My boyfriend has great credit. He pays his bills on time. Two months ago, Xcel Energy slapped him with a $1250.00 bill. Though the electric bill is current to date, Xcel Energy cheerfully imformed us that the meter reader had forgotten to read our gas meter for since 2009. So they decided to add all gas charges from 2010 to present, admitting no mistake on their part. Including refusing to work with us in any way, like maybe knocking a few months off, so that they could receive payment from us.

There really is no "Cold Weather Rule" for the northern states anymore. I called Xcel at the start of the winter to inquire about a payment plan for this winter, to make sure I would be covered under the "Cold Weather Rule". I generally pay $100/mo for electricity all year round. They set the monthly payment for me at over $150, because as they said my electricity "might" go up this winter. How is that helping me out? How is that helping any low income customer out. I sent them a payment two weeks ago on schedule, and just got a notice in the mail today demanding another payment in 6 days. I thought it was supposed to be a MONTHLY payment! I'm a single parent with a toddler on a very fixed income. Now I have to make my landlord wait for rent just to pay Xcel, because they feel like breaking the terms of the payment plan we already had in place! I don't want to make my landlord wait for money, but I have to. It's still below zero up here nightly and sometimes during the day as well. If I don't pay them, we freeze. We have nowhere else to go, and I work from home. How is shutting us off going to get them their money any faster? They really can do whatever they want to people, and get away with it. There's nothing anyone can do. We have nothing and they have enough money to buy and sell every single one of us.

I AM A STUDENT AND AS I CALLED TO MAKE A PAYMENT ON MY 40.61 CURRENT ACCOUNT I WAS TOLD I OWED 366.65 . TURNS OUT THAT XCEL ENERGY TRANSFERED MY SISTER DELIQUENT ACCOUNT TO MY CURRENT ACCOUNT BECUASE IN THE SUMMER I MADE A PAYMENT FOR MY SISTER USING MY CHECKING ACCOUNT AND SINCE MY SISTER DOES NOT HAVE A ACTIVE XCEL ENERGY ACCOUNT THEY MATCHED MY CHECKING ACCOUNT FROM HER XCEL ENERGY ACCOUNT TO MY XCEL ENERGY ACCOUNT AND THEY NOW HOLD ME RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING THE FULL BALANCE. THEY SAID THE APARTMENT MANAGER CONFIRMED THAT I LIVED WITH MY SISTER, I CONTACTED THE MANGEMENT AND THEY SAID THEY MANAGEMENT DID NOT CONFIRM IN FACT THEY NOTED THAT I WAS NEVER ON THE LEASE AND SHE EVEN CONTACTED THEM BUT LADY NAME TONY AT 8066406893 SAID THAT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE. MY SISTER CALLED THEM TO MAKE ARRANGEMENT AND TAKE RESPONSIBLILTY FOR THE ACCOUNT AND TONY TOLD MY SISTER THAT SHE NEEDS TO MAKE PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS WITH ME AND THEY CAN'T TALK TO HER ABOUT MY ACCOUNT WHICH IS MY SISTER ACCOUNT. I HAVE NEVER SIGNED A LEASE WITH THE APARTMENT OR CONTRACT WITH EXCEL AT MY SISTERS ADRESS I JUST MADE A PAYMENT FOR HER ONCE TO HELP HER OUT. I WAS NEVER A PRIMARY OR SECONDARY OR THIRD PARTY ON MY SISTERS XCEL ENERGY ACCOUNT, TONY SAYS ITS A MN LAW CALLED BENIFITTING FROM SERVICE, BUT YET MY SISTER HAD A ROOMATE THAT LIVED WITH HER ON THE LEASE AND THEY SPLIT THE BILL AND WHEN I ASKED TONY ABOUT IT SHE SAYS "I WILL NOT GO THROUGH THIS WITH YOU AGAIN THIS BILL WILL STAY UNDER YOUR NAME" WHEN I HAD NO KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE BILL AND NOW I AM SHOWING DELIQUENT ON MY EXCEL ENERGY ACCOUNT WHEN I NEVER HAD A PAST DUE BALANCE UNDER MY NAME. I ASKED TONY TO PROVIDE ME DOCUMENTS SHOWING THAT I LIVED WITH HER AND SHE SAYS "THAT I HAVE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION SHOWING THAT DID NOT" WHICH I CAN'T CAUSE I WAS NOT UNDER ANY LEASE DURING THE SUMMER, I STAYED WITH MY DAD. I AM HEARTBROKEN ABOUT THIS OREDEAL, BUT I TOLD HER I WILL NEVER PAY ON THIS ACCOUNT. THE GOOD GIRL GETS PUNISHED FOR BEING RESPONSIBLE, REALLY THEY JUST SCREWED THEMSELVES OVER CUZ THEY AINT GETTING PENNY OUT OF ME. ANYWAYS...GOD BLESS ME AND HAVE MERCY ON THEM:)

My little family lives in a tiny one bedroom apartment above a garage, and we haven't used our furnace since Jan. '08, so the only gas being used in our house is our apartment size stove. And yet our bills were getting to be $119, for just gas! That doesn't include our electric! Our electric was at $251!! Mind you, our little apartment consists of 5 light switches for four rooms. We have one laptop which is only plugged in when it needs to be charged, which only takes an hour to full charge, two tvs and a small stereo. Can anyone explain how the hell our gas and electric can be that high when we have nothing!!!

I am one of the unfortunate millions that have become victimized by this huge monopoly called Xcel. These people are the absolute bottom of the barrel and the only game in town which is the attitude you encounter no matter who you have to talk to or how many times.

My ex left a huge past due amount when he ditched his family a few months ago. Even though I was never on the lease or the Xcel account, I am being harassed because I am the only one they can find. I was instructed by three different Xcel reps that all I needed to do was open an account in my name only, pay my bills on time, which I have, and they would pursue my ex for the past due amount. I did as I was told in opening a new account but Xcel has rolled my ex's past due - $500 + - into my account because he is nowhere to be found. Even though I have provided his new address and phone number, they continue to hound me. None of the other utilities my ex stiffed has done this - only Xcel. My guess is because I am paying for all the other ex's that ditch their families and all of the foreclosures that aren't paying their bills. Xcel is going after only those few they can actually find and harass. Where else are we going to go? It's not like we have a choice.

This isn't the first time Xcel has screwed with my billing and unless I can move, it probably won't be the last. Don't bother with filing a PUC complaint because they are a waste of time just like trying to find an intelligent person at Xcel is.