Customer turns up the heat on Enbridge
Utility’s ombudsman’s office credits her $804.62 wrongly charged to her account
Sophia Nestor pays $45 a month for natural gas at her Toronto home. She arranged to have the payments taken directly from her bank account by Enbridge Gas.
But Nestor got a bill this past September showing that $804.62 in “other charges” had been paid to Enbridge.
The extra amount was for gas used at a commercial unit owned by her husband, Miro, Enbridge said. But her husband had sold the unit on Aug. 1, 2012, and she had the documents to prove it.
Nestor asked for help in reversing the withdrawal, saying Enbridge employees had treated her rudely.
When I get a complaint, I send it to the Enbridge Ombudsman’s Office. You can reach the office by email at ombudsman@enbridge.com or leave a recorded message at 1-866-817-6836.
The ombudsman’s office has been around for more than a decade, but it’s not well known. If you go to the Contact Us page at EnbridgeGas.com, you won’t find any information about it.
Two hours after I sent Nestor’s email with a copy of the property’s sale, she got a call saying the $804.62 would be credited to her bank account within a few days.
“I did not know that Enbridge has an ombudsman’s office and no one from Enbridge mentioned that when I was inquiring,” she said.
“As appreciative as I am for a resolution, it is still disappointing that ordinary people like me require your services to get Enbridge’s attention.
“I sent Enbridge all the relevant information, faxed at their request, over a week ago and heard no response. Frustrated, I reached out to you for help and I am grateful for your intervention.”
Although Nestor’s husband had sold the commercial unit to his partner in 2012, and it had again been sold, gas bills were not being paid after the last tenant moved out.
Enbridge was not notified of the
property’s sale, so the information remained on record when the tenant closed the account, said company spokesperson Tanya Bruckmueller.
When the bill with the $804.62 balance wasn’t paid, it was transferred to the Nestors’ gas account at their home address (which was under Miro’s name, though the money came out of Sophia’s account).
“While we try our best, this is one where we didn’t get it right,” Bruckmueller said. “As always, customers should contact us if there are any questions about charges on the bill, and we’ll make every effort to help and explain what they are for.”
It’s important to notify your gas and electricity suppliers when you sell a property.
Another reader asked for help when her lottery prize never arrived.
Lucy Fornasiero bought five tickets for the last Heart & Stroke Lottery.
“I’ve bought hundreds of dollars’ worth of tickets through the years and I’ve never won anything,” she said. “This time, I won a $30 gift card from the Bay.”
The draw was on March 1. She still hadn’t received the gift card when she contacted me in October, despite her attempts to track it down through Heart & Stroke and the Better Business Bureau.
While it might seem like a minor matter, she said apologetically, it was a point of principle for her. How could a recognized charity take her money and not deliver her lottery prize?
Teresa Roncon, a spokesperson for Heart & Stroke, replied right away when I sent Fornasiero’s email.
“It seems strange to me,” she said. “We have a very efficient and experienced lottery team. Mistakes are made, but we are always willing to be accountable for them. I’ll get to the bottom of it and let you know what happened.”
The gift card was sent by mail on March 17, Roncon explained after reviewing the case. But it never arrived.
When Fornasiero asked about the missing prize, Heart & Stroke had to make sure the gift card had not been used. It had not. But by that time, the HBC gift cards had all been sent to other winners.
When offered a $50 gift card from a home renovation retailer, Fornasiero said no. She preferred HBC.
“The case went cold,” Roncon said. “It fell through the cracks. We’re very sorry this happened to Lucy.”
As compensation for her time and trouble, Roncon sent her $60 in HBC gift cards by courier.
“You were able to do what I could not rectify in six months,” the happy recipient said.
This shows the need to keep going — and not give up the fight — when asking large organizations to fix their mistakes. Find ways to move your complaint to a higher level.