Duke Energy
reviews and complaints

Reading about many complaints about the "Smart Meter" causing health issues even from other States!
1. I have a bad immune system and I am concerned how this can possibly harm me or other family members.
2. Being forced to have it installed and stating if we don't, we will have to pay a higher monthly bill to have someone come out to read it! Being forced to having it installed is wrong! Above all, not being able to make a reasonable choice!
3. Reading so much about monthly bills being higher and sometimes double is scary when folks are out of jobs, monthly fixed incomes, or exposing one to harmful radiation.
4. Seeing that Duke Energy does not have a very good rating with it's millions of customers.
5. Omitting jobs! No one comes by to reads the meters now, at least coming on to anyone's property to do so.
6. Telling us why it is good for your company, knowing it is not a good deal for customers!
7. Why we are being dictated to and the way it is forced on customers!
Rusty Lenhof
Winter Springs, Fl.

Today, July 23, 2020, I had an unexpected knock on my door. This occurred while I had two electricians working inside my home. The person was a sub contractor who informed me he was here to change my meter. I explained to him that I had workers in my home and that I could not deal with him now. I asked him to go work on some other houses in the neighborhood and come back. he would not. He told me that the power would be off momentarily. The power outage was not the problem as my electricians informed me that was fine.

The issue is that this man who arrived unannounced should have made an appointment and should have obeyed my request to leave and come back later. This is a trespass and while it did not take more than 15 mins. to change the meter, he should have not refused to leave. I do not allow workers on my property unsupervised. I do not care if it is Duke Energy property, it left my workers inside the home unattended.

Besides that, my meter was just changed less than five years ago. Why does Duke Energy keep wasting money on replacing meters and then charging customers for it. The subcontractor told me that customers complaint to him about their bill increasing right after a meter has been replaced. He said this is to compensate for the expense of installing new meters. He said there is a device that engineers have that can calculate usage to compare an inconsistency in the billage.

I will not tolerate Duke Energy sending hired contractors and/or employees trespassing on my property. They should be required to make an appointment and changing meters out should be voluntary not mandatory.

I will be contacting the Florida Department of Agriculture about the trespass matter.

Sylvia Aleman
6736 16th St.
Zephyrhills FL

I installed a standby generator at the end of March 2020, and installation of the unit is not complete as I have a stuck gas shut-off valve ahead of my gas meter. Duke has been behind on repair work like this due to COVID-19, but they seem to have no idea if they will ever get around to replacing this valve.
I have offered to pay for a third party contractor to have this valve replaced, but they say only they can do this work. I believe this fix is a 1/2 day job, and I think it is not reasonable to have to wait over 90 days for this simple fix.

A new street light fixture was installed in Haven Park West @ 9179 New Haven Rd., Harrison, OH, across the street from my address in this park, which is [removed] around June 15. It's a 100 watt HPS (high pressure sodium) bulb, which equals to approx. 9500 to 10, 000 lumens for a street that is barely 24 ft wide. That is overkill. It's garish, it's bright and it's blinding. I can't sit on my deck of an evening because this is shining right in my face. The older light was much warmer and softer and was more of a glow, instead of a current spotlight. I have no idea why this was changed and who ordered it changed. The manager of the park said he did not. I've requested assistance from Duke 3x to change this, the last being June 29 on Work Order [protected]. A subcontractor, Joe Miller, called me last night, June 29, and left a message saying that he really couldn't do anything about the situation. It was a Town and Country fixture and that was the type of bulb it used. Actually, he said he should have a 150 watt bulb in it instead of 100 watt HPS! I can't even imagine. He was polite, but not being able to enjoy my home outside is an intrusion. Not one time has a Duke representative even come out to my home at night to see what I'm dealing with. Actually, no Duke personnel at all have called me about this.
Only the subcontractor. There is no way for me to block this light so I can enjoy my deck. The light really needs to be of less wattage and a softer, warmer bulb installed. Thank you. [removed] - [protected]@gmail.com

I was notified of three small trees duke energy was going to cut down on my property all I did was requested that the stumps be removed, the day they showed up to remove the trees they brought a Polk County Deputy to come up to the house as if I had threaten someone, the deputy sat in his car until the trees were removed, the deputy left and went toward Frost proof the crew went south to the next property to remove a tree. Why did I need law enforcement present, not a good way for Duke Energy to treat property owners They should have to pay taxes on all of their easements if you can not have a small tree in that area and the holes they left then came back and put rocks in them as far as I am concerned Duke is Cheap and dishonest.

