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Friday, June 16, 2017

Getting The Services of an Accredited Meralco Contractor (AMC) : Is it really worth it?

Good day people!

Before I proceed with this post, let me remind everyone that this is my personal experience. If your experience is much different than mine, or if you really had a hassle-free experience with your chosen accredited Meralco contractor (AMC), well and good. But that's not what I experienced. If you are interested to know why, read on.

I was able to buy a small lot and eventually decided to build a small house for my family. Of course, it follows that we will need electricity and water. My application with Manila Water was rejected because they said that my document was invalid. Anyway, that's another story. 

April 7, 2017  -   I went to Meralco Business Center in Tuktukan, Taguig. That day, I was really decided to do the processing on my own. However, as soon as I entered the Meralco office,  the guard pointed me to the AMC who immediately approached me and offered their services. Let's call her L1 (Lady 1 or Liar 1, whichever fits her best). L1 gave me a small paper containing the list of required documents that I need to submit (pic to follow). On the same day, I submitted deed of sale, barangay clearance, meralco bill of my neighbor & 2 valid IDs. She also told me that tax declaration is being required however, since I do not have the said document,  she said they will just get a copy from Taguig City Hall. While we were talking, one person entered the room, let's call her L2 and she introduced her  to me. She said, "She is our site inspector". So we talked and talked and talked and I ended up filling out an application form in trust that they will fulfill what they have promised.

April 8, 2017  -   L2 conducted a site inspection and I gave her P5,000.00 as partial payment for their services.  

April 24, 2017  -   I texted L1 to follow-up but no reply. It turned out that they forwarded my application to Meralco on this day. 

April 27, 2017  -  Mr. Ricky Cruz from Meralco conducted site inspection.

May 4, 2017  -   installation of service entrance.

May 10, 2017  -   L1 & L2 met up with my husband to get the remaining P5,000 as full payment for their services. L2 said there is no need for the Grant of Right of Way Form since the owner of the property agreed to our request.

May 16, 2017  -   I texted L2 to follow-up and she said she's just waiting for the Certificate of Final Electrical Inspection (CFEI) to be released by Taguig City Hall.

May 19, 2017  -  I followed-up again thru text and L2 replied that I really need to submit a copy of the tax declaration because Meralco really needs this document.

May 20, 2017  -  L1 & L2 met up with my husband again. The need for tax declaration and right of way form was  never mentioned and L2 said that my documents are complete and she will just follow-up with Meralco.

May 23, 2017  -   texted L1 for follow-up but no reply.

May 24, 2017  -   texted L1 again this time she replied that L2 is at the City Hall for the CEI and that she will update me again in the afternoon. (as usual, no update was given)

May 25, 2017  -   L1 informed me that the CEI was already paid and will just wait for the release. (The receipt showed that CEI was paid May 23 only. Why late payment? I don't know either)


See the date and time?

May 29, 2017  -   I texted L2 twice and she replied, "Madam, ikakabit na yan ng Miyerkules (Ma'am, you will be energized on Wednesday)". That was supposed to be May 31.

May 31, 2017  -   No Show. Texted L1 but no reply. Texted L2 4x but no reply.

June 1, 2017  -   L2 informed me that she is getting the tax declaration from the City Hall and she will give me an update soon.

June 2 - 5, 2017  -   No Update

June 6, 2017  -   texted L2 3x but no reply. Texted L1 and she said they will meet up with me to have the right of way form signed by the owner of the property. It happened and they told me that they will give feedback tomorrow afternoon.

June 7, 2017  -   No feedback

June 8, 2017  -   I texted L1 to ask if the right of way form was accepted by Meralco and she said yes. I then asked her our schedule to be energized. No reply.

June 13, 2017  -   I texted L1 to inform her that I'm going to Laguna and that I would like to meet with her in their main office to discuss about the problems of my submitted documents (of course, it was just a bluff). L2 immediately called me and asked me to come to Meralco office to talk to them because Meralco doesn't want to accept my documents without the tax declaration. (This was bullshit because on their June 6 info, they only need the right of way form). I texted L1 again to get my application number because I was advised to call 16211, no reply. And so I called 16211 and asked if they are requiring tax declaration even if I already have the CFEI and yellow card, and the person who answered my call said No Need.

