Utility suck - "But it's cold outside" A little long, sorry!

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Over $1200 OMG. That's about what we spend for gas in a year (programmable thermostats--gotta love 'emthey don't take long to pay for themselves). How, in heaven's name, was she allowed to get away with that for so long?!? In my neck of the woods, you get cut off if you don't pay for 3 months or more, regardless of the amount.

If the OP is where I think she is, her gas can't be shut off for non-payment, as mentioned before.

State law, I believe. We don't want people freezing to death in their unheated homes. Even if they deserve it, like that wad who passed off her deceased son's SSN as her own.

[Pinkie]

If the OP is where I think she is, her gas can't be shut off for non-payment, as mentioned before.

State law, I believe. We don't want people freezing to death in their unheated homes. Even if they deserve it, like that wad who passed off her deceased son's SSN as her own.

Not law yet.
From the "LIHEAP" web site: http://liheap.ncat.org/Disconnect/disconnect.htm



State ********
Date-based yes
Protection Dates November 1 - March 31
Temperature-based no
Seasonal Policy Winter Protection Plan for elderly 65 years or older, recipients of Medicaid, Food Stamps or Department of Human Services cash assistance, full time active military personnel or persons needing critical care or having a certified medical emergency. Households with income less than 150% of federal poverty guidelines must be enrolled in a payment plan.
Other Disconnection delay of 21 days with medical certificate if health of household member would be adversely affected. Certification may be renewed another 42 days. Due date for utility bills extended to 22 days. Limit on deposits.

Year-round protection from shut-off is available to all residential customers regardless of income with an initial down payment of 10 percent of a customer's total bill and a monthly budget plan.

Customers called to full-time active military service during a time of declared national or state emergency or war, may apply for shut-off protection for up to 90 days and may request extensions of this protection by reapplying.
Deferred Payments Low income customers must make monthly payments of at least 7% of their estimated annual bill, along with a portion of any past-due amount, November through March to avoid shut-off. Eligible senior citizens participating in Winter Protection are not required to make specific monthly payments between November 1 and March 31.

[Amina516]

I just calculated I spend $1920 a year on gas (mostly for heating). The first month we moved into our house, we got a $500 gas bill and I almost shit/cried myself. Since then Ive been on the monthly plan where you pay the same every month regardless of useage, its been ok since then. We also just purchased a programmable thermostat so we'll see if this lowers my bill.

I struggle to pay bills sometimes and buy things i shouldnt or that can wait. But I know where my priorities are, and making sure my gas stays on (esp in winter!) in one HUGE one.

[tropicsgoddess]

It just really jerked my chain when she put her kid on the phone....what was she thinking???

I think it was just a sympathy ploy to get you to turn her service back on. Seriously, how is it that SC's like her think that you guys are the ones to blame and get pissed off when it was their own damn fault for not paying the bill!

[Jester]

Over $1200 OMG. That's about what we spend for gas in a year...

That would be about four months of electric for us, as we don't have gas. But that electric is for everything in a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom upstairs apartment in a warm climate: lights, AC, heat (rarely), two tv's, several computers, etc., etc.

It just really jerked my chain when she put her kid on the phone....what was she thinking???

She was probably thinking it was a good idea, and frankly, I can't fault her. I mean, it is a time-honored advertising/marketing/political technique to use children to engender sympathy towards whatever cause you are using them for. I'm not saying she is not a fuckwad. She clearly is. But while you may find her using her child this way as despicable (which perhaps it is), it is also a fairly smart gamble, as a lot of people would, in fact, be swayed by the plaintive and pleading cries of the child.

Hope I made sense there. This is not my normal hour.

[jackfaire]

[QUOTE=Pinkie;654960]Not law yet.
From the "LIHEAP" web site: http://liheap.ncat.org/Disconnect/disconnect.htm


Not entirely accurate website but looks good.

[r2cagle]

Our customers use the 'I'm on life-sustaining medical equipment' excuse to try get of out being cutoff for non pay or to get reconnected faster. Unfortunately for customers, our documentation system has gotten better and faster and that excuse now only works for 10 days and they only get to use it once. After that, if no medical form is received from their doctor, and no payment is made...sorry, no juice for you.

Seems like based on our customer calls though, half of them are on oxygen/nebulizers, and the other half just had a baby... so, interesting customer base anyway.

