Woman gets $1,500 bill after MLGW skipped nine months of meter readings
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Weeks before the start of the holiday season, TaSheena Hall got a surprise bill in the mail.
“Do they think money grow on trees?” she asked. “I don’t know!”
Hall told FOX13 the electricity bill for her 800-square foot home is normally between $200 and $300. She was shocked to get a bill for $1,500 this month.
“I feel like wherever that $1,500 bill came from — they need to just put it back where it was at,” she laughed. “Don’t try and charge me!”
Then, Hall learned the reason why. According to a letter from MLGW, no one read her meter for the first nine months of the year. That means her bill was underestimated by $1,100 in that nine-month period.
”MLGW attempts to read all meters every month,” the letter read. “However, sometimes we are unable to meet this objective when conditions exist such as extreme weather, closed or locked gates, pets in yard, no visible access to the meters or staffing issues.”
When FOX13 visited Hall’s house, there were no fences, obstructions to the meter or animals in the area. There was a cloudy film that made the meter difficult to read.
“I’m like, okay, well, I can’t pay this, and I’m not going to pay this,” Hall said. “So let me get in touch with Kate!”
It’s not the first time a viewer has been confused why MLGW’s estimations.
Two months ago, Eric Sudberry contacted FOX13 after he repeatedly got $100 bills for a vacant rental property.
“I started to question, like, ‘Hey, nobody’s here,’” he explained. ‘ “Why is the utility usage still going up?’ Sudberry said.
After FOX13 got involved, MLGW told us they incorrectly estimated his bill and refunded him $379.
Hall questions why she has to pay the price for MLGW’s staffing issues.
“If it’s something that happened on y’all watch, then y’all need to be the one to fix it,” she explained.
MLGW sent this statement to FOX13:
“The customer did not contact us directly about this issue. Now that we are aware, we have reached out to the customer to find a solution. Please encourage your viewers to contact us directly when they have billing issues.”
Please include a copy of your bill and your phone number.
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