Enbridge has been pursing me for bill payment in bad faith, has made many billing mistakes, has caused me a great deal of anguish and stress and has displayed unprofessionalism and bullying tactics during this ordeal.
My dealings with Enbridge for the last 2 years
In 2008, I moved to an address in Markham, ON and opened my gas account. I set up pre-authorized payment through my bank and registered for their Budget Billing Payment.
On March 31, 2017, I moved out of this property, paid my outstanding gas bill, and closed my account.
During the time of closing my account, I checked my e-bills on line for the last year. There appeared to be something erroneous about said bills; the residence was totally unoccupied and the gas was almost never turned on yet, the bills did not reflect this reality.
On March 21, 2017, I called Enbridge about my concern but they replied that the reason for this was because I had agreed to Budget Billing Payment (BBP).
On April 1, 2017, I leased my property in Markham to tenants who opened their own account with Enbridge.
In August, 2017, I received a letter in the mail from Enbridge at my new address (in Mississauga) indicating that I had been paying bills on a gas meter that was not mine for many years and they were going to issue me a refund.
On October 2, 2017, I received a cheque for $6300 from Enbridge for reimbursement and 2 weeks later, deposited it into my bank account.
On January 18, 2018, I received an emailed bill for $69.69 on my closed account at my former address in Markham; I called Enbridge and they indicated that it was a mistake (Attachment 1).
On February 22, 2018, I received an email from Enbridge stating that I owed an adjustment of $747.11 (Attachment 2).
On February 23, 2018, I received another email of bills on my closed account with amount of $117 and $5905.23 on the same page (Attachment 3); I again called Enbridge and they indicated that they were going to investigate the matter and contact me accordingly.
On February 28, 2018, I called Enbridge again to ask about the confusing bills received on my closed account and advised that I could not see any details or break-down of charges, as the "View Bill" button was not functional but showed, "error on the page." I asked that they provide me with detailed information/clarification regarding the different bills received. Enbridge, however, was unable to explain the billing mistakes over the phone and said they would look into it and provide me "break-down sheets."
On May 01, 2018, I received a call from Enbridge saying that I had an outstanding bill of $5800 but explained to the caller that I was presently awaiting the "break-down sheets" they had promised before doing anything. Also, because of the different amount quoted as being owed and the on-going confusing billing problems, I requested to speak with a supervisor; I was advised that one would return my call but this, however, did not materialize.
On June 5, 2018, I received a bill of $5993 (again, a different amount).(Attachment 4) At the same time, I also started receiving Enbridge's Collection calls approximately 4 times per day.
On June 6, 2018, I discovered that the gas metre at my former Markham address was disconnected.
On June 7, 2018, I called Enbridge and requested to speak with a supervisor and was told that one would contact me between 4pm to 6pm that same day (call Reference number : [protected]). Unfortunately, no-one called back but I continued to receive Collection calls and emails.
On June 15, 2018, though out of town but still worried about the Collection issue, I called Enbridge long distance but was advised that no supervisor was available to talk.
In June, 2018, I emailed Enbridge 5 times to inquire about the confusing charges, Collection calls and disconnection of the gas line and requested that a supervisor contact me; however, not surprisingly, I did not receive any response from Enbridge. (Attachment 5- Collection Notice sent after gas disconnection; Attachment 6-my email response to another Collection Notice)
On June 18, 2018, I called Enbridge and requested to speak with a supervisor. I was provided a number to call - [protected]; [protected], Ext. 820933. I called the said number but no-one answered the call; I therefore left a message with my name, account number, phone number but again, never received a callback.
On June 21, 2018, I again called Enbridge requesting to speak with a supervisor and was transferred to Supervisor Hailey. She advised that my gas service would be reconnected that same day but did not mention anything about the outstanding charges in my account.; a new account ([protected]) was opened for me at 3 Eby Way and I was advised that billing would begin on June 22, 2018, with the charge(s) before that date being waived (Please refer to the phone recording on June 21, 2018 with Hailey).
On June 21, 2018, I checked online to confirm that the outstanding charge on my closed gas account [protected] 4) was indeed removed and found that the balance was "$0"; I assumed that Enbridge had solved the issue and kept its word.
In reconnecting the gas line, I discovered that Enbridge has made a mistake on the address. It had registered the address as 3 Eby Way, Unit 7, Markham, ON L3P 8A9 but my address is 3 Eby Way, Markham, ON L3P 8A9. That mistake resulted in the Enbridge technician going to my neighbor's address at 7 Eby Way, Markham. Thus, in addition to the cross-metre billing issue, Enbridge may have possibly billed me on the wrong address (when they shut the gas off, they made a mistake and went to a wrong address).
On July 16, 2018, my bank sent me an overdraft warning. Apparently, Enbridge had tried to take $6077.73 from my bank account by moving the outstanding charge from the closed gas account [protected] 4) at 3 Eby Way to my current gas account [protected] 3) at my Mississauga address. Because I had pre-authorized payment set up for my current gas account, Enbridge had attempted to take the money from my bank.
