Alabama Power
Reviews and Complaints

Power company trimmed limbs on my planted pines. They left the limbs on the fire lane and now the fire lane is inaccessible. I am 55, I don't have a pick up truck and I don't have the money to hire someone to remove the limbs and open my fire lane. Am also in the CRP program and this will cause me to loose my contract with them. Someone please help.
E. Davis,
3905 Woodmont Drive, Mobile Al 36693
cell phone 251.454.7555

Power company had Burford Tree Service to cut trees and underbrush around power lines, they cut limbs off my apple trees and left the mess in my yard. They also cut brush and limbs off trees across the street that is also on my property and left long sharp branches sticking out that make me unable to cut the grass beside the road on that side of the street. I am a 63 year old single female and I am not able to clean up the mess that they left. THEY SHOULD BE MADE TO RETURN AND CLEAN UP THE MESS

Charged credit card 20 dollars when I made 2 pmts on time they said it was wrong info I am not an idiot entered correct info I guess they do what they want when they have control of your power

I am wondering why our power bill fluctuates so drastically every few months. It will be fairly consistant for several months and then dramatically increase or decrease for a month. For example; our monthly bill ranges from 125-175 a month depending upon the season. Then we get a bill for 400. The bill then goes back to "normal" then we get a bill for 20 dollars...yes i said 20 dollars. We r not on any budget billing system and i CANNOT get a straight answer from the power company. I have been told that that this company doesnt do monthly estimates in lieu of actual readings unless ur on a budget system...so WHY is the difference so dramatic? the meter is working fine...any input?

Alabama power hired a horrible tree service to cut away limbs from their lines here. They left limbs in the road and on top of many places I must cut grass. I am female and a very small person. Although I work 6 acres of land alone and am in good shape for my age I can not do that kind of work. They destroyed a whole half acre of my land. I called Alabama Power to submit a work order for one of their own employees to come and see what a horrible job the crew they hired did. The man was a huge hateful vile person. He told me it was my responsiblity to pick up limbs that out weigh me by 100 lbs and more. I was very kind to him until he turned on me and told me to just "Deal with it". My mom works for them too and checked the rules. She said they ARE supposed to clean up. So the man was a dirty liar just like I thought. He lied and told me it was not their problem and they did not have to clean it up. Then had the nerve to tell me I should have maintained the area myself when it is THIER job to maintain their right-a-way. ANother lie. But they have not been out to maintain it in over 11 years. I work in Mountian Brook and noticed that they were cleaning up every single small stick from the rich peoples yards. I guess if you live in the country and are not rich you don't matter to Alabama Power. My mom works for them and checked the rules. She said they ARE supposed to clean up. So the man was a dirty liar just like I thought. I then spoke with a laywer friend who has submitted a bill for the clean up to the tree service. He too agrees that it is against the law for them to destroy someones property. At least my bill is not high. But that may be the real reason they don't care about destroying the country folks yards. We don't have the money to pay high bills so we conserve while the rich and spoiled do not. Next time I will take off work and be here watching every move they make. And I will be fussing and complaining the whole time. They can't do a thing about it either because it is my property I will be standing on. I have never seen a more lazy group of worker in my life. I hate lazy people.

Bought a computer from these liars. Was told 2 terms before signing and took it. 2 days later ran into a problem(display). I was told by Jim W. i cant return it. He is a liar, a 14 day return policy is there. Now months later still fighting nothing getting done, they cant even hold to there own terms. Called the warranty company i paid big bucks to, they said no and told me i have to deal with them. The computer remains broke, will stay on 2 hours and cut off every 10 min after losing data and corrupting the operating system, which they still refuse to help with. I cannot believe this is being allowed. I am filing complaints in every place i can so others will know. They are a big group of liars, refuse arbitration and do nothing..

Dear Sir/Maam

I have been send wrong electricity bill. Alabama Power CO does not check the meter readings and has been sending bills arbitrarily without checking.

This is a serious issue.

My current bill for the month of dec 2011 says $ 86.13...How can it be possible? I was out of Auburn from Nov 30th 2011 through Dec 28th 2011...My apt was totally locked with all the electrical gadgets including refrigerator turned off...

Please help me.

