KISRA – Kanawha Institute for Social Research & Action

Could not get an answer

I am in a very bad position with my electric bill during COVID. I have only needed help with bills once before and KISRA was not the organization that helped. I had never received help from KISRA before. The first time I spoke to CEO Freda, she was very nice. We made a plan. She had things she needed me to do to be able to help me. (documents and also get the bill down to a certain amount; she told me that she could help with $500 on my bill). I got everything done that she requested within a week. I emailed documents and also called to let her know. When she returned my call she was very short and rude with me. She could not remember any of our previous conversation or the plan we made. (I understand that she probably talks to a dozen people daily. Nobody could remember every detail. HOWEVER it was like talking to a completely different person.) During our second phone call (a week later) she tells me DIFFERENT things I need to do and didn’t even mention some of the ORIGINAL documents she wanted from me. She even made a comment along the lines of, “I don’t have time to be doing all this. I have other people that need help.” Obviously a lot of people need help during this time. Any compassionate person knows that but she didn’t have time to go through the things she requested? Or do the plan that she made? Even after she got her rudest, though I did tear up and my voice started shaking, I never got an attitude or lost my cool with her because beggers can’t be choosers. In the end, I had to get enough from Heart N Hand ($146) to put with my own payment to go onto a payment plan with AEP. Freda completely stopped answering her phone and never called back or even bothered to email back. This is doable but this does put me in a bad position because AEP will not give any extensions while you are locked into a payment arrangement. My arrangement is spread out for a year. It’s a scary thought; not being able to request an extension for a year. Maybe if Freda had not wasted my time with her false word, I could have figured something else out instead of wasting my time getting things together that she requested, which never went anywhere. I understand needing help. I understand beggers can’t be choosers. This may be a good organization but I would not recommend anyone trying anything with CEO Freda because it very well may be a waste of time. It was for me.

Requested some assistance. Very helpful.