I pd 300$ to duke energy on may 2020. It was a bill totaling 500 something $. May 4 I received a texted saying the service change I requested was made. I called customer service to ask what change and I didnt request a change. The duke bill is in another name. I live at the address on the bill. Ive been paying this for many yrs. They said the 300$ I pd may 2 was a deposit for new service in my name. That it didnt go to pay on the regular bill in the other persons name. That acct was inactive. And the previous balance of 500$ + was due in june. The paymt I made was to go on the regular bill in the orher persons name and the 300$ shouldve come off that balance and been credited as paymt. They argued I had talked to an agent to request name change into my name. I never called or spoke to an agent requesting anything. That paymt was to go to the bill of so and sos name as it always had. No, they kept telling me I talked to an agent... I got angry and said ive never spoke to anyone there until today, right now. The other person thats name is on the bill didnt ask for service change either. Apparently when my phone came up missing, a month or so ago, whom ever used my info that was in my phone also made some charges on my bank card. My mistake for putting the info in my phone. Im disabled with ms and I cant remember numbers at times or passwords so I put them in my phone. Thats the only thing I could think that may have caused this mess. Duke was not understanding. Would not change my pymt of 300$ to the regular acct. Posted it as a deposit in a new acct in my name and theres still a balance of 500$ + on the regular bill which that acct is inactive cancelled or void now. My paymt shouldve been credited to the original acct. Not a deposit on a new acct at the same address where theres been service for 9 yrs, that I having been paying regularly with no problem until now. I want my 300$ to be credited to the original acct and the new acct closed because neither myself or my friend asked for the change. And I dont have 500$ + to pay on a new bill. Which I didnt ask for. I am very upset and angry that they kept saying I called and changed it. No, I did not and if I have to get a copy of my phone calls, an attorney or god, I want something done.

I received an automated call this morning at 8:56 am regarding my service being turned off and to call the phone number back. I do not have Duke Energy Services since May 2019. I called the number, dialed 4 for the disconnection department and reached 3 different representatives (Bernie & 2 others) who all hung up on my call without informing me they were disconnecting the call, rude. The first rep informed me my maiden name and my new address was in the system, which is incorrect. I have not used my maiden name in over 9 years and my new address is less than 6 months old. He hung up on the call when he could not advise me why this information was in the system. The 2nd and 3rd rep (Bernie) all hung up on me as well. With Bernie, I requested to speak with a Supervisor or Manager and he stated they were unavailable, but did not offer anything else to assist me and hung up, without announcing disconnection or any closing statements. I called again and spoke with a 4th rep, Tommy and explained the situation that has taken place in less than 10 mins. He stated he would escalate my concerns to the IT department. I expressed my displeasure with the previous 3 representative and how they handled my calls. He apologized on behalf of the company and stated I reached the disconnection department, they were not Customer Service Representatives. I told him that is incorrect, he is handling customer calls, they are CSRs and there is ways to handle callers with valid concerns and hanging up on the customer is not the way. I work in a contact center and I am a CSR. I understand there are different types of CSRs but we all handle customers. This is how a company receive low rating because of the lack of training and skills on their employees. If they are unable to assist me with my valid concerns, then transfer me to a Supervisor/Manager just like I requested. No one did. Your CSRs need better training.

This is the second time within 2 weeks the transformer has blown in our backyard leaving us with power for hours. I reported the incident immediately after it happened, and still an hour later no technician has come to even [censored] the situation. I feel as though there could've been more done the last time the same transformer blew to assure this wouldn't happen 2 weeks later. It's a significant inconvenience to a mother home by herself with an 8 month old baby.

I started service 6 weeks ago in my name. My partner and I are both trying to get a real ID and have our voter registration changed to our new address. I need to add her name to the utility bill. I was told that Duke energy did not do that. I can't believe that you can't add a second name and a second person to be liable for the bill. Your customer service is horrible and you should realize that not allowing a second name on an account has real world implications. To say the least, I am extremely unhappy. How do you expect us to change our voter registration and get a real id?