Thanks
Sourashish
Alabama Power CO account no [protected]

I just purchased a new home and called Alabama Power last week to have the power turned on for the home inspection. The guy did not understand what I wanted so I asked to speak to someone who spoke english and could understand me. His supervisor got on the phone and was horribly rude to me. She also did not understand that I needed the power turned on for 3 days for the inspection to be done because until closing that is all that I am allowed to have power to the house for(bought the home through HUD). She even went as far as to be completely quiet in an attempt to make me think she had hung up on me and me hang up. But I used to work in telemarketing and I know that you absolutely cannot hang up on a customer. She made me want to not do business with them. Well we finally got everything worked out after I sternly told her to shut up and listen to what I needed and we worked it out for the power to be on for this wednesday, thursday, and friday because the inspection is thursday. So today I called to verify that power had been turned on, thinking I would speak to someone else and it would be a decent experience. Boy was I wrong. She started off rude and told me that they are closed on friday and the power would not be turned off on friday and the power was turned on on tuesday which is also not what was agreed to. They just do whatever they want to do and don't care how it affects the customers. So now the power is going to be left on until next tuesday because they are closed until monday and they can't wait until thursday afternoon to turn off the power because work orders have no time limit on them. These people are a nightmare to deal with and I wish I never had to deal with them again!

Alabama Power contracts Wright Tree Service to cut trees to protect the above ground power lines. The tree service did a a good job of preserving the tree cover while cutting the trees back. However, their large truck on our private drive was related in time with 2 breaks in our water line that is close to the road. We have resided in this location for 21 years and have had 6 leaks in 21 years, The occurrence of 2 separate leaks over a 2 week period following the tree cutting suggests that their truck crushed my water pipes. The two separate repairs cost $950.

I am still paying for a refrigerator that I got from Alabama Power Appliance in Selma Alabama.The refrigerator is only 2 years old.The problem started with it freezeing up in the freezer unit, water not draining down and not getting cool in the refrigerator part.A tect was called out on 3/11/ 09.I did not have a warranty but I took one out with the tect Jeff Lindsey on 3/11/09. It went into effect on 4/11/09.Since then a tect has came out two other times for the same problem.I was told that I had a balance of $115.44 that was not paid toward the repair on 5/11/09.I paid the $115.44 on Tuesday and the costumer service person told me that some one would not come out until Thrusday 5/14/09. The problem is why should the tech keep coming out when the problem is still not repaired.Since the refrigerator has not been working I have lost over $100.00 in food.If they won't fix it why can't I have a nother fridge.I pray that the problem is solved and I be reimbursed for my lost of food.

My power lines need to get fixed! I've lived in this house for a year and i've been without power an estimated 5 times! The line i'm on effects me and the 9 houses that are not in the subdivision down the other way everytime. But my other neighbors and other subdivision residents (in which i"m a part of) are never effected. If the wind blows just right or it rains too hard the transformer/fuse busts. I want this fixed! Because this time they're telling me i'll be without power 6 days! Everytime my power goes out, it costs my family a ton of money and i"m tired of it. Not only that but when these outages happen, I don't see my usage going down, it's recorded as going up. Something is not right and I want it fixed.

I bought a computer from these liars.. two conditions of the contract was at home service and operating system upgrade if needed..Paid over 200.00 for warranties.Jim Warton is a liar and i have proof.. still days and months later still fighting no arbitration no protection from fr5adulent people like jim warton..OVER A BARREL ..never buy anything from these liars and crooks.. They cant even hold to there own terms.Called the warranty company even they said no.The state of alabama is going to hell with liars and crooks at the helm.I have proof, , if needed.. They refuse to take it back too..told me in the first day with problem NO RETURN.. JIM YOU ARE A CROOK.

hi my name isPatricia Millender and i have a complaint about my light bill. every since alabama power change the meters my light bill has been very high it has change frome $200 to $600 or better. i really think that something needs to be done about this and its not only me its the community. we need your help.