June 14, 2017  -   I texted L1 & L2 to inform them that I am going to Meralco today. L2 called me and informed me that my documents have been accepted and encoded and it only needs the approval of the Meralco representative.

These are the documents from Meralco which I borrowed when I inquired about my application.

Application date was April 24 when in fact I applied April 7

Notes on the yellow card. Nothing is written about tax declaration

Approval from Meralco.

June 15, 2017  -   L2 called me saying that she already has the contract with Meralco and that we will be energized tomorrow, June 16 (thank God!).

June 16, 2017  -   I texted L2 to inform her that we are just waiting for her call. I had to take a leave from the office because hubby doesn't want to talk to them anymore.  I will update this whether we are energized today or not.

Now, do you see the pattern? That everytime I make a follow-up, L2 would call me immediately and tell me reasons that I think are just delaying tactics because they have no money to pay for the processing of my documents. What happened to the P10,000.00 that I paid them? We will never know. I remember, L2 even informed me that I should get a copy of the land title from the Registry of Deeds. Whaaaaaaaaaat? I only bought a small portion of the property and not the whole compound.

I'm not saying that all AMCs are the same. But the one that I hired gave me too much stress and sleepless nights. I hope it won't happen to you. My suggestion - DIY - Do It Yourself.

Annyeong!


UPDATE :  The contractor called our landline early this morning informing us that the men who will do the connection is already waiting for us. WE ARE ALREADY ENERGIZED! Hoorayyyy!


UPDATE 2 : Here is our 1st Meralco bill :


I am so happy with the amount!

25 comments:

  1. Natawa ako sa Alias na ginamit mo. Liar 1 & Liar 2 este Lady pala. Haha. Anyhow, patience is a virtue pala ang peg mo dun sa mga contractor. At least happy ending pa rin ang katapusan which is nakabitan na kayo ng kuryente. If you don't mind saan ka po pala nakabili ng lupa? And how much po? Gusto ko rin magkalupa! Hehe.

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    1. Ibinenta lang yung lupa ng kaibigan ng kapatid ko. Maliit lang, siguro around 30 square meters lang. Yung eskinita sa tapat ng Ponce clinic, papasok dun.

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  2. Hi! I am also a 1st timer for applying meralco and prob ko lang need ba ng bldg permit kapag may 2nd floor for residential?and also rights lang ang sa akin..worried kc ako.thank you

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    1. I think yes, kasi nung time na mag-apply ako tinanong din ako ng contractor kung bungalow lang ba or may 2nd floor kasi hinahanapan daw ng building permit if may 2nd floor. I would suggest you coordinate directly with Meralco para mag-inquire regarding sa mga needed requirements. Goodluck!

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  4. Ako din, pinoproblema ko yang bldg permit, kaya nagtanong ako sa meralco, sabi nung nakausap ko, hindi naman sila ang nagrerequire ng bldg permit, si munisipyo na raw ng naghahanap non upon application/request ka ng cfei/cei as requirement.. pag sa inspection ng taga city hall nakita na 2floor o underconstruction ang bahay (depende siguro sa itsura ng ginagawa, kht isang palapag lang kung bato o malaki at mukang mamahalin)hingan daw ng bldg permit.. kya hassle! Ung rpt sa cei/cfei din un hinihingi as requirement.. kumbaga mas marami ang hassle na requirment sa part ng mga certification/permit na kukunin ke munisipyo (sa gov't).. andon ang hassle, kapAg humingi sila ng mga additional requirement pra maibigay nila sayo yung need mong certificate o permit mula sa knila..
    -chilemay

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  5. ganyan din nangyari sakin, and feeling ko nga mas worst pa. akala ko hassle free pag accredited ng meralco, kaso ang sakit nila sa batok, STAR FERN ang binigay saking contractor, ang naging contrata ko sa kanila is 13500K, after ko mag down ng 5K sa contractor sunod sunod ng dating ng problema, but to make the story short, inabot ng ng 1 1/2 month ang process ng pag papakabit ko ng kuryente at ang ending pa nung nakabitan na sa 1st billing ko may akong 1270 na balance sa bill ko and nung tinanong ko sa meralco bakit ako may balance na 1270 ang sagot sakin di daw bayad ang initial deposit ko. mga letcheng star fern yun. mas okay pa atang wag na kumuha ng accredited ng meralco ee kase pwede naman pala hindi kumuha ng electrician galing sa meralco.