We moved to our home in November 2019. We received our first bill in December 2019. It was $178.67. December 31, 2019 we received our second bill of $172.72. After receiving the second bill I call Duke Energy customer service. They scheduled someone to come to my home to check out my appliances and show us how to conserve energy. The person that came out said our appliances were ok and we had 2 small leaks in our windows. After they left, I turned the water heater down 10 degrees, I turned our thermostat down to 65. January 2020, I received our third bill. It was $178.67. I call customer service again saying my bill is too high for this home. They told me someone would call me back. A week went by, no call. I call customer service again and they said someone would call by the end of the week or the beginning of the next week. Someone did call. I missed the call. I call them back and left my name and number. That was a week ago. Someone call again the morning and I ran to get my phone but I missed the call. I called them back and left my name and number again.in the meantime, I have called back 22 times and have gotten their voicemail 22 times. The number I called back 22 times is 407-268-8547. The name of the person is Jose and he is a billing specialist.

I have asked for someone to come out and check my meter. They said the meter is working fine.

A week ago, our power went out overnight. The next morning I look at our meter and it had different numbers on it that it didn't have before. I called customer service AGAIN and they said when the billing specialist contact me, they will determine if someone needs to come out and check the meter.

I am tired of call your customer service department because I know they can't help me. The billing specialist won't return my calls. I call 22 times. You would think Jose would notice that and give me a call.

You send me a bill every month. I have never been late paying it. Now that I have an issue, I can't get someone that can help me with it.

If you can't help me, I will find someone that can.

My number is [protected]. My email address is [protected]@hotmail.com. Someone PLEASE give me a call.

We have Duke for our home and my business here in Florida. I do not want auto pay right now which is my choice. I pay my bills on time but your fee for online payments is excessive for my business!
Here's an excerpt from your site:

"You can also pay your bill online with Credit Card, Debit Card, or Electronic Check through Speedpay. A fee of $1.50 for residential accounts and $12.95 for non-residential accounts applies to each payment. For payments in excess of $10, 000, the convenience fee will be 2.75% of the amount paid. These fees cover the processing costs associated with handling credit card and electronic debit payment."

I know how much it costs to process credit cards in business and it's certainly not $12.95 per customer. I see this charge as your company strong arming customers into auto pay. That's not right. Paying real time is a choice we should have. We, the customer.
I've been searching online to go to my account to pay like I used to and this fee is always added. It's excessive, it's wrong and your company is the only one - the only one charging these excessive fees (in my bill paying world.)
I think you should evaluate this and substantially lower this fee. Maybe ‘speedpay' was a bad idea.

to whom it my concern: a/c # [protected]

I NEED YOUR HELP .. I am a HEART RECIPIENT AND i have typ 2 diabetes.

DUKE ENERGY BOOK KEEPING DEPT...charging me $270.00 more for deposit.
there is a deposited of 240.00 dollar in my account for the last five years
what happen to the deposit of $240.00.

NO REFUND OR CREDIT WAS EVER APPLY TO MY ACCOUNT

thank you for concern
franklin cortes

On March 3rd, I was driving on Virginia Ave and there was a road plate that was not completely covering the hole in the road, i tried to avoid it, but my tire somewhat dropped down in it, and a large crunch I heard. I was able to get out of it, cause i didnt stop, and i pulled over, and all looked ok, but as i was driving home, i noticed something was the matter with my front side, it ended up being the shock was destroyed from my tire falling into the hole, and i have complained with Cincinnati Public Services, DOTE, MSD, GCWW, and they are all saying it was not their plate. They are saying it may be Dukes. I had to pay for this to be fixed, it was right around $500, and that was my deductable, so the insurance did nothing for me. I need this $ back, have been complaining about this for almost a year now. Can you please check to see if this is your plate on the road. It is around 4303 Virginia Ave, Cincinnati, OH

My name is Karla Adams
Address: 8763 cabot Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45231
Phone: [protected]

Please let me know if this is your roadplate, I really need this money back, it was not money I could afford to spend.