Thanks,
Mrs.Patricia Millender

I went into the Jasper Al office to pay my bill and get service turned on at my new house that my ex wife lived in til the divorce was final and the teller there Amanda looked on the computer and seen there was a big bill here from my ex wife (Tracy Lynnn) so she called manger od branch James down and when he came! Manda started yelling at me telling me that this bill had to be paid in full so everyone in there knew my business it was really embarrassing. Neither of them would listen to what had to sashe just kept yelling at me. I told them I took my name off of the account 4 years ago when I got my other place in Guin Al and started service with you all. I am disabled and get my check on the 3rd of the month and was wanting to pay my bill and me how much it would cost to turn power on here I even asked if I could pay a lil on ex wife bill just so I could get service cause I need it I wear a CPap and have to have it. She yelled as loud as she could and said no and would not take any money. I now live on a small power plant with my family of 5 and will not allow me to wear my CPap. I don't understand how my ex can have electric but I cannot and it is her bill. I have proof I did not live there and they would not even look at that. Then they said I tried 2 years ago to get it turned on and I never called them. I am thinking about getting a lawyer for iscrimination against a disabled person and belittling me in a building full of people when there was no reason for it. I know I would get way morfrom them then what the bill is and would work it out with them with someone who will not yell at me and treat me like dog. I asked them to remove the medical tag since I no longer lived there this was Jan08 knowing the bill was paid. In May of 08 Tracy Lynn had to move out cause the power was turned off cause she. Called me in Guin Al wanting me to pay for itcause she waisted her money for our kid. Me and my new wife just got married and we have 3 kids which one is disabled and have no electric. How can we fix this with out going to court cause I pay my bill every 3rd and I pay it in full so I don't know why I am getting treated this way. Please contact me to resolve this matter. Thank and May God Bless You!

