I called Hino Electric to connect power at a rental house that we own. I called them because I already had my utility billing through them for our residence. They e-mailed me a form that they required to be filled out before they could add the account.
I had questions about how to fill out the form because they have several fields that are difficult to determine what should be entered so I tried calling but it was right at 5 pm closing time for them so I did not reach anyone. I sent an e-mail about the first field that I had a question about.
I did not get a reply right away the next morning so I called in that afternoon to se if anyone could help me with the info needed on the form. I was very clear and mentioned more than once that I DID NOT need any kind of a priority connection. I told the girl that the house was vacant and I would not even be there for a week. I asked about the field for connection date and I was told to just enter the next days date. There was no mention anywhere on the form or over the phone about the length of time to enter for a normal non-priority connection.
A good company with a concern for customer service would have added a check box to their form to indicate that a priority connection is required. I definitely would not have checked that. It also should state the typical or normal time for a standard electric connection.
Unfortunately, I did not record the phone call (who has phone recording equipment in their home?) so the Texas Public Utility Commission quickly decided in Hino's favor and I got screwed out of an extra $20 or so for the priority connection that I did not even want.
On top of all of this, while I was on the phone with the girl from Hino I asked her if this new account would be combined with my current account and be automatically billed to my credit card(which they have on file) as it is with the current account. I was assured that it would with no problem.
I just recently found out about how wrong all of this went when I received a disconnect notice from Hino. The notice (which is the first contact I had from them about this) arrived by mail the day after their intended disconnect date. They apparently did not combine and pay my account automatically like they said they would. They also completely messed up my e-mail address which was printed on the form that I sent to them to start this whole mess. This may have been why I did not get anything from them. They also called me the day after the disconnect date on the day I received the notice to let me know about the past due. I paid it right away of course to avoid disconnection but then noticed the bill was much higher than expected.
I will most likely be filing a formal complaint with the Texas Public Utility Commision. If you choose to use Hino Electric be sure to get everything from them in writing and it would be best not to discuss anything over the phone with them at all unless you have recording capability. This is an exelent example of a total lack of experience and customer service.
Hino Electric Power Company Reviews
I called Hino Electric to connect power at a rental house that we own. I called them because I already had my utility billing through them for our residence. They e-mailed me a form that they required to be filled out before they could add the account.
I had questions about how to fill out the form because they have several fields that are difficult to determine what should be entered so I tried calling but it was right at 5 pm closing time for them so I did not reach anyone. I sent an e-mail about the first field that I had a question about.
I did not get a reply right away the next morning so I called in that afternoon to se if anyone could help me with the info needed on the form. I was very clear and mentioned more than once that I DID NOT need any kind of a priority connection. I told the girl that the house was vacant and I would not even be there for a week. I asked about the field for connection date and I was told to just enter the next days date. There was no mention anywhere on the form or over the phone about the length of time to enter for a normal non-priority connection.
A good company with a concern for customer service would have added a check box to their form to indicate that a priority connection is required. I definitely would not have checked that. It also should state the typical or normal time for a standard electric connection.
Unfortunately, I did not record the phone call (who has phone recording equipment in their home?) so the Texas Public Utility Commission quickly decided in Hino's favor and I got screwed out of an extra $20 or so for the priority connection that I did not even want.
On top of all of this, while I was on the phone with the girl from Hino I asked her if this new account would be combined with my current account and be automatically billed to my credit card(which they have on file) as it is with the current account. I was assured that it would with no problem.
I just recently found out about how wrong all of this went when I received a disconnect notice from Hino. The notice (which is the first contact I had from them about this) arrived by mail the day after their intended disconnect date. They apparently did not combine and pay my account automatically like they said they would. They also completely messed up my e-mail address which was printed on the form that I sent to them to start this whole mess. This may have been why I did not get anything from them. They also called me the day after the disconnect date on the day I received the notice to let me know about the past due. I paid it right away of course to avoid disconnection but then noticed the bill was much higher than expected.
I will most likely be filing a formal complaint with the Texas Public Utility Commision. If you choose to use Hino Electric be sure to get everything from them in writing and it would be best not to discuss anything over the phone with them at all unless you have recording capability. This is an exelent example of a total lack of experience and customer service.