On July 17, 2018, I called Enbridge requesting to speak with a Billing Department Supervisor and spoke with Laura C. I voiced my concern about Enbridge trying to take money from my bank account without justification but was met with the perfunctory apology, "I'm sorry for what happened, but you did not pay your bills for 7 years!" I could not believe what she had said and advised her that I had been waiting for clarification/information for the billing mistakes and charges since February, 2018, after which, she agreed to send me the "bill"(Attachment 7).
On July 17, 2018, for the first time and after numerous requests since February, 2018, I received information regarding the charges. It was a "bill" from January, 2010 to March 2017 but contained numerous errors, one being the metre number on the bill was not even mine.
On July 18, 2018, I received a call from Fran of Enbridge's Customer Advocacy. She explained that Enbridge had refunded me $6300 but that I had only overpaid $793, therefore, I should return $5507. I requested that she send me an email about our discussion and she agreed (Please refer the phone record on July 18, 2018 with Fran).
On July 19, 2018, Fran e-mailed me, as per the above. However, the amount owed ($5624.76) quoted in the email was different from what she had stated on the phone ($5507) (Please refer her email and the phone record). (Attachment 8- Fran's email)
On July 24, 2018, I emailed Fran, asking her why the difference on the amounts between on the phone and in her email. Later, I found that my returning email could not be sent to her because she emailed me from "[protected]@enbridge.com". I was puzzled by why she did that. I had to search a valid email address of Customer Care to re-send her the email, addressing her attention on the subject line. But she did not respond to my email. (Attachment 8-returning email to Fran)
On August 24, 2018, I continued receiving Collection calls from Enbridge.
On August 27, 2018, I called Enbridge requesting to speak with a person in charge but was advised that my file was now moved to Enbridge's Ombudsman. I did not know about Enbridge's Ombudsman and was surprised that my file was not referred there much earlier during my 6-month dealing with them.
On September 05, 2018, after I had again received Collection calls, I contacted Enbridge but was told to contact its Ombudsman.
On September 05, September 12, and September 14, 2018, I emailed the Ombudsman but only received an automatic emailed response advising that I would be contacted "within the next 2 business days"; however, no-one ever contacted me for the next month.
On October 01, 2018, I continued receiving Enbridge's Collection calls (multiple times a day).
On October 02, 2018, I emailed the Ombudsman for the 4th time and asked about my file status, while also complaining about the constant Collection calls problem.
On October 09, 2018, I finally received a returning email from Ombudsman Riina Pearson, telling me she had been asked to review my account and would get back to me. During the 2 months of waiting, this Ombudsman had never called me or emailed me to clarify or confirm any information for what had happened.
On October 11, 2018, I received an email from Riina Pearson of the Ombudsman's office advising of a "resolution" and $2000 off the amount the bill she sent. Much of the email's information, however, was not factual or contained omissions. She had omitted the key fact that Enbridge had mailed me a letter in August, 2017 admitting the cross-metre mistake and issuing me a refund; instead, she indicated that the check was sent by mistake and I should not cash the check without contacting them. She also did not include my other 3 years of overpayment in her consideration. Moreover, the information attached in her email and used as proof was the same "bill" sent by Laura C on July 17, 2018, which I had emailed Enbridge about (before my file was with Ombudsman) pointing out the numerous errors it contained. (Attachment 9-Riina's email) (Attachment 7-bill; Attachment 10-Chart by Riina)
On October 24, 28, and 30, 2018, I emailed the Ombudsman's Riina Pearson to further discuss the matter. In my October 30, 2018 email, I detailed the errors in her email and suggested a way of calculation since the records/bill she had received from Billing Department appeared very unreliable/inaccurate. (Attachment 9- my returning email to Riina)
On December 11, 2018, without contacting me pursuant to my emails sent in October, Ms. Pearson emailed me back refusing my counter offer/suggestion and gave me 30 days to accept her offer (paying around $4000)...30 days to respond during the busy Christmas/New Year Season but 4 months for the Ombudsman to come to a "resolution" in the matter!
On January 10, 2019, I sent Ms.Pearson a detailed email explaining why I considered her offer unacceptable and offered to pay $2000 to have this protracted matter behind me.
On January 14, 2019, before I had received her response, I found out that I was put back to Collections and had to call and email them to advise that I was in the process of disputing the charge(s). I also emailed Riina requesting her to stop the Collections. Later that same day, I received an email from Riina advising that if I did not accept her offer I could complain to the Ontario Energy Board. I therefore advised her by email that I would be filing a complaint with the Ontario Energy Board. (Attachment 11- Collection Notice)
On January 14, 2019, I filed a complaint with the Ontario Energy Board (file # [protected]).
On January 15, 2019, I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (case # 1387329).
On January 23, 2019, Enbridge responded to the Better Business Bureau but again, its response contained many inaccuracies and omissions, even though I had previously emailed its Ombudsman, Riina Pearson, with clarifying information over the last 4 months. (Attachment 12)
On January 31, 2019, the Ontario Energy Board emailed me asking if Enbridge had contacted me in trying to resolve the issue. I emailed the Board on January 31, and again on February 04, 2019, to advise that Enbridge had not contacted me.