There are three disabled people who live in this household. My husband has lung disease due to silicosis exposure when he worked at ACIPCO for over ten years. He has a ruptured disc in his back due to automobile accidents and personal assaults he received as a police officer for over 15 years, He underwent an appendectomy in 4/2010 and had a heart attack in 6/2010 and they had to place a stent in one of his main coronary arteries and he is still having chest pains and may have to undergo open heart surgery in the near future. We have a 22 year old son who lives with us who has Crohn's Disease and involvement of his central nervous system due to an automobile accident he was involved in on 2/8/2005 which broke his left arm, broke his right leg and crushed his left foot. He underwent surgery where the doctors placed a rod in his left arm from his elbow up, they placed a rod in his right leg from his knee down to his ankle and attempted reconstruction of his left foot which did not heal properly and his left foot points outward. After his automobile accident, he was in a hospital bed for six months and he did his schoolwork while in the hospital bed (this was during his 11th grade) and as soon as he got out of the hospital bed and underwent physical therapy, he attended band camp at Hueytown High School (the band director offered to let him participate in the stadiums and not march but he was determined that he was going to graduate with his senior class and play his trombone in the marching band). It was a very painful time for him, but he graduated with his senior class, He auditioned for the UAB Blazers Marching Band and qualified for a band scholarship and moved into the dorm at UAB so he would not have to drive on the interstate every day. He was having the time of his life participating in the band and pursuing his studies to have a major in computer science and a minor in music. He was taking no pain medications and no other medications and we were all very proud of him and thought he was on his way to do what he loved - computers and music. Unfortunately, during the Christmas break in 12/2006, he began having problems with his stomach and after a trip to the emergency room at UAB for what we thought was a stomach virus, he was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. Even after being released from the hospital, he returned to the dorm and was determined he was going to keep going to college. However, after a week, we had to withdraw him from college and help him move back home because the pain, anemia and continuous fatigue made it impossible for him to continue college. He has no health insurance and has been waiting for approval of SSI benefits for three years and as of today, we still have not seen anything saying he has been approved. He has to take multiple medications that we have to purchase from the pharmacy and he has no insurance that covers his doctor visits or medications. I am usually taking him to the emergency room at least one time a month when he has a flare of his Crohn's Disease and the medications he has at home does not help the pain. I was employed at UAB and worked for a cancer surgeon. For about a year and a half I had complaints of not being able to breathe when I tried to lay down in bed and go to sleep. Every time I wemt to the doctor, I was told I just had acid reflux and was given every kind of anti-acid drugs such as Pepcid, Zantac, Prilosec, etc.with no relief. I would roll around on the floor in pain at night and try propping myself up on the couch to get a few hours sleep. I always went to work the next day because I was the only secretary for this surgeon and no one else even knew how to do the job. In November, 1998, I had a small knot appear in my left chest wall. The knot started getting bigger every day. One week before Thanksgiving, I returned to see the doctor feeling surely they would see the knot and be able to help me. All the doctor said was that my left rib cage was distended a little more than my right rib cage and that my urine sample indicated blood in my urine and I was set-up to undergo an IVP to check out my kidneys. After the IVP, the doctor contacted me and told me that the test did not show anything wrong with my kidneys. I asked him about the problem with my left rib cage and he said I had arthritis in my rib cage and to just take some Aleve and I should be alright. So, I went through Thanksgiving in pain that Aleve did not help but I just told myself I was going to have to live like that. A few weeks later (about two weeks before Christmas) I got upset because one of the other ladies working in the building told me she could see the knot through my shirt. I became upset and cried and the surgeon I worked for told me "Just schedule a CT scan and use my name as the ordering physician so we can get over this and concentrate on work", I went to have the CT scan done. When they put the contrast in through an IV, I began having pain and could not breathe. They had to stop the test and let me sit up and they had to remove the IV. I happened to glance over to where the people were who were running the CT scan and noticed there were at least 10 people in there. I thought they were looking at another person's test. I got dressed and walked from Kirklin Clinic back to my office in the Lyons-Harrison Bldg. and was surprised to see the surgeon I worked for sitting in a chair in front of my desk because he was supposed to be in the operating room. He told me I had a large tumor in my chest wall and that I would need surgery to remove it very soon. He called my husband and told him he was sending me home and told him what was going on. I then began the rush to get Christmas ready for my children who were ages 19, 10 and 8. Instead of waiting for Santa Clause to come, I had to wrap all their presents and put their name in really small letters on the back in case I did not make it home for Chrisrmas. I hugged and kissed my two youngest children as they left for school that day and then I got ready to go to the hospital to have my surgery. The doctor had told us he thought the tumor was encapsulated and they would be able to just "pop" it out. However, over eight hours later, I was in recovery and moved to a hospital room where I was told they had to remove the 13 cm tumor that had "tentacles" wrapped around other parts in my chest, four left ribs, part of my left lung, part of my sternum, reconstruction of my diaphragm, removal of 22cm of tissue and muscle from my chest cavity and then had Gore-tex mesh stuffed in my chest cavity to protect my heart and what remained of my left lung. I was released from the hospital sooner than usual for that type surgery because I wanted to be home for Christmas. I went home on Christmas Eve. After six weeks at home, I went back to work because I was determined I was not going to give up. Every day was a struggle and I went home every evening, took care of my children and then went and sat in the bathtub and cried. After a year and two months of working, I was getting worse and had to go home and file for disability. My husband and I both started working when we were 12 years old. We have never had help from anyone and have never expected anything to be given to us for free. We lost our home that we had lived in for 30 years to foreclosure in 11/2007. After living in a camper for a few months, we found this home at 379 White Oak Trail to rent. Our landlord has a stipulation in the lease contract that states if utilities are disconnected, then we will be evicted. So, if Alabama Power cannot work with us on the remaining balance and disconnects the electricity, we will again be homeless. We are trying to find a home to purchase. This home has many problems - sewage draining on your right side when you go out the back door, the washing machine drains out the wall into the front yard, the dirt driveway has gulleys in it and almost basically tore up one of our vehicles, the heat pump does not provide heat and when we tried to turn it on a few days ago it smelled like wiring and rubber burning, the "patio room" where the washer and dryer are located has multiple leaks in the ceiling which has caused mold to grow on the ceiling panels and about a month ago water started leaking onto our coffee table in the living room and 48 hours later, the landlord showed up and found that a container in the ceiling that was supposed to catch condensation from the air conditioning had tilted over and he fixed that but since so much moisture had soaked the insulation, we had to leave bowls on the coffee table for over a week to catch the water which was yellowish in color and disgusting to look at and the floor coming out of the one bathroom in the house sinks in when you walk on it and it is probably close to crumbling away. Right after my husband returned home from the hospital after his heart attack, a water line outside began leaking and I had to dig up the dirt to find the leak and my husband had to tell me how to fix it so our water bill would not be outrageous. I paid $350.00 on this electric bill on 10/6/2010 and plan to pay the rest of it as soon as I can. The list of places that customer service gave me over the telephone all told me they had no funds to help anybody and probably would not get anymore funds until January, 2011. I was upset and when I called the American Red Cross and they told me they had no money, I asked the woman what were we supposed to do and she stated that "we might just have to learn how to live without electricity". I just sat and cried when she said that. The United States is always sending millions and billons to help other countries, but people living here cannot get help. I would appreciate it if you can work with us on the remaining balance. I do not know how it got to be such a high balance but we have so many health problems and time goes by faster than what it used to when we were younger. We have paid our electric bills for over 30 years and I do not know what we will have to do without to replace the $350.00 we have paid Alabama Power and what else we will have to do without to pay the balance. I am putting it in God's hands and maybe he will show me the way.

