Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Greer CPW's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Greer CPW

  301 Mccall St Greer, SC 29650-2024

• 

  Greer CPW

  PO Box 216 Greer, SC 29652-0216

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/02/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have filed 3 disconnect requests over multiple years with Greer CPW. Each time I have called and spoken to a representative who has assured me the account has been closed. Yet today, we received another notice that we are going to be sent to collections or have the money for charges we did NOT incur be garnished from our future tax returns.
  
  Please help me. I have been trying now to disconnect our account and have the charges removed since March 2023.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/02/2024

  Hi BBB, as response was actually sent to ****** a few times prior to recieving this complaint. I emailed ****** * ************************** on 10/1/24 around 11:32PM with the following message: "Hi ******,
  My apologies for the late response as I received your email after business hours. I wanted to let you know that I will look into your concern tomorrow as well as investigate the issue at hand. I will give you a call by close of business.
  Thank you for your patience & have a great night!" I then emailed ****** on 10/2/24 around 8:31AM with the following message: "RE: *** **** ***** *** Woodruff, SC 29388 Hi ******, If you would give me a call at your earliest convenience to discuss your account that would be great. I attempted to contact you by phone at ************, but I was unable to reach you. The phone does ring once then there is a busy signal which unfortunately prevents me from leaving a voicemail. I can be reached at ************ ext *** Thank you" ******'s account was notated in the event she returned my call-a rep would know to transfer the call directly to me. I also gave ****** my direct ext. I then emailed ****** a 3rd time via our deskpro system where she orignally sumbitted her request that is process via one of our CSRs. The message stated: "Hi ******,I emailed you last night and this morning. The email will come directly from me.Thank you! Queena C Customer Service Supervisor ************ ext ***" We have an Andrew ***** whom submitted a disconnect ticket at a disconnect date of 10/4/23. Please see the supporting document attached. ****** was not billed past the requested date. The last payment that was made on the account was in the amount of $10.00 on 7/20/23 which was for the bill date 6/26/23 serviced from 5/25/23-6/26/23. ****** has a bill date 7/25/23 @$10.00, 8/23/23 @$10.00 9/27/23 @$10.50 which includes a $.50 late fee. The final bill was mailed on 10/16/23 @$5.25 which includes a late fee of .25 TOTAL: $35.75 I have also attached supporting bill documents/invoices as well. Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/09/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This company is charging outrageous fees. In June they started charging a reconnect fee of 75.00 to any bill that isn't paid before the 10 day grace period. My issue is that they started this new charge and did not inform the customers until after. They stated they put it online. I don't look online because I receive a paper bill. The reconnect fee is charged even if they are reconnecting the service. On top of 75.00 they still charge a late fee. I was told that for the month of July I was suppose to be charged a fee of 75.00 and they forgot to charge it so they charged me twice for August. I think it's ridiculous.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/13/2024

  Hi BBB, We recently had a fee increase from $50.00 to $75.00 on June 1st 2024. The information was posted on 4/24/24. You may follow the link here for more information. ********************************************************************************************* We do not charge $50.00 along with the $75.00. In the past, when customers would hit the cut off list for non-payment, we would simply bill the fee on the backend. We now, charge the fee on the front end. This customer has unfortunately hit the cut off list 5 times in the last 7 months. We allow 10 days after the due date before the $75.00 fee is assessed and we cut. It does look as if in June this was done on the 10th day. We changed the process to 11 days to ensure the customer recieves the full 10 day grace period and we now have a process in place to ensure that this does not happen again. The customer's account is due on the 25th of each month. She recieved a $75.00 fee on 6/5/24 and made a payment on 6/7/24. She recieved a $75.00 fee on 7/8/24 and made a payment on 7/8/24. She also recieved a $75.00 fee on 8/5/24 and made a payment on 8/6/24. After reviewing the account, the fees are valid and the customer as given the full 10 day grace period prior to any fees being charged. I am also showing that one of our CSRs did explain this to the customer on 8/8/24 as well. If the customer should need more time to pay, we will be happy to set the account up on a payment arrangement or place an extension on the account. Thank you and have a great day!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/14/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. 

  so we have to look on the website for changes beong made? No letter is sent? The only time i go online is tonpay my bill. What about the elderly customers who don't use web? I think this could have been communicated a better way.  How can a customer be charged a non payment fee twice on 1 bill? Ridiculous. When I called in the past I was told u no longer do extensions you only allow the 10 days. 