On February 04, 2019, the Ontario Energy Board informed me by email that they were escalating my file to an OEB analyst.
On February 05, 2019, I continued receiving Collection calls from Enbridge. On the same day, my son told me that he had also received Collection calls from Enbridge. I found this totally unacceptable, as my son is not an account holder and has nothing to do with the matter.
On February 05, 2019, the Ontario Energy Board advised me that they would be sending questions to Enbridge on my behalf since I had not heard from them (Enbridge).
On February 19, 2019, despite my email to the Ombudsman's Riina Pearson to stop the Collections and Enbridge being aware of me filing a complaint with the Ontario Energy Board, I still continued to receive Collection calls and emails.
On February 19, 2019, Melissa of the Ontario Energy Board called me to confirm information received from Enbridge. When I mentioned my overpayment over the years and the fact those numbers did not add up, she was surprised, as Enbridge had not mentioned anything about my overpayment. She then paused my call and called Enbridge to confirm my overpayment. Melissa then resumed our call and advised that Enbridge had admitted the overpayment but had indicated that the amount was only $300. I told Melissa that Enbridge had supplied me many different numbers during the year and that the charges on the bills had been very confusing and inconsistent. She asked that the information/emails be forwarded to her and I complied.
On February 19, 2019, I contacted The Star's journalist, Ms. Ellen Roseman, who has helped customers dealing with Enbridge's billing mistakes and mistreatments. (Attachment 13 & 14) She contacted Enbridge on my behalf. Enbridge's spokesperson Tanya Bruckmueller returned Ms. Roseman's email and provided a story again filled with inaccuracies, this time indicating that my overpayment over the past 10 years was $400 - another new number (Please refer in her email to Ms. Roseman - Attachment 15).
On February 20, 2019, I filed a complaint on https://enbridge.alertline.com in relation to Enbridge's shocking billing problems, inconsistent statements, mistreatment of their customers and unprofessionalism.
On February 22, 2019, I received a phone message from Enbridge's Ombudsman, Eileen Campbell, addressing my complaint filed with Global Compliance (https://enbridge.alertline.com). I called her back and she agreed to send me some proof and have more discussion with me the following week.
On March 02, 2019, I received a statement from Ms. Campbell. However, the break-down of charges and metre readings in her statement are different from that in the the "bill" and Chart sent by the previous Ombudsman, Riina Pearson; also, the information in the 2 statements conflict with the email sent by Enbridge on February 22, 2018. (Attachment 16-Statement)
On March 04, 2019, I returned Ms. Campbell's email pointing out that, if Enbridge had had an existing and accurate record of bills/charges over the years, how could the break-down charges in the 2 statements from the 2 Ombudsmen be different. Also, the 2 Ombudsmen both relied on information provided by the Billing Department, which was the cause of the whole madness in the first place; the information from the Billing Department was not reliable and should not be used as proof. I emailed her stating that, after over a year, since Enbridge still cannot provide convincing/accurate information to correct their refund mistake, the imposed charge on my account to recoup the refund money should be removed, especially given all the circumstances that have transpired over said year. Ms. Campbell contacted me by phone, at which time we had a disagreement about the accuracy of the statement. I suggested to her that the charge added to my account was not justified and putting me into Collection was not legitimate. She then advised that she was going to accept the previous offer I had given to Ombudsman Riina Pearson in October, 2018. I advised her that the offer was no longer valid given that it was now another 4+ months' of suffering/harassment endured, time and resources wasted and Enbridge displaying a complete lack of honesty, integrity and professionalism in its dealings with others. I nevertheless, requested that she send me an email with her/Enbridge's position, which she agreed to do but to date, has not done.
The Star's journalist, Ms. Roseman suggested that I seek legal advice.
In addition, based on my phone conversation with Melissa of the Ontario Energy Board, I have learned that, according to the rules/regulations of the Ontario Energy Board, billing error adjustments can only go back to 2 years, which means that the billing error period can only be retroactive to March of 2017. In this case, I believe Enbridge is therefore not entitled to recoup billing charges from 2010 to March 2017, not to mention the fact that I have never even owed them unpaid gas bills in the first place.
Another troubling fact is that the owner of 5 Eby Way (the other party enduring Enbridge's cross-metre mistakes) has confirmed with me that Enbridge had been recouping a considerable amount of money from him by adding extra charges every month to his gas account...he is not sure of the exact amount, as the adjustments are on-going.
Most importantly, even though I have been most patient throughout this whole ordeal with Enbridge, they have never apologized for their constant mistakes and for what they have done to me/put me through. Instead of accepting responsibility for their mistakes, they have blamed and harassed me and displayed an utter lack of integrity, honesty and professionalism. Their statements that I "did not pay my gas bills for 7 years" and that I had "received a check by mistake and did not want to give anything back" are completely unfounded and have served to create much misunderstanding about me and my situation when provided to such agencies as The Ontario Energy Board, the Better Business Bureau etc. It has truly been a most stressful and upsetting ordeal!.
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