I am very Shocked that Centerpoint Energy employs such individiuals, that lack human Morals!This individual threatened me in such a manner that i was afraid!If he has the athority to Help costomers, he indeed uses that athority to Scare them.His words to me were as follows(i will help you alright...)He went on to say that he can make sure my gas did not get turned on for a week!I unfortunately Lossed my mother this passed mon.and was having some difficulty.He only MOCKED my loss as well as went on to find humor in My loss.HOW can people of this nature hold a superviser position at such a respected Utility Company.The problem was fixed by a very compassionate person in the same Company.I just believe some people give companies a bad reputation.Centerpoint Energy needs to SCREEN thier employees BETTER.The person who Mocked my loss Does not need to hold the position he holds...because he may very well do this to someone else, That is what is scary!!Oh yeah he Also went on to apply all the fees he could!If i said something to anger him, he really went out of his way to Try and scare me..MY HOPES is that Centerpoint Energy Will Find a BETTER Employee!!Sincerly, Sonya

CenterPoint Energy has THE WORST Cusomter "Service" I have EVER experienced in my life! Plain and simple. Just read the other complaints here. They have a monopoly in some areas and do not care how the customer is treated. They will make you feel like and idiot and demean you every chance they get you on the phone. If they get tired of hearing your story, they will just put you on hold and never return to the line. They are combative and rude. I've never posted a complaint on any company in my life, so it has to be pretty bad for me to do this ...

June 7, 2010 5:32pm, Eden Prairie, MN
A man claiming to be with Centerpoint arrived at my door while my two girls were playing outside and I was making dinner. He was driving a blue mini-van that had no Centerpoint markings on it. His very dirty neon yellow vest had no identification on it. He did not offer to show any identification. The man asked for $200. He was very aggressive and abrasive. Threatened to call the police, in front of my two girls. Trespassed into my yard and scarred my children with his words and behaviors. He touched my physically while trying to get behind me with his wrench to shut off a valve. When I yelled at him to not get physical with me. He went and sat in his car, then left but continued to drive by our home for the next 15 minutes. My girls were scared of him coming back, they worried when they went to sleep he would come back. The next day I checked our bill online and it wasn't event due until June 14, 2010. Seven days before the due date this man arrives at my door demanding payment.

Details:
A blue unmarked mini van parked at the end of my drive. A grungy man with a grungy yellow vest walked up to my door, rang the doorbell not once but 3 times. It was a nice day so I just had the screen door open or I never would have answered the door. My two girls were outside playing as well. I walked to the door said, "Yes, may I help you?” The man asked for my husband by name. Never identified himself. I said, "He's not here at the moment, may I help you? Who are you?" The man said, "I am from Centerpoint and I need payment $200." I said, "So you come to peoples houses for $200?" "Yep", he said.
I replied, "My husband is on his way home, you'll have to wait for him 5-10 minutes." "You can't pay me the $200?" said the man. I said, "I'm not even sure who you are... we have not received any notification of disconnection. The man ripped open an envelope, handed me a small slip of paper and said you'll have to call that number. Proceeded to walk to the side of my house. I asked, "May I ask what you are doing?" He never replied. Walked to the other side of my house. I followed him and asked what he was doing. He did not answer. At this point I assumed he was looking for the gas valve and stood in front of it. Asked him again what he was doing. He said, "I'm turning off your gas." I said for what, $200?" "Yep", would you like me to call the cops?". I said, "Yes, call them please". He backed off and shook his head. I asked my 10 year old daughter to get me the phone so I could call my husband. The man said, "you go get the phone. Call him." I said, "So as soon as I step away you'll turn this (gas) off?" He said, "ya I will." My daughter brought me the phone, I tried my husband but could not reach him. I told the man again, "my husband is on his way home, you'll have to wait for him." He said, "I can't wait". He bent over put the wrench between my legs to try to get to the pipes. I moved my legs around as not to let him. He continued to try. I yelled at him, 'Sir, don't get physical with me." He stepped back a few steps, put his hands on his hips, and then walked to his van, sat in it for a few minutes. I assumed he was calling the police. He then pulled away. I sat shaking on my front steps. He was driving back and forth for about 15 minutes.