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    1. Yes, sis! Sakit sa ulo ang inabot ko. Grabeng na-stress talaga ako kasi nakasubmeter lang kami pansamantala habang di pa kami nakakabitan. Ang mahal naman pala ng submeter dun sa lugar namin - P26/kwh. Imagine, ang na-consume lang namin ay 86kwh, 2,500+ ang binayaran ko sa may-ari ng kuryente samantalang 1,200 lang ang bill ko at 96kwh! Grabe, negosyo talaga! MTT naman ang contractor na nakuha ko. Naisip ko nga din na mas napadali pa siguro kung ako na lang ang nagprocess ng mga dokumento. Kaya lang lagi talagang nasa huli ang pagsisisi.

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    2. hi ma'am same pala tayo ng contractor na nakuha STAR FERN pero parang ang laki ata ng singil sa inyo kasi 10900 lng samin after nila magsurvey. nakakapangamba.. anyway, tanong ko lang kung naenergized naba kayo and how many days/months bago matapos? lately ko lang nabasa ung blog sana pla DIY nlng ako. kun

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  6. Hello ate ako to si Lisa from Cindy n blog. Ate until now knkbhan ako sa right of way kasi itong mga kptbhay nmin ayaw tlga so sbi nio nga wait pdn final inspection. Anyway sis if okay lng sau p send nman ako ng right of way kasi hindi ko mgets. Ihanda ko n din pra sigurado. Ska pla sis hindi ako ng meralco contractors kasi nga wla dn kmi pera as in budgeted lng kya ng solo kmi in fairness mbilis lng din ung mga holidays lng tlga ntaon. Ipapasa ko plng ang brgy. electrical clearance pra mainspect ng engr dw ng munisipyo. K chat ko dn meralco s Twitter wag ko dw muna isipin ang right of way hintayin final inspector pra mgwan ng praan. Ntakot kasi kmi n nkabili n ng materyales at halos klagitnaan n ng process tpos s meralco hindi p kmi maaprubhan though stay positive lng tlga. Sis if ok lng ung s right of way ptingin ako. Maraming slmat sis.

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    1. Hi Lisa. Sorry, wala akong picture ng right of way form. Kasi madalian lang ang pag-fill-up ko nun at nagmamadali din ang contractor ko nung dumating sila at meron pa daw silang ibang pupuntahan. Simpleng form lang naman yun. Huwag ka masyadong magworry. For sure, gagawan ng paraan ng inspector ng Meralco yan kasi dagdag sa kaban nila iyan eh

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  7. Hi maam I am also new sa pag apply ng meralco service. first time ko din pong contractual ng meralco amc ang magpaprocess sa documents ko, tanong ko lang kung sakanila ang mga materials na gagamitin (wires etc.) to connect the meter sa may bahay namin. actually we already fixed the wires at may breaker na din kme , nakasubmeter lang kame as of today so ang question ko dahil nakapagdown n ako ng 5k sa contractual a total of 10900, then nakapag patayo na din ako ng poste ng paglalagyan ng meter, pasok na kaya un sa expenses para makabitan ng meter ng meralco????, a...

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    1. Hi Jan!Ikaw po ang bibili ng wire na gagamitin mula metro hanggang sa bahay mo. Ang libre lang kasing wire ay mula poste hanggang meter base. The rest, ikaw na po ang gagastos. Hindi po kasi basehan ang laki ng expenses para malagyan ka ng kuryente. Ang importante po, kumpleto lahat ng mga documents na isinumbmit mo sa contractor mo. If you don't mind, how much po ang singil ng contractor mo? Sa akin kasi is 10K, all in na po yun. Except nga sa wires from poste hanggang sa bahay. Ung mga wires na ikinabit sa loob ng bahay pati breaker, di din yun kasama sa contracted price.

