The good news is our bill includes a notice that we could get our deposit refund starting next month. :) Details of the deposit refund and downloadable MDR form can be found here.
Now, there's just one problem. I cannot find the required Meralco deposit receipt when I applied for Meralco service about 15 or 16 years ago. How can ERC or Meralco expect their customers to keep the deposit receipts after so many years? Meralco must have records of their customers' deposit payments as basis for the computation of the refunds.
If Meralco really wants to pay the refunds (which they should have voluntarily done as per business ethics without government intervention), they should make it easier by digging their records and just advise their longtime customers the amount of their refund. Then, a choice of either cash payout or credit on monthly bill could be presented to them.
I just wrote an email to Meralco's San Pedro Laguna branch stating my predicament and a request to check their records for the processing of my refund. I hope that I get a positive response in a few weeks. If they insist on presenting my lost original deposit receipt, I'll ask ERC if its really necessary, or I will start a consumer group on this matter, hehe.
Abangan!
Kudos to Meralco San Pedro branch for immediate action and reply to my email as follows:
ReplyDeleteMessage: Dear Mr. Noelizm,
Thank you very much for writing us. It is always a pleasure to be of service to our customers.
Please be informed that Meralco residential customers who paid the meter deposit when they applied for service or updated their contracts from June 1, 1987 to July 19, 2004 are the ones eligible for the Meter Deposit Refund (MDR). Based on the Service Identification Number (SIN) that you had provided, your contract for electric service took effect on June 21, 1995, which makes your account eligible for refund. You are scheduled to receive your refund next month, July 2010 at our San Pedro business center. To avoid inconvenience, kindly wait for the MDR notification that will be given to you through your electric bill on the month of your specific refund schedule.
Further, if the Original Meter Deposit Receipt is no longer available, the registered customer will be required to submit an accomplished Declaration of Loss that will be provided by the business centers if the claimant is the Registered Customer (RC) of the Meralco account. If the claimant is an Authorized Representative/Legal Heir/Successor-In-Interest of the Registered Customer, he/she will submit a Declaration of Loss if the refund amount is equal to or less than Php 4,000.00 and a Notarized Affidavit of Loss (also provided by the business centers) if the refund amount is greater than Php 4,000.00.
Looks like a good ending afterall, hehe.
hi, i would like to ask of there is a downloadable form of declaration of loss?
ReplyDeleteDear Knel,
ReplyDeleteMeralco's Declaration of Loss form is not downloadable. However, I was able to scan a blank form when I was finally able to get my refund this morning. Just click and save the added form above. Then ask 2 persons to witness it by printing and signing their names on the space provided.
Meralco will ask for a photocopy of your valid ID card, so please bring one to make the process faster. Took me about an hour to get my refund, as I waited until my number is called, and went outside to photocopy my driver's license.