From: Karla Hogan
Subject: Re: Contact Us E-Mail [#1718660]
To: [protected]@AlabamaPower.com
Date: Friday, October 8, 2010, 1:08 AM

It was also explained to your customer service personnel that due to the mulrtiple health problems that I cannot just jump and run to your local office at the drop of a hat. Also, our physician is out of the office this week. It was also stated that all of the agency contacts I was given by your customer service personnel had been contacted and all the agencies said they had no funds available to assist with payment of electric bills and were not expecting to have any funds until 1/2011. Half of the bill has been paid and I am still searching for assistance. We have lived here for almost three years and have not faced disconnection of any of our utilities during this period of time. I would welcome aid from your customer service personnel in locating assistance instead of continued threats of disconnecting our electrical service. I am sick right now and doing the best I can with the information you have provided. I am a 50 year old woman who has lost half of her body to cancer surgery trying to take care of a sick husband and son because we have no family to help us and we cannot afford to hire anyone to help us. In making the stretch to pay $350.00 on the bill, I thought Alabama Power might have some compassion and know that an effort is being made. That $350.00 is supposed to purchase medications from now until 11/3/2010 since I only get a Social Security check one time a month on the 3rd of every month. I have a weakened immune system and have been running a fever rhe past two days with a throat infection and I am broke out in shingles. I can guarantee that I will find someone somehow to pay the rest of the bill as fast as possible and the stress you are subjecting me to is not helping me recover but is instead contributing to a full-blown case of shingles.

David & Karla Hogan
379 White Oak Trail
P.O. Box 223
Warrior, AL 35180
[protected]
[protected]@yahoo.com

--- On Thu, 10/7/10, APC Customer Service wrote:

From: APC Customer Service
Subject: Re: Contact Us E-Mail [#1718660]
To: [protected]@yahoo.com
Date: Thursday, October 7, 2010, 11:02 PM

Dear Karla Hogan,
Thank you for contacting Alabama Power.
We understand your frustration and are happy to assist you; however, as previously advised, you will need to visit the local office, Please come prepared with contact information for the physician treating the individual for the condition for our medical review committee to contact them to discuss the condition and equipment. Should the customer or authorized person fail to come into the office with the required information, the office can re-issue the orders for the field representative to return and interrupt service until the account is brought current. At this time, the status of your account indicates the office is awaiting this information based on your statements to the representative when he spoke to you at the door. Please be advised that service may be interrupted without further notice.
In the previous email, we also included local agencies number for your convenience.
It is our goal to provide you with superior customer service. If we may be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us, and thank you for using AlabamaPower.com

Sincerely,
Toni
Online Customer Service

From: Karla Hogan
Subject: Alabama Power Account# [protected]
To: [protected]@acf.hhs
Date: Thursday, October 7, 2010, 9:45 AM

From: "APC Customer Service"
To: [protected]@yahoo.com
Dear Karla Hogan,
Thank you for contacting Alabama Power.
It is a pleasure to assist you. In order to evaluate your account, we will need to know how much you are able to pay and on what date. The report you heard on the news detailed our efforts to assist customers in making payment arrangements on their bills. However, this effort does not include excessively high or multiple month bills. The representative who came to your door did so as a courtesy, as they are no longer required to come to the door since we do not collect in the field any longer. When the representative comes to your residence, all they are instructed to do is to interrupt service and leave. However, as you advised your husband's condition requires life support equipment to be in place at the residence, he left a card for you to call us about your account. When a customer advises there is such equipment in place, we will inform the local business office, and that customer or an authorized representative with Power of Attorney would need to come into the office the following business day with the contact information (name, address, phone and fax number) for the physician treating the individual for the condition for our medical review committee to contact them to discuss the condition and equipment. Should the customer or authorized person fail to come into the office with the required information, the office can re-issue the orders for the field representative to return and interrupt service until the account is brought current. At this time, the status of your account indicates the office is awaiting this information based on your statements to the representative when he spoke to you at the door.
We have included the contact information for the local energy assistance agencies in your area, in case there is one you may not have contacted previously. If you will advise what payments you are able to pay, we will work with you as best we can to help you to bring your account current.
It is our goal to provide you with superior customer service. If we may be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us, and thank you for using AlabamaPower.com
Sincerely,
Greg
Online Customer Service
American Red Cross (Project Share, FEMA, HELP) N/A [protected]
Area Agency On Aging (Office Of Senior Citizens Activities) N/A [protected]
Blount /St. Clair Counties - LIHEAP N/A [protected] (Blount) or [protected] (St. Claire)
Eldergarden N/A [protected]
Greater Birmingham Ministries N/A 326-6821
JCCEO - Homeless Aid N/A 923-0285
JCCEO - LIHEAP 238 S-6 Ave.Birmingham, AL [protected]
Salvation Army N/A 328-5656

