not he can get the parts, he said of course, I repeated my request one more time. Two hours gone by, no calls, he just took off and left me hanging. I called customer service to complain, PSE&G did not seem to care...

Two days later I got a call from PSE&G telling me the parts was ordered and I needed to make another appointment to get this dryer fixed. So I did. This time a different service guy came and started to diagnose the problem. He told me he can't use the pre-ordered parts because the previous guy misdiagnosed and he needed a dryer fuse/thermal kit (Maybe something else, I don't remember anymore, I just wanted to get this thing fixed). He also told me he will go to a local store and get the parts and he'll be right back and he did. I was very happy. 45 minutes gone by, he told me he fixed it so I gave him $20 tip and he left.

I tried my first load, and it got heat, I was very happy but then after 90 minute drying, my clothes were still wet, when I opened the dryer door, the whole inside of the door was wet; so I dried my clothes 90 minutes more followed by another 90 min, after the forth 90 minutes, my clothes were finally dry but when I pulled out the lint filter, no lint there. The next few days, everyone had to dry the clothes 4 times after each wash before the clothes were dry; and the lint filter was clean (normally we have to clean the lint filter every two loads of drying.

I finally "googled" the problem online and took apart the dryer myself. To my surprise, the last service guy did not put back the big lint duct panel, it's such a big piece of metal, there is no way he can't miss this. This lint duct panel was laid on my floor near the dryer. Without this duct panel, the lint won't get redirected to the lint filter, so my entire inside of the dryer was full of lint. I cleaned all the lint inside my dryer and screwed back the lint duct panel (couldn't even find the original screws and I had to use some from my toolbox), after 90 minutes (I do not have much room in my laundry area), I had my dryer working again, no more moisture inside the door, lint filter has lint, clothes are dry after the first cycle...

I can't believe a professional service guy will make such a big boo boo, when he had spare screws in his hand after a job's done, doesn't he wonder, "Hmm maybe there are something I forgot to screw them back; otherwise why would I have spare screws in my hand..."

I tried to write this on the PSE&G worryfree website but I did not find any, so I have to leave my comments here.

I have an air conditioner contract under the so called "Worry Free" plan. Recently the unit was unable to cool the house temperature to the set point. The service man did show up on time, but he said he cannot do anything because the unit has leaked out more than 25% of the coolant, and that the cooling coil of the unit is located in the attic! According to him PSEG does not do work in the attic. I called PSEG office just to confirm and was told it is in the fine print of the contract. So buyers beware! This company must be the most arrogant I have come across. Based on my experience I would stay away from them.

I am saddened to see these reports on PSE&G. I worked for them many years ago and family retired from there. My recommendation to all that are having issues is to contact the Board of Public Utilities (BPU). They regulate the utility companies in the state and will investigate the complaints. Trust me - when we received a BPU complaint it was the main focus of those involved as answers have to be provided within a few days.

Worry free? Nah. How about showing up 2 or 3 times and saying that there's no problem with the system, and on 5 degree days to boot. Took a very strong call to them to send a tech the next day, who quickly found the actual problem and fixed it on the spot. Then what does pse&g do? They cancel the contract.

I have to say that in the past, i've had very good luck with them, but recently they have been awful.

Btw buyer beware: their "worry free" water heater contract doesn't cover any part "that touches water". This means that your gas water heater's burner is covered. That's it. And those burners almost never fail. If you need a new tank, they will tell you to pay for a new water heater and its installation - usually $ 1000 . No wonder their contract for water heaters is so inexpensive.

The induced draft motor on my Trane XL-90 furnace is making a loud noise and vibrating. I have the Worry Free service plan on the furnace so I called PSE&G for repair. The technician was very friendly and professional but he also told me the motor was no longer available. I found that hard to believe so I called their office and spoke with a supervisor. He told me that the motor was not available from their supply source. I asked him why they couldn't get it from someone else and he told me they don't do that. An absolute RIP-OFF. I went on-line to Google, typed in nothing more than the model number of the motor, Presto, there is the replacement motor for a very reasonable cost. If you car ran out of gas in front on an XX gas station but that was not the brand of gas you usually use, would you put some in it ? These guys need to get with the times.

PSEG worry free contact is a worry free revenue stream for PSEG, not a worry free for customer. I had two central air AC units under contract with PSEG and each year I was charged $32/lb to add R-22. This year I got charged for 5 lbs without any explanation of how much in each unit. PSEG wouldn't check for leaks, and discourage on the grounds that leak testing will cost $1000 and it may never be found. This is all aimed at building a case to replace the entire condensing unit for $3500. To me it seemed like having a leak in car tire and a car dealer asking to replace the car.