  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ******* ****

  Business Response

  Date: 08/14/2024

  Hi, The account holder Mr. ********* **** contacted our office on 8/14/24 and requested to speak with a supervisor. The rep did advise that I would be in contact with him within 24-48 hrs. I did leave a message for Mr. **** today 8/15/24 to discuss this matter further, but I have not heard anythingat this moment. I have passed the suggestion over to upper management in regards to the relaying of updates regarding any customer accounts. Also, the fee is only charged when the customer hits the cut off list as it always has in the past. The customer's account is due on the 25th of each month. She recieved a $75.00 fee on 6/5/24 and made a payment on 6/7/24. She recieved a $75.00 fee on 7/8/24 and made a payment on 7/8/24. She also recieved a $75.00 fee on 8/5/24 and made a payment on 8/6/24. We also do allow one courtesy extension per year, payment arrangments, as well as offer information to our local agencies for assistance. Again, if there is any issue making a payment, feel free to contact one of our reps and we will be happy to assist. Please keep in mind that we do allow a 10 day grace period. If the payment has not been made within the 10 day grace period, the account is subject to disconnection as well as charged the $75.00 non payment fee. Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/03/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  They were rude every time I called and even became argumentative when I told them the house I wanted service at needed water and power. My address is an Avenue and a zip code ending in 0. They put a water bill in my name for a zip code ending in 1 on a Drive named road. Between me, the rental company, and the property owner, we have all called and spoken to them NUMEROUS times as well as sending in official signed leasing paperwork saying the proper address yet they still managed to screw up this badly. It is impossible to get in contact with them in order to fix this issue because every time you call they just want to argue with you about how you’re wrong about YOUR OWN ADDRESS!

  Business Response

  Date: 07/03/2024

  Hi, I have reviewed all calls made between **** and the customer service reps. Although I am very disappointed in the number of times that **** had to call into our office; at no point was any CSR rude to him. Each call was very pleasant, professional & ended well. **** was inadvertently moved into the incorrect address by one of our CSRs in error. He was moved into *** **** ***** ****** ** ***** instead of *** **** *** ****** ** *****. The correction was made when **** called into our office.The issue was resolved prior to **** submitting a complaint on our website, google, and the BBB. The error did not cause any interuption in service and **** will only be billed from the date that the services started in his name, which is today 7/3/24. I have also waived the $60.00 connection fee due to the circumstances at hand. I sincerely do apologize for the inconvience that this may have caused ****. We are happy to have him on board and provide his electric and water/sewer services. BBB, as always; thank you for reaching out. Queena C, Customer Service Supervisor 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/25/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My father, an 85 year old male, thought he had his power bill set up on autodraft and was unaware that he missed his bill. The power is in my name and I was never notified of the missed bill. Today, after 3 o'clock, my father's power was shut off. As soon as my father told me, I immediately got online, paid the bill, and called to get my father's power turned back on. The whole process took less than 30 minutes. I was told that, because it was after 3, the power would not be turned on until the next day. I explained that my 85 year old father could not be without power overnight due to health concerns and that, had I known before 3 o'clock that there was a problem, it would have been resolved earlier. The person I spoke with was very rude, disrespectful and unhelpful. She cut me off several times midsentence and was completely unconcerned with the health and wellbeing of a senior citizen. I asked to speak with a supervisor and was told that she was the supervisor. I asked if there was anyone else I could speak with to get the problem resolved and was told no. The supervisor then said goodbye and hung up the phone. It is really unfortunate that I am unable to choose another company to supply power to my father's house. If I had any other option I would not give this company another dime. When I lived in this residence I used to donate money to Greer Relief through CPW and now I am concerned about where my money went due to the supervisors obvious lack of "concern about our elderly, disabled, or severely dependent customers where the loss of service could cause a potentially life-threatening situation".

  Business Response

  Date: 04/25/2024

  Hi, I attempted to reach out to ****** at the number provided to our CSR this morning. The number was ************. I did leave a verbal message with her husband (didnt catch his name) whom stated that he would relay the message to ****** to give me a call back. I have yet to hear back. Upon my investigation in this matter, it looks as if the customer made a payment right before closing at 4:52 PM. Same day reconnect payments must be made by 3pm. She also advised our after hour rep/superviosr that we disconnected the services at 3pm. We disconnected the services at 10:29am. We also reached out to the cusotmer via email and advised that the account was past due. All emails were delivered and opened by the customer. I have attached (3) documents to support each statement. I also reviewed both calls that were made to our after hour call center and at no point did the rep hang up on the customer. The connection was very bad from the beginning to the end of the call, but all and all the rep did assist with questions in regards to the account & ended the call with a closing statement. I do understand that these circumstances can be difficult as we, at Greer Commission of Public Works, strive to provide the best customer service and assist our customers. Unfortunately, there are some instances that if a customer's bill is not paid by the due date or before the cut off date, it can result in disconnection of services. I do feel as though since the notification email was opened, that if the customer had any issues paying the bill, he or she could have given us a call and we could have discussed other options to prevent disconnection. The customer's service was restored earlier this morning. BBB, thank you for reaching out to us with the customer's concern. Please let me know if there is anything else that I can assist with. Queena C****** Customer Service Supervisor 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/27/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Upon relocating to the area, I found my new home had a gas fireplace but few other amenities. Surprisingly, the gas supply was already active, bypassing setup hassles. However, my first bill included a questionable $30 "turn-on fee" for mere registration, which felt unjust.
  
