Atmos Energy

They just up and disconnected us in the middle of winter in freezing weather when gas is our only source of heat. Customer service didn’t care. We never received a single bill or notice from them. Completely unreliable. They admitted that this was regular practice to disconnect service with no notice.

My 1st experience w/ Atmos Energy was beyond disappointing. For starters, the CSR didn't even know what the rates are. All she could tell me was that it was per 100 cubic feet. That doesn't tell me anything. When I pressed her to find out what the rates were, she kept saying that what she told me was it - per 100 cubic feet. She then took several minutes to look and tried to direct me to their website to find the info myself. I then asked for her manager and she couldn't figure out how to transfer me to him/her such that she could make the introduction. She then told me that they had just gotten a new phone system and said that some features weren't working just yet and that she wasn't trying to hang up on me. When she tried to make the transfer, guess what? We got disconnected - imagine that. What a great and wonderful 1st experience. Once again, I'm having to lower my expectations on some of the most simple things in life. It's just another classic example at Atmos Energy of the numbing out and dumbing down of Americans.

They have kind customer service and try to work with you if you get behind.

So far so good, but all I did was set up services. Very nice and pleasant experience. Hope the next 20 years will be also.

I currently live in Columbus, GA, and I rented a 3-bed/1-ba house (approximately 1100-1200 sq ft) with central heat & air (though neither the heat nor the air make it to the two last bedrooms at the end of the hall). My stove is electric, and my water heater is a gas water heater and is nothing special as far as energy/gas conservation. So I would list my rental home as a "typical" setting.



I have lived there since August of 2012, and it is now April 2013. Here are the pros and cons:



Pros:

- They bill you only for what you use (there is an addendum to this in the cons).

- They have natural gas.

- Set up was easy, but it took a little while.





Cons:

- They bill you for what you use, but the RATE at which they bill you depends on the average of your STATE. So it could be freezing in Atlanta and sunny in Columbus (2 hours away), and you're paying the rate for Atlanta's high usage. See below.

- From an actual email from Atmos: "As we advised in our reply when you first started service online, the service charge of $20 is a one time non-refundable charge that is billed on your first bill (This is true, and I agreed to this charge). Also, you will be billed a base rate each month regardless of your gas consumption (Base rate even if I don't use any gas?? I didn't agree with this.). Your gas charges consist of your base rate, which is a fixed amount each month and is not affected by the amount of gas you use. This charge covers the cost of operating and maintaining our natural gas facilities and customer account records. Your bill also includes a Cast Iron Replacement Charge, which is a Monthly customer charge approved by the Georgia PSC on 10-01-2008 to cover a portion of the cost of pipe replacement (I am paying for a pipe replacement program that happened years ago. Hasn't this already been paid for by now?? I think this is an unfair charge, yet there it is). The bill also includes your city and state taxes, and a franchise fee for the city of Columbus, a fee that is paid to the city for the use of alleys, streets and rights-of-ways for gas lines to provide your service. It is based on the dollar amount of each customer’s bill and is remitted to the appropriate town, city, or municipal governmental entity. Atmos does not make a profit from this fee and it is a pass-through cost (I understand taxes and fees even though I don't agree with them, but the other stuff, NO!).

- The meters are not kept clean so it makes it hard to read.

- The meters are not digital.

- The people who read the meters will make mistakes, and then you're responsible for the bill. I had my January bill spiked WAYYY up ($80 more than the $45 I was usually paying) and they said that it was such a high bill because there was a mis-read on my meter the month before.

- They do not reply to you in a timely manner, so much that it's now April 2013 and I am still waiting for a resolve on a matter from December 2012. As of this month, Atmos has been taken over by Liberty Utility, who ALSO has not responded to my case/issue. If I'm not mistaken, it's still the same employees/company, just a different name, so I don't see why they haven't already resolved this issue.

- Now that the company is Liberty Utility, my Atmos online account has been deleted. I would like to reference my prior bills and whatnot, which I now cannot do because they immediately deleted my user account. I've had plenty of other user accounts with other companies that will retain the account for at least a month or two.

I am so upset about this rate hike! I live paycheck to paycheck and don't have anymore to give!! I am now charged 17 % more because I use "less" gas then the average homeowner....This is absurd!!! Please is there another gas company that services Pflugerville??? I am just perplexed that I would be charged more because I use less??? WTF!!!

There should be no reason for natural gas prices to be this high. I believe your company is overcharging it's clientele and I would like someone to get to the bottom of it before I make a federal inquiry . Thank you.