Sears was a step ahead, I received a $8800 estimate to replace the entire system (both condensing unit and air handling unit).

I got an honest HVAC mechanic who diagnosed the leaking soldered joint in the copper tubing going into the air handling unit. Fixed the leaks after pulling vacuum, filled the system with R-22 and brought the system back to working condition for $400. It was about two hours of honest work.

I cancelled two air conditioner contracts and am saving $250 per year. And after I finish writing this post, I will cancel my worry free contracts for furnace and water heater.

ripoff! 3 visits by their A/C "professionals" did not diagnose a burned out motor in the air handler.
my ac performance was degrading markedly, the first visit said just clean your filters, you'll be OK.
I then paid 85$ for a contractor to diagnose the burned motor (a covered part). I called PS&G agan, told them what the contractor found. They visited again and said motor is OK. They did charge me for 2 pounds of freon that I didnt need however. The 3rd visit said my part was covered under the warranty and it was obviously broken, but that they didnt have 4 feet of clearance to work in the area. The A/C unit is fully up to code, but the PS&G "standard" is that they need 4 feet of head room in the attic around where they are working and refused to repair! The guy had an attitude and acted like he didnt even want to get out of the truck and was complaining about how hot the attic was . The are either dishonest, lazy or incompetent... or a combination of the 3. what a joke!

PSEG Worry Free program is a SCAM! Do not think for a second that you are protected. My AC wasn't running right, so I called PSEG thinking that they would fix the problem. They came out and after 5 minutes they said that my compressor is broken. And of course this is not covered by the Worry Free Program. So how much I asked. $4, 200. I found it a bit odd that he said he could replace the entire unit the following day on a Sunday. I got the quote from him. Just to make sure, I called another company. They diagnosed a simple wire that wasn't connected and fixed my AC for $300. Can you believe that? The PSEG guys were going to rip me off 4K! Run away from PSEG Worry Free Program, it's a complete SCAM!

I subscribed to worry free plan for 2 years. and my a/c had leak issues. they wanted me to pay 300$ for the leak detection and another 2000$ for replacement of the coil (technician told that he is pretty sure its the coil thats leaky).
What was the point of having their coverage in first place. I finally replaced my entire unit through a local contractor which was much cheaper than the pseg quote.

I have a problem with my washer machine and had to wait a week for the appointment. The day of the appointment I had to wait 5 hours for him. When he finally got here he stayed for 5 minutes. He told me he had to order a part. He didn't even wipe his feet before entering my house. So now my washer doesn't work and I have mud on my carpt. Now it is 2 weeks later and I have been waiting 5 and a half hours for the guy to come. I called twice. The first time I got a rude lady who told me he is running late. I asked if they had those booties to put on his feet before walking on peoples carpet. She told me no but if I wanted to ask him to remove his shoes I can. She also stated that he doesn't have to remove his shoes and he can refuse to do the job if I wanted him to remove his shoes. So why am I paying for this? The 2nd time I called, they told me my appointment is for tomorrow. Whe I made the appointment I had her repeat the date and time to me. I know it was for today! Now i'm waiting for a superviser to call me. This company is very unprofessional!

I have worry free for my business. The service was so rude. I told him there is no air blowing out of the duct and he told me that the weather is not hot enough to fix my rooftop unit. So stupid. I scheduled for another appointment and this time he said that he needs a ladder to get to the roof. What kind of air con service that you don't a ladder to get on a flat store about 11 feet high. Now I have a reschedule the service again. This time I have to provide a ladder. This guy is so rude. He talked to us like a F888*** criminal. I think PSEG has a horrible customer service. I called up the service an explained the situation. They said we have to provide the a ladder and a safe access to the unit. What is really safe access? Why don't I just pay the fee and also do their job. I know the monthly fee is not much but by add them up and they don't no ### then it's a waste of money. i wish their is more competition in the erea.

StArting in august the company recommends you check your heater. If you wait until the first chilly day, then you have to wait. You won't freeze in October. They must be dong something right if thousands of people are calling them for service

Although I received an appointment for the next day (a 4 hour window), they chose to show up 2 hours early when we were not home from work yet. I then rescheduled (with a supervisor) for the next day, and AGAIN they showed up early TWICE! Again, we were not home from work yet. After many angry phone calls I was able to get a tech out. Come to find out that we need a part, so he says he will be back tomorrow. Well, tomorrow is here, and they are not. I called (again) and found out the part is on order, and they will contact me when it comes in.
There is something seriously wrong with this company! They were never like this in the past. I am going to fight for compensation, or, I too will be shopping around for a new company.