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    2. ahhh salamat maam sa info. singil po nila is total of 10900 po. nakawired na po yung sa loob ng bahay maam and may breaker na din. mag papakabit na lang kame ng linya papuntang meralco meter. nirequired kasi nila na magpalagay ng poste sa harapan nmin. which is kelangan tlga daw. btw po from dasma pala contractor at area namin. medyo mataas singil ng 10% hehe

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    1. Nagsurvey muna bago nagbigay ng presyo? Bakit ganun? Sa akin, sa Meralco office pa lang, nagsabi na agad ng price. Anyway, depende naman sa contractor ung bilis o tagal ng processing. Ung contractor ko kasi, pakiramdam ko eh ginastos muna yung ibinayad ko kaya naghintay muna ng ibang magbabayad para pampuno sa naibayad ko na. Kaya inabot ako ng more than 2 months. As I've said, yung wire mula metro hanggang sa bahay nyo ay ikaw ang bibili. i-clear mo sa contractor mo kung fixed amount na yung 10,900. Na maliban sa wires ay wala ka nang ibang babayaran pa. Goodluck!

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  9. Hello sis ask ko lng anung wire ang ginamit nio mula sa bahay papuntang poste? Ngpunta ang city engr at hindi p nya inaprubhan kasi akla ko at sabi ng meralco mula smen papunta ng poste sagot nila un pla smin. Tpos Tama k din pti ung right of way n ksma sa yellow card kailngan kht sbi smen ng meralco ok n aun hassle. Stress ako today sa munisipyo at meralco magkaiba sila ng sinasabi. Patulong ako sis s wire kasi itong mga tao smen 6500 dw ang wire n un. Mula Samen papuntng poste kasi 30 to 32 meters.

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    1. Good morning Lisa. Naku, masyado kang ginogoyo nung mga tao jan sa inyo. I asked my husband kung anong klaseng wire ang ginamit sa amin. He said duplex wire #10 or 12 (not sure basta kung anong mas makapal, un ang bilhin mo). 35 meters ang nagamit sa amin, normally daw ang price nung wire is 55pesos per meter. Ipagpalagay na 60pesos, di ka gagastos ng 2,500 sa wire. Ikaw na lang ang bumili or pasama ka sa taong mapagkakatiwalaan mo na di ka lolokohin. Pineperahan ka lang ng mga tao jan sa inyo. Goodluck!

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  10. Totoo sis sobra na kaming nagoyo sya lng dn tlga dto smen ang electrician kya wla kmi mgawa kaya maraming slamat mg check ako mmya sa hardware. Sbi ko s knila budgeted lng kmi pero dto smen pg my pnpgwa kla mayaman na tpos Puro p dagdag.

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  11. Maraming salamat sis malaking tulong ang blog mo sobra. Nanlumo n ko kasi wla ng pera tpos ung wire 6500 daw grabe kadugas hindi mkaintindi n kapwa mahirap ngpapatulong mamahalan p.

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  12. Hello sis nakabitan na kami ng kuryente and thank you so much sa mga guides mo more power sa blogs mo. Masaya ang pasko namin wala ng aalalahanin sa pagjujumper.

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    1. Wow! This is great news! Merry Christmas talaga sa inyo! Just curious, how much ang inabot ng wire mo? I hope hindi 6,500 hehehe

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  13. Salamat ng marami sis sa malaking tulong nio sa akin yan ng blogs nio ni ate din s isang blogsite. Ung wire Tama k bale duplex #10 60 per meter so 38 meters sobra pra sigurado. Nka 2500 ksama na bayad sa electrician. Aun happy sobra. More power sa blog mo sis at thanks much and merry Christmas din.

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    1. Wow! Tama ang estimate ko! At least diba, di nakalusot sa iyo ung 6,500 na sinasabi nung electrician hahaha...Salamat naman at nakatulong ako sa iyo. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! God bless!

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  14. True sis wala sya nagawa kasi nabigyan mo na ako ng idea kya prang nagulat sya so umoo nlng sya aun ako n ang bumili. Sobrang tulong sis at Merry Christmas and Happy New Year dn. Same here sis God Bless. ��

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