Entergy customer has over $1,000 in due bills

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - A Lake Charles Entergy customer is having to pay more than $1,000 on his bill for a mistake he said Entergy made.

Entergy customer Brandon Maxile’s balance due is over $1,000. He called Entergy to see what was going on.

“$700.00, $766 to be exact, and my normal bills have been around $100 or $120, so that was the first time we kind of raised concerns,” Maxile said.

He said they told him part of it was from previous bills not paid in full, but the majority of the costs are due to incorrect meter readings.

“So they told me from the months of November to March, they were undercharging me. They told me that the meters was reading wrong and they were charging me. So my bill in April was an accumulation of all those charges hitting at once,” Maxile said.

Entergy representative Margaret Harris said they do not want bills to be an economic hardship for anyone.

“We offer customers a number of bill payment assistance plans, including deferred payment arrangements for up to 12 months and payment extensions with waived late fees. customers can visit entergy.com/mypaymentoptions to find an option that best fits a customer’s needs,” Harris said. “Entergy has made several flexible payment options available to help those facing economic hardships. Payment options often apply should we need to rebill an account due to an incorrect customer bill. Additionally, we partner with many agencies across the state to help qualifying individuals receive payment assistance.”

Maxile is on one of those payment plans now, but said he’s still concerned about shelling out the extra cash -- an unexpected expense, he thinks, Entergy should take care of.

“It’s an inconvenience to us because of their mistake. If there’s something wrong with their meters or something wrong with their equipment, why is the customer getting the bill for that?,” Maxile said.

Maxile said he is hopeful to get this problem fixed, especially as he braces for increased bills this summer.

“We’re going into the summer months around here. Usually, summer bills are pretty high, anywhere from 2 or $300.00, So you had that. on top of another $200 for the next four or five months I’ll be paying a $400 light bill,” Maxile said.

Harris said Entergy partners with agencies across the state to help qualifying individuals receive payment assistance.

Entergy customers looking for more information on offered payment options can click here.

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