This email is expressing my disgust with the subpar service and unfair treatment I have received from center point regarding my natural gas service. Last month center point claimed my gas billed totaled 188.00. Because I have never had a gas bill larger than 40 dollars, I disputed the charge; even though the customer service representative did his best to try to reassure me center point was correct in the charges of 188.00. I also asked the representative if I needed to set up any payment arrangements anyway, because I did not want to have my service interrupted especially if this was no mistake on my part. I was told not to make a payment until I was contacted by center point. A month had gone by and I heard noting form center point until they came to my home to cut off my gas, in the middle of cold weather. When I spoke with customer service, I asked why I was not notified and she claimed there was a notice sent via U.S mail, which I never received, notifying me of an attempt to collect payment. She also claimed there was a call made and a message left, which I have not received. All in all, at the end of the day my service was interrupted because the 50 dollar payment I made (on my own not having received any communication from center point regarding my bill issues) was not enough. It was 38 dollars short of the adjusted bill from the month prior which came out to be 88 dollars instead of 188.00. At this point to restore my service it cost me the $38 dollars that was the remainder of the bill, $60 reconnect fee, and a $90 deposit. I asked if I could have the service restored the same day and I was told I could for a$50 fee. This was an upsetting situation on my part because the interruption of my service all came down to center point making a mistake by attempting to overcharge me on my bill, and then not notifying me of the corrections. Even though this was not my fault I attempted to rectify the issue by making the payments with no argument. I did not have the all the money to pay to have my service reconnected the same day, but as a loyal customer I asked a supervisor if I could just be billed for the charges because it was detrimental I had the service restored because I am alone with 2 small children. The representative was rude and simply told me no. When I asked if I could speak with someone else I was told no but he would have them call me. This all began on Thursday February 25 and today is February 28th and I have not heard from anyone regarding the issue and I and my two children are in a home with no heat, no hot water, and no way to cook. I know center point does not give a damn about me being a single mother trying to make it, but as a loyal customer I felt as though I was treated as if I were a customer who never pays their bill, and as if I were being unreasonable. I was willing to pay the ridiculous charges which were put on me by no fault of my own. This whole situation has come because I disputed the charges on a bill, which was determined to be WRONG. This seems as though it’s a plot to scam money from me, all because center point was not able to get me to agree with the bill they previously sent out. And even if I were late on the bill by my own fault…. $38??? Really??? Center point would not go into bankruptcy if I refused to pat this amount. Today we are home with no service and I intend on taking this complaint as far as it will go. I hope someone will contact me so I can have a chance to further explain and express my disgust with the lack of respect or customers and the attempt to scam money f room those who are considered “loyal” customers.

Having been employed in the Centerpoint offices for many years, I can tell you that everything we do here is perfectly legal. People call us fraudsters every day. We are accused of running rip-off schemes and even stealing/misplacing our own gas to artificially inflate retail prices. I can tell you with certainty that whatever level of illegal activity is happening here is not enough to warrant the upset I've seen on boards like these, especially considering that our activities (legal or not) are industry standard and are not attracting negative attention from FERC. You, the public, elected the folks who appointed the FERC officials, and thereby created the laws that govern companies like Centerpoint. If you don't like the fact that we are the only game in town for gas or residential electric maintenance or that we play for-profit hardball just like every other energy related company, then maybe you should have thought about that when you made your voting decisions a couple years back. If you are expecting great customer service or something, I'm sorry but that is a completely unreasonable request considering the lack of competition. Customer service improvements are expensive and will not affect our sales in the slightest and would therefore be silly to consider. Bottom line is just 'get over it'. Your complaints are not getting you anywhere, and in some cases could be construed as libel.