  Seeking more clarity on the high bill, I discovered in addition to the turn-on fee there was a mandatory base fee, unrelated to gas usage, an unfair practice. What alarmed me most was the gas provider's monopoly in the area. They dictated prices without competition, charging us at will, even if we didn't use their service, an unjust situation.
  
  Monopolies like this are supposed to be illegal in the US. Yet, when I raised concerns, I faced unhelpful customer service—being left on hold or disconnected. Eventually, a manager confirmed their monopoly, giving us no choice but to accept their fees or forego natural gas.
  
  What's troubling is that this company operates as a non-profit while engaging in questionable practices and benefiting from tax advantages. Requesting access to recorded calls was met with evasion, fueling my concerns about transparency.
  
  In summary, this situation underscores the need for regulation in monopolistic areas. Presently, a single entity can dictate terms without competition, falling short of fairness and justice.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/27/2023

  In reference to complaint ID ********.   

  The "turn on" fee indicated by this customer is an industry standard for account creation and set up.  Any customer coming into the GCPW service territory will pay this same amount.  It is also industry standard to have a base charge to cover the true fixed costs needed to service our customers.  Both of these two charge mechanisms are utilized by "regulated" and "non-regulated" utilities via rate tariffs throughout the region and state.

  Gas has been selected by builders and developers in our region as a less expensive, more energy efficient and reliable way to heat.  The builder/developer of this customers home chose to bring gas service and also utilize GCPW (instead of other gas providers in the area) to provide that gas service to the community in which he resides.  This was a choice and not a requirement to build or construct a new home in this area.

  GCPW is a municipal corporation.  We are overseen by a 3 panel elected body that manages the utilities policies, procedures and has final approval of rate setting authority.  GCPW is very competitive with it's rates in all four utilities we provide and typically are less expensive than neighboring "investor owned", "non-profit" and other municipal utility entities.

  Thank you for your time.

   

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/28/2023

  
  
  
  
  Better Business Bureau,
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 

  I still feel they are just going around my concerns, saying they do so we do it doesnt make a good point as to if it is a fair or not. Also no matter how they cut the pie it is a monopoly how it is set up. Lastly forcing people to pay despite if they use services or not is not how utility works. But I know they will not change anything due to me standing up against them so I can just close this case. 
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ***** ***** 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/28/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Monday 8-21-23 12:55pm
  Son was outside throwing freebie 2 males walked down the driveway into the back yard. Told son they were with CPW. They might have been wearing upa logos. But I do remember they had dark colors on and hats. “Can I help you” ******* said. They said there was electrical problem and walked to the power box. ******* was scared and thought they were criminals and that they were lying. He quickly came in and told me. I asked what they were doing and they told me they had a work order to disconnect. I said you have the wrong house. He looked on his **** and told me my address. In my mind I knew he could’ve gotten my address from anywhere and that still didn’t mean that they were with CPW. I didn’t believe at all that they were telling the truth.
  one had a ball cap on
  Never been late in 17 years as a customer with CPW. Been on auto-bill pay for 14 years! Still on auto-bill pay but the new system that they moved me to failed to withdrawal from my bank. I was 10 days late No calls, no written notice, no email, no text! No warning!
  1:27pm bill paid through drive-through window. She couldn’t hear me very well. There was a cord sticking out of the drive up box. She kept asking me to repeat myself and I was being pretty loud already.
  BILL was 393.98!A bunch of FEES added to my bill!
  Julys bill $113
  2:09 Worried about refrigerator and the food inside. Freezer in the garage full of meat!Worried clothes for volley ball game won’t be dry in time. ******* is worried about me being so upset. No computer, can’t do homework (homeschooled). Brenston is hungry, can’t cook. Have to be at work at 2:30
  2:16 Queena called me and I recorded it. They are sending the investigation to the IT guy to see what happened with my account, particularly and why I didn’t get notified.
  3:13 pm power on
  4:30pm same truck spotted at my neighbors house! They shut their power off as well. They are an elderly couple. His wife is in remission from cancer
  8-25-23 radio silence from IT guy

  Business Response

  Date: 08/28/2023

  Mrs. ******, 

  Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us and the BBB about your recent utility issue. As you may know, we are updating our Customer Service Portal to *****.  We have been promoting this transition on social media, our website at **************** as well as The Greer Citizen newspaper over the last few months. We have also placed phone calls and mailed letters to customers. During our merge to *****, your account did not transfer your autodraft information which put you inadvertently on the disconnect list. Since you do not have a current phone number or email on file with us, we were unable to notify you of the pending disconnection. It's my understanding that we did not charge you the $50.00 reconnect fee due to our error and your longevity of the account. We want to encourage you to maintain updated phone numbers and an email with us in the future.  These methods are used when we call customers for late payments, planned electrical outages or boil water advisories.  If you have any further questions about your account, please do not hesitate to call us during normal business hours at ************. 

  - Alison R****, Greer CPW Public Information Coordinator