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Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas, Watchdog column
Oct 26, 2008 (Fort Worth Star-Telegram - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
In mid-July, Josh Crisp, a 20-year-old who bleeds red, white and blue, surprised his mother with the news that he had enlisted in the Army. "People need to stand up for the country," the North Richland Hills man explained.
With less than two weeks to prepare, he vacated his apartment and closed all but one of his accounts: his electricity provider, Ambit Energy of Dallas. That account, says his mother, Carolyn Harris, "is a beast of its own."
A few hours before his going-away party, Crisp and his mother called Ambit. Because Crisp is the account holder, he had to do the talking. He explained that he was leaving for basic training in a few days and wanted to end his service immediately.
Crisp also told the Ambit employee that he wanted his mother's name on the account so she could pay the final bills. The rep said he would take care of it.
So much for that. Crisp left for basic training.
A few days later, his mother said she had "a feeling" in her gut and called Ambit to verify. She was told there was no record of her son's original call.
The cancellation didn't go through and neither did the request to add her to the account. Because of that, the company wouldn't speak to her. Her son needed to call, she was told.
"He's in Fort Benning, Georgia," she told the company.
The next month, another bill for another month of service arrived.
She called Ambit again and was told to fax her son's deployment papers as proof. She did, then called to verify the fax was received. It was.
Another month, another bill. She called again. She learned there was no record of her fax. She was put on hold, then told that her son's deployment papers were not sufficient proof that he had joined the Army, she recalls. She threatened to hire a lawyer.
Ambit called back and was told her service would be terminated two months after her son's initial phone call for termination.
She wrote The Watchdog, saying, "It is wrong to disrespect or take advantage of an American soldier. Can you help?"
Ambit spokesman Nick LaVecchia promised to look into it. "Let me assure you that Ambit Energy does not 'disrespect or take advantage of' American soldiers," he wrote me.
Soldiers have complained about difficulties canceling or suspending services when they get deployed or transferred.
President Bush this month signed into law protections for soldiers canceling contracts with cellphone, satellite TV and cable companies.
A company can be fined up to $10,000 for each violation.
One of the original sponsors, U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa., the only Iraq war veteran in Congress, says he will fight for similar protections for contract holders with water, electricity and gas utilities, telephone and Internet service providers, and auto insurance companies.
Soldiers already have protection for credit card debt, mortgage payments, pending trials, taxes and some lease terminations in a law enacted several years ago.
Turns out that in Crisp's case, he didn't need protection from Congress and the president.
Texas law already requires that anyone who is moving away from their area of residence can cancel their electricity account without early termination fees.
The reason Crisp's account with Ambit got fouled up was that the original customer service rep who took the mother's and son's joint call never entered the information into Ambit's database.
Operations manager Jim McFelea said, "Had that agent done what he should have done, that cascading effect wouldn't have happened."
The agent was fired from the company for other reasons, McFelea said.
The Ambit manager explained: "I will admit that we did not handle that procedure as we should have. I'm not going to lie. No excuses. We get thousands of calls. This is unfortunately one that slipped through the cracks. We should have handled it differently."
At Fort Benning on a recent family day, the mother met her son, now Pvt. Crisp, and told him that Ambit promised to send a refund check for the period dating back to the day he tried to cancel his service.
"He was relieved and excited," she said.
A soldier has enough on his mind.
Aid for Texas veterans The Texas Veterans Commission offers help to military veterans, their families, and survivors with matters relating to benefits, education, employment and training: 800-252-VETS, www.tvc.state.tx.us
The Watchdog column appears Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Dave Lieber, 817-685-3830
To see more of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, or to subscribe to the newspaper,
go to http://www.star-telegram.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Fort Worth
Star-Telegram, Texas Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For
reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or
847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group
Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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