Mass. customers say National Grid didn't tell them about electric bill switch

National Grid is under fire again from Massachusetts customers over billing problems.Numerous gas and electric customers said the utility giant left them in the dark for months about a move from paper to electronic bills. Several said they only learned of the switch when a disconnection notice arrived in their mailbox in the last few weeks with a demand for hundreds of thousands of dollars.Now, state regulators said some of those customers may be owed money back from the company.This problem comes just weeks after National Grid failed to bill thousands of gas customers for the better part of the winter.In March, state regulators called National Grid’s billing problems “systemic” and “inexcusable.”Albert Mercado wasn’t surprised last month to see an envelope from National Grid in his pile of mail, assuming it was his usual gas bill. He was, however, shocked by the contents.”It was a final disconnection notice,” Mercado said. “Out of the blue. And I’m like, ‘What’s going on? What in galloping gale is this?‘ “At first, Mercado didn’t understand why he received the notice because he said he pays every National Grid bill he gets on time and even sends some extra during the warm months to get ahead of the winter heating season. He picked up the phone and called National Grid.That’s when he learned he was switched from paper to paperless bills, and he then realized he hadn’t seen a physical National Grid bill in months. He’s used to receiving his bills by mail and sending back a check.”They said that they transitioned to paperless,” Mercado said. “An email was sent, and I said, ‘An email? Why wasn’t it on the statement, or the notice or paper mailing?‘ “What’s worse, Mercado said the company was sending the bills to an outdated email address.”My first email account. Hotmail,” Mercado said.Mercado is not alone in his frustration. Matt Ricciuti just learned his bills stopped being mailed to his Weymouth home in January. He said he didn’t receive any notice of the switch until a disconnection notice was mailed out in late May with a demand he pay $800.”I got no notice of . I got no phone call. Nothing. It just stopped,” Ricciuti said. “I didn’t choose it, and I didn’t even have an option.”Ricciuti said he scoured his email but couldn’t find his bills, so he asked National Grid where they were being sent.”She said it was going to my original email that I had established back when MSN was just starting up,” Ricciuti said.Mercado and Ricciuti are among the 266,000 people National Grid said it moved to paperless billing since last August as part of a new campaign to switch customers away from mailed bills. The company automatically enrolled customers if it thought it had their email address. Numerous gas and electric customers say the switchover is happening without enough notice, and bills aren’t being sent to the correct email address.National Grid confirmed it only notified customers of the switch by sending an email. Nothing was printed on paper bills or sent by mail.The company said if an emailed bill bounced back, customers were automatically reenrolled in paper bills.”I think they should have notified people a lot better than they did,” Ricciuti said.”Your implementation sucks,” Mercado said. “Never got a call, text message, nothing. This just doesn’t make sense.”National Grid offers a secure and convenient paperless billing option that allows customers to access their bills and make payments easily from any device,” the company said in a statement. “We have made efforts to communicate with all customers enrolled in paperless billing over the last two years and will continue reaching out to those we have not reached using available contact information. Customers who prefer to receive printed bills can easily update their preferences by logging into their National Grid account via our website or mobile app, or by calling 1-800-233-5325 to speak with a Customer Service Specialist.”The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities said it’s received dozens of complaints about this from National Grid customers and confirmed that any customer who did not receive their bills is not responsible for charges older than 60 days.DPU said that applies to paperless bills that were sent to the wrong email address or those that were not sent to the customer of record listed on the bill. Customers who are eligible for this relief should first contact National Grid.If the company is not responsive to removing the charges, customers should file a complaint with DPU by calling 617-737-2836 or clicking here.