OAK CREEK, Wis. — After living in her home for two years, a local woman got an energy bill for thousands, despite paying her bill monthly. We Energies said they made a mistake, but it wasn't the money owed. The I-Team found out energy companies across the state can back bill you even if they charged you incorrectly.
"I have a bill for $3,400," Jeanellyn Cincotta said.
Last month, Cincotta, an Oak Creek mother, received a postcard from We Energies.
"I got a correspondence saying that their records are stating that our property is vacant but they detect energy use and that I needed to call and set up services to avoid disruption," Cincotta explained.
"That's when I called them, and I said 'I don't know what this is, was it meant for us because we've been here for two years,' and they said 'yes you haven't been billed for electric services for the last two years'," she said.
Cincotta said she was in complete shock. She said when they moved into the home two years ago, she called We Energies to set up her energy account. She said she assumed both gas and electric would be set up during that phone call.
We went to We Energies to find out how this mistake happened.
"For whatever reason when this one was set up, it wasn't set up properly on our end, full stop," We Energies Communications Director, Brendan Conway, said.
Conway said this doesn't happen often, but in Cincotta's case, she hadn't been charged for electric services for nearly two years. Now, the company went back on meter readings and added up the cost of energy Cincotta used over the last two years.
"Can you explain to customers why they're responsible for that energy usage despite it being a We Energies mistake?" Consumer Investigative Reporter Jenna Rae asked.
"It's actually against the law. We can't favor anyone, and I think that's probably the reasoning behind it. If you use energy in this state, and in most states it's like this, you're required to pay for that," Conway responded.
State law states all services supplied by a public utility must be billed within two years of such service. Meaning We Energies is required to back bill customers for up to two years for all energy used.
"We are responsible for paying for that whatever service we use, and that's totally fine with me. It's the fact that they're dumping this bill and then not being able to give me certain proof about if it's truly ours," Cincotta said.
So how can you avoid this from happening? Check your bill every month, even if it's on auto-pay. Make sure you're being charged for the energy you're using. That means knowing if your house uses both gas and electric.
When you look at your bill, gas and electric should be broken down separately on your bill. If you have questions about reading your bill or if something seems off, check with We Energies right away.
If you do end up getting back billed, know that there are options.
"We will work with customers. It's not like they get a back bill and they're expected or required to pay that, you know, all up front or right away. We will work with customers on extended payment plans," Conway explained.
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