I am writing as someone who has been in customer service and what Duke offers in my case as I know customer service is that you have found every excuse to not be customer service oriented and therefore your front line people answering the phone are not armed with critical information or the ability to access it. Then you have them give the most unrealistic excuses to me as a customer as to why they CANNOT call me back when there has been a resolution to my problem. You see I was told that if Duke called my number with information about my problem, they couldn't be certain it was actually me they are talking to. Seriously, why could they not use the same verification standards as when I call in to Duke. When I questioned a supervisor, she first said they don't have the ability to call outside and actually someone else could know my information and therefore they could be giving information to the wrong person, really? That is the biggest bunch of malarkey I have ever heard. So I went on to ask the supervisor, then have them email me? And guess what the answer to that was, no, because what if they sent my information to the wrong email address?
Duke Power's policy to not reach out to customers is just a matter of knowing you don't have to because where else can I or anyone else go for their electricity?
The way I see it, there are as many excuses as is necessary to dictate the customer is made to realize that no matter what, Duke doesn't practice customer service, AND THE PROBLEM I'M CALLING IN FOR IN THIS INSTANCE IS NOT MY FAULT. I sent a payment in as I have done for years via automatic draft from my checking account. The December 2019 payment never posted as paid. I have confirmed with my bank the monies were sent 12/11/19, and my payment was cashed.
My problem is that I called Duke on 12/30/19 when I received a past due notice for the December payment. I was asked to send in via fax information from my bank statement that showed it was taken out. I have faxed that twice now, once on December 30, 2019 and then again on January 10, 2020. Since December 30 I have made five phone calls to see if this issue has been resolved because Duke Power cannot advise me. The most glaring problem with customer service is that NO ONE has been able to answer is whether my fax was received. Without that knowledge, it's impossible to know if my case is even being addressed. Apparently whoever receives the fax doesn't have any way to communicate with your customer service people or vice versa. I have been told there is no way to confirm receipt of that fax I sent other than when my case is resolved or there is activity to report. That I find extremely bizarre that your system is not connected with the service reps that answer your phones, therefore no one can confirm receipt of my fax.
I have called in five times and still no resolution. I still don't know if my fax I sent in as information to solve my problem was received, and NEITHER CAN ANYONE VERIFY. And what I see as a bigger problem is due to Duke being the only player I have to supply my electricity, a monopoly. It allows situations like these to go on because the customer has no choice. Because of this monopoly, Duke most likely will not change their policy, you will never lose any business over your policies. Plus there's no one else the customer can switch to.
Regards,
Drew Naylor
[protected]

I made a payment this morning on the automated systemand instead of a verification number i was transferred to an associate and was immediately disconnected so i called back and was told to call chime...my bank...so they could speak with them and verify the transaction so my power was not disconnected...so i hung up And called my bank and called duke energy back and was then told that the only way duke energy would stop the disconnection was in something was faxed to them which was not something chime Or i could do...long story short that"support specialist"was to busy telling me what he could not do instead of what he could do for me...he was not theleast bit concerned that my lights were gonna get cut off if we didn't do something so i hung up with that person and called right back to discover that you guys were having a problem with western union since yesterday and within 5 minutes the lady was able to handle the issue and workwith me...that of which i am very grateful for...i understand my pay in it which is i could have been more diligent about not waiting till the last minute to make the payment but at thesame time i did make the payment and because you guys had an issue with western union combined with an associate that had no intentions of trying to help me because i don't kno...it was work?or because it would require him actuality doing something that obviously didn't wanna deal with...whatever the reason if i hadn't spoken to someone eles and just toke his word for it...that there was nothing he could do...my lights would have been cut off even though there was obviously a solution to the problem or the lady i spoke to last would not have been able to help me...do a better job of hiring and training people on what it means to be a Customer Service Agent because you have at least one person on your stag that i can verify does not belong in a position that requires helping people because he had no intentions of helping me resolve this issue...
My info is Christina Tritt Miller
183 Greyhound ct
Winston Salem NC 27101

Please do something about this so the next person that speaks to that man doesn't have to go through what i did

My bill averaged usually 565 kw monthly during the months my sister lived with me (she was with me almost a year)...when she moved, the KW usage dropped down to 264 KW, as I live alone dont cook a lot, heating/cooling system off at night, use of clothes washer 1 x a week, cook a pasta meal that lasts 3 days, to keep electric stove bill down, make sure lights not in use off, so Im very "save energy" concious. I declined installing the new meter as I have cancer but I couldnt find time to get a medical form filled out.