　
　
　
　
　
From: "Karla Hogan" View contact details
To: [protected]@AlabamaPower.com
There are three disabled people who live in this household. My husband has lung disease due to silicosis exposure when he worked at ACIPCO for over ten years. He has a ruptured disc in his back due to automobile accidents and personal assaults he received as a police officer for over 15 years, He underwent an appendectomy in 4/2010 and had a heart attack in 6/2010 and they had to place a stent in one of his main coronary arteries and he is still having chest pains and may have to undergo open heart surgery in the near future. We have a 22 year old son who lives with us who has Crohn's Disease and involvement of his central nervous system due to an automobile accident he was involved in on 2/8/2005 which broke his left arm, broke his right leg and crushed his left foot. He underwent surgery where the doctors placed a rod in his left arm from his elbow up, they placed a rod in his right leg from his knee down to his ankle and attempted reconstruction of his left foot which did not heal properly and his left foot points outward. After his automobile accident, he was in a hospital bed for six months and he did his schoolwork while in the hospital bed (this was during his 11th grade) and as soon as he got out of the hospital bed and underwent physical therapy, he attended band camp at Hueytown High School (the band director offered to let him participate in the stadiums and not march but he was determined that he was going to graduate with his senior class and play his trombone in the marching band). It was a very painful time for him, but he graduated with his senior class, He auditioned for the UAB Blazers Marching Band and qualified for a band scholarship and moved into the dorm at UAB so he would not have to drive on the interstate every day. He was having the time of his life participating in the band and pursuing his studies to have a major in computer science and a minor in music. He was taking no pain medications and no other medications and we were all very proud of him and thought he was on his way to do what he loved - computers and music. Unfortunately, during the Christmas break in 12/2006, he began having problems with his stomach and after a trip to the emergency room at UAB for what we thought was a stomach virus, he was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. Even after being released from the hospital, he returned to the dorm and was determined he was going to keep going to college. However, after a week, we had to withdraw him from college and help him move back home because the pain, anemia and continuous fatigue made it impossible for him to continue college. He has no health insurance and has been waiting for approval of SSI benefits for three years and as of today, we still have not seen anything saying he has been approved. He has to take multiple medications that we have to purchase from the pharmacy and he has no insurance that covers his doctor visits or medications. I am usually taking him to the emergency room at least one time a month when he has a flare of his Crohn's Disease and the medications he has at home does not help the pain. I was employed at UAB and worked for a cancer surgeon. For about a year and a half I had complaints of not being able to breathe when I tried to lay down in bed and go to sleep. Every time I wemt to the doctor, I was told I just had acid reflux and was given every kind of anti-acid drugs such as Pepcid, Zantac, Prilosec, etc.with no relief. I would roll around on the floor in pain at night and try propping myself up on the couch to get a few hours sleep. I always went to work the next day because I was the only secretary for this surgeon and no one else even knew how to do the job. In November, 1998, I had a small knot appear in my left chest wall. The knot started getting bigger every day. One week before Thanksgiving, I returned to see the doctor feeling surely they would see the knot and be able to help me. All the doctor said was that my left rib cage was distended a little more than my right rib cage and that my urine sample indicated blood in my urine and I was set-up to undergo an IVP to check out my kidneys. After the IVP, the doctor contacted me and told me that the test did not show anything wrong with my kidneys. I asked him about the problem with my left rib cage and he said I had arthritis in my rib cage and to just take some Aleve and I should be alright. So, I went through Thanksgiving in pain that Aleve did not help but I just told myself I was going to have to live like that. A few weeks later (about two weeks before Christmas) I got upset because one of the other ladies working in the building told me she could see the knot through my shirt. I became upset and cried and the surgeon I worked for told me "Just schedule a CT scan and use my name as the ordering physician so we can get over this and concentrate on work", I went to have the CT scan done. When they put the contrast in through an IV, I began having pain and could not breathe. They had to stop the test and let me sit up and they had to remove the IV. I happened to glance over to where the people were who were running the CT scan and noticed there were at least 10 people in there. I thought they were looking at another person's test. I got dressed and walked from Kirklin Clinic back to my office in the Lyons-Harrison Bldg. and was surprised to see