[Soulstealer]

... you mean I can't make up my own laws to suit my whims!?

Well you could but my political science degree says governments don't like to share that type of sovereignty.

As a current law student it would also make it difficult to know what the damn law was.

I kinda want an SC to say that to me once I find a job just for the argument.

[MoonChild2007]

Well, if the parent had lost their job and is unable to support their children, then yes, I will feel for the parent, however, if the customer has a job and just didn't pay their bill and use children as an excuse, then no sympathy from me.

We send them the bills, we tell them every single month when to pay it, we send them turn off notices and some people don't care and don't bother to pay it. They suddenly care when it gets shut off.

[Chromatix]

In Britain there's a fairly common option of a pre-pay meter. It used to be something you literally had to feed with coins, but these days there's a "smart key" or "smart card" which can be recharged at a variety of retail outlets, and which is then plugged into the meter.

This is more expensive (because the retail outlets take commission) and less convenient than the invoice method, but it does give the utility company a Loss Prevention method without having to completely cut people off. It also allows them to claw back a fixed amount every week, by programming the meter to deduct credit regularly as well as for usage.

Most modern pre-pay meters also have an "emergency credit" button which allows a small amount of credit usage for people who are in a pinch. It has a hard limit of only a few pounds though.

[Pinkie]

I think if more people had to pre-pay or pay as you use, there would be a whole lot more conservation of energy going on. If you knew that hot shower was going to cost you $2 per minute, you'd take a shorter shower, or cranking up your thermostat to 75 for an hour would cost you $20, you'd think twice, and maybe throw on a sweater and cover up on the sofa with a blanket. I know since I work for the utility, I've very aware of our usage, and walk around the house turning off lights behind my boys. I try hard not to turn on my heat until November 1st (didn't make it this year...we had a cold October), and my thermostat is set at 62. The boys complain of being cold, but refuse to put on a sweatshirt or socks!! It's all about not taking it for granted and knowing that every action has an effect on the bill.

[Chromatix]

Well, by contrast, over here in Helsinki I pay a fixed amount for heat and water - it's charged according to the number of residents, not per litre or per BTU.

The heat is supplied by a district-mains system driven by the local power stations, using the otherwise waste heat from the electricity production process. The building's hot water and heating circuits are then run through heat-exchangers wth the district-heat supply. This has the nice side-effect that the hot water is at mains pressure and a fairly consistent temperature. The building is also relatively easy to heat because it is very well insulated.

The drinking water comes down a really long (100km) tunnel from the bottom of a freshwater lake, and is then run through a very simple but effective underground purification system. That supplies the whole city and is apparently extremely cheap to run.

So the only metered utility is the electricity. That's not so cheap, but it's not so expensive that I have to skimp on it, either.

[jackfaire]

People here don't want to believe that the fact it was 50 degrees outside and they had their thermostat set to 68 affects how much gas they used.

Or as one customer put it, "It just got cold last week" Ma'am it has been around 50 degrees on average for the last two months but you are right it just dropped below 40 this last week.

[elsporko]

Reading some of the prices people pay in bills reminds me why I only consider renting places where heat is included in the rent.

I had a client I was assisting a week ago, the family was behind on their electricity because they had to use space heaters to heat their home. Their landlord had never fixed their broken furnace and in addition they had just had their water shut off even though he was suppose to be paying that bill. Despite all their problems they were calm, polite, and said they were willing to stay in that house if we could help them out. Talk about patience.

[Pinkie]

Don't even get me started about those "Amish" fireplace heaters or the Eden Pure electric heaters. They suck people in about how cheap they are to use, but what they are not telling people is that they are for supplemental heating, not the only source of heat. They'll buy these damn things and then turn the furnace way down or even off, and then wonder why the electric bill is so high. They are fine if you're going to heat a small space for an hour or two, but damn, to try to heat the whole house, you're going to see HUGE electric bills. I handle high bill calls, and if it's about an electric bill, the first question I have in the winter is, "Are you using a space heater?". I had one woman with a $1200 electric bill who was heating her "Florida" room (here in the north, it's an enclosed, but uninsulated room w/ lots of windows), with two space heaters, because she had a lot of tropical plants out there. She basically said "Oh f*ck it, those bastards can die!" She didn't want another electric bill like that!

Got lucky today and got only good calls. I'll probably pay for it tomorrow!