When Duke saw my energy usage had gone down to 264 month, the following month they raised my KW usage to 500 KW used which is an untruth on their part. Now the meter reader came today so I know how to read my meter now, but I resent having Duke Energy raise my usage to 500 for a month which increases my balance forward and though they just increased my monthly bill to 169.00 throwing that 500KW increases my balance foreward so next year they will probably charge me 200.00 a month. I DID NOT USE 500 KILOWATTS IN ONE MONTH, they just want to raise my bill again. Even the operator I spoke who went over my bill agreed something was wrong. I am at my wits end fighting this company. Have made numerous phone calls and just get the run around.

In August 2019 I reached out to Duke because Duke Energy closed my account and opened a new one because they claim someone moved and gave them my address. I received a new account number ([protected]). I continued to pay my bill. I paid $100 in September and I paid $140 in October. Then in November I received another letter telling me they closed the account. The funny thing about that, now you can't see my past payments - but my bank records show that I have made these payments. Yesterday, December 17, 2019, my apartment complex manager emailed my husband and myself and asked if we had been paying our bills. Of course we had. She told me that she called Duke and Duke informed them that I had not paid the bill since August and the account had been closed. Which was not the case, as BBB is aware because we have been dealing with this drama. So I called Duke, again, to get the apartment reinstated back to my name. They had to run another credit check due to their error. The customer service agent, Cindy, had the audacity to ask me if anyone had malicious intent against me. Are you kidding me? We are saying this on a recorded line? I became pithy and said "Only Duke Energy." I now have another account number with Duke Energy.

But after all of this, after all this drama, I was able to get some answers from my apartment complex.

In August, a new family moved into 8770 Maitland Summit Blvd Apt 2309. It was the same time that Duke changed my account number. Duke Energy made an error and closed my account, not because someone gave my address, but because they messed up. Then the apartment complex received a bill for 2309 and had the people call Duke to get the account put over to their name. In doing so, Duke messed up again and closed my account because their system had the two names under one account. Now Duke swears they did not do this, but I've worked with Duke for many years as a vendor and I'm well aware of their computer issues they have had.

So now, my complaint is that the first issue was never resolved. I never heard back from the Nina person who originally reached out to me. I have Duke threatening to charge me back to August when I have proof of payments. I feel like they are trying to cover their mistakes, but I have the emails from Duke with my bills and I also have my bank statements. This has become an absolute nightmare.

I've have the bill that was sent to my apartment complex. I've also have a screen shot of the last bill I received from Duke back in October saying my bill was #139.23. I paid $140 which can be proven with my bank statement. I don't know where Duke put my money but at this time they are being malicious. I can also show a copy of my November bill they mailed me telling me the account was closed, again.

Why are you charging fees that are not listed on bill. Are you "jacking" up the usage
Saw this on wlos tv trouble shooters Asheville N.C 12/10/2019
So very unethical
Sub- human Customer service very rude and obnoxious
Will some one please tell me how can Duke juice the meters to help the fortunate people to get energy
savings and the person paying for 1000 kilowatts will pay about 60.00 a year in juiced up charges
that don't appear on one's bill
Why is Duke allowed to do this

I live in a condo/apartment complex outside of Haines City, Fl 33844. We are always losing our power and then it takes hours to get it back. It just failed again; weather is fine, no storms, it's in the daytime, basically no real excuse for it to fail, as usual. Duke Energy must know by now why is it goes out so often but you don't do anything to fix it. Since you claim it only affects 42 customers I guess you figure is its not worth the trouble, which is probably also why your response is so slow.
Would you please explain why you're incapable of keeping our power on? I see on the internet you're planning on raising the rates again. How can you possibly justify that?! You claim you don't inconvenience your customers; how can you justify that comment when you inconvenience us on an almost regular basis?! I'm a retired cripple; when the power went out this time I was in my recliner, my ELECTRIC powered recliner. Do you have any idea of how difficult it is for a person who can barely walk with the aid of a walker, to climb out of a recliner that is in the reclined position? You're probably getting a good laugh out of that, right? Well, I certainly hope you get the opportunity to find out some day. You're are unbelievably horrible people and your service is the worst I've ever had to endure of any place I've ever lived.

I am writing to advise of legal actions, including a call to the ABC action news. This is the first step. On 09-03-2019 I disconnected my sprinkler system. I disconnected flood lights from around my home. I took out all the fluorescent lights in my kitchen and only use the chandelier. I don't use televisions in rooms and I have unplugged extra cords. This has been a diligent battle and there has not been a change in my electric bill. I have hired an electrician to check wiring everything is operating well. I'm at the point of moving out of this home.