the surgeon I worked for sitting in a chair in front of my desk because he was supposed to be in the operating room. He told me I had a large tumor in my chest wall and that I would need surgery to remove it very soon. He called my husband and told him he was sending me home and told him what was going on. I then began the rush to get Christmas ready for my children who were ages 19, 10 and 8. Instead of waiting for Santa Clause to come, I had to wrap all their presents and put their name in really small letters on the back in case I did not make it home for Chrisrmas. I hugged and kissed my two youngest children as they left for school that day and then I got ready to go to the hospital to have my surgery. The doctor had told us he thought the tumor was encapsulated and they would be able to just "pop" it out. However, over eight hours later, I was in recovery and moved to a hospital room where I was told they had to remove the 13 cm tumor that had "tentacles" wrapped around other parts in my chest, four left ribs, part of my left lung, part of my sternum, reconstruction of my diaphragm, removal of 22cm of tissue and muscle from my chest cavity and then had Gore-tex mesh stuffed in my chest cavity to protect my heart and what remained of my left lung. I was released from the hospital sooner than usual for that type surgery because I wanted to be home for Christmas. I went home on Christmas Eve. After six weeks at home, I went back to work because I was determined I was not going to give up. Every day was a struggle and I went home every evening, took care of my children and then went and sat in the bathtub and cried. After a year and two months of working, I was getting worse and had to go home and file for disability. My husband and I both started working when we were 12 years old. We have never had help from anyone and have never expected anything to be given to us for free. We lost our home that we had lived in for 30 years to foreclosure in 11/2007. After living in a camper for a few months, we found this home at 379 White Oak Trail to rent. Our landlord has a stipulation in the lease contract that states if utilities are disconnected, then we will be evicted. So, if Alabama Power cannot work with us on the remaining balance and disconnects the electricity, we will again be homeless. We are trying to find a home to purchase. This home has many problems - sewage draining on your right side when you go out the back door, the washing machine drains out the wall into the front yard, the dirt driveway has gulleys in it and almost basically tore up one of our vehicles, the heat pump does not provide heat and when we tried to turn it on a few days ago it smelled like wiring and rubber burning, the "patio room" where the washer and dryer are located has multiple leaks in the ceiling which has caused mold to grow on the ceiling panels and about a month ago water started leaking onto our coffee table in the living room and 48 hours later, the landlord showed up and found that a container in the ceiling that was supposed to catch condensation from the air conditioning had tilted over and he fixed that but since so much moisture had soaked the insulation, we had to leave bowls on the coffee table for over a week to catch the water which was yellowish in color and disgusting to look at and the floor coming out of the one bathroom in the house sinks in when you walk on it and it is probably close to crumbling away. Right after my husband returned home from the hospital after his heart attack, a water line outside began leaking and I had to dig up the dirt to find the leak and my husband had to tell me how to fix it so our water bill would not be outrageous. I paid $350.00 on this electric bill on 10/6/2010 and plan to pay the rest of it as soon as I can. The list of places that customer service gave me over the telephone all told me they had no funds to help anybody and probably would not get anymore funds until January, 2011. I was upset and when I called the American Red Cross and they told me they had no money, I asked the woman what were we supposed to do and she stated that "we might just have to learn how to live without electricity". I just sat and cried when she said that. The United States is always sending millions and billons to help other countries, but people living here cannot get help. I would appreciate it if you can work with us on the remaining balance. I do not know how it got to be such a high balance but we have so many health problems and time goes by faster than what it used to when we were younger. We have paid our electric bills for over 30 years and I do not know what we will have to do without to replace the $350.00 we have paid Alabama Power and what else we will have to do without to pay the balance. I am putting it in God's hands and maybe he will show me the way.
Thank you,
Karla J. Hogan
379 White Oak Trail
P.O. Box 223
Warrior, AL 35180
[protected]
[protected]@yahoo.com

I found out July 30th that my mom had cancer, 3 different kinds. on August 3rd I found out she had 30 days to live. She died August 24th. September 3rd I went to have the lights cut off in her name and on in mine. They told me i couldn't because she owed a 3800.00 dollar bill, that i am being held responsible for... They know i have 4 kids and need power, I was told if i didn't pay the bill I would not be able to get power to my land...I think we are going to check into solar energy...