Electric Bill…major error

[HeatherC]

Curious what others will say. Already know what I am going to do, this is just for an interesting discussion here.

So we got our electric bill for the month. It was a whopping $6.46! Never ever had an error like this happen. Bill says “actual” meter reading (like every month) and we are on autopay each month. We have National Grid but use our town’s energy supplier which is a different company. This month for the first time in 23 years it has no supplier listed on bill and is showing the meter has not changed. We have checked the meter and it is running like it always has been.

We are going to wait one month to see if it gets corrected before I spend hours on the phone getting frustrated . But what do you think?

Can or should we even be held responsible for this if it says actual reading and not just estimated? In our defense, we pay the bill in full every time. Shouldn’t this be the electric company’s problem and not mine? Even though I do know it is our problem.

By the way, my niece actually had this happen to her in another state. Went on for almost two years. They just sold their house in September and electric company told them it was not their problem since the company made the mistake. Crazy because what are the chances of the exact same thing happening to us now? Has this happened to anyone else?

 

[sam_gordon]

Curious what others will say. Already know what I am going to do, this is just for an interesting discussion here.

So we got our electric bill for the month. It was a whopping $6.46! Never ever had an error like this happen. Bill says “actual” meter reading (like every month) and we are on autopay each month. We have National Grid but use our town’s energy supplier which is a different company. This month for the first time in 23 years it has no supplier listed on bill and is showing the meter has not changed. We have checked the meter and it is running like it always has been.

We are going to wait one month to see if it gets corrected before I spend hours on the phone getting frustrated . But what do you think?

Can or should we even be held responsible for this if it says actual reading and not just estimated? In our defense, we pay the bill in full every time. Shouldn’t this be the electric company’s problem and not mine? Even though I do know it is our problem.

By the way, my niece actually had this happen to her in another state. Went on for almost two years. They just sold their house in September and electric company told them it was not their problem since the company made the mistake. Crazy because what are the chances of the exact same thing happening to us now? Has this happened to anyone else?

Does the reading on the bill match the reading on the meter? That's the first step. Obviously it will be off, but look at past bills to see how many kwh you're generally using in a month. That should give you a pretty decent idea.

My guess is there was a typo or glitch and next month you're going to see a huge increase because it will look like the usage basically doubled.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I would just call the electric company and ask about it.

 

[Southernmiss]

If the error was not in your favor would you wait?

I'd call. We had a ridiculous bill one time - there was no way we could ever use that much in one month- and immediately called.

 

[HeatherC]

If the error was not in your favor would you wait?

I'd call. We had a ridiculous bill one time - there was no way we could ever use that much in one month- and immediately called.

Yes I would. At least a month to see if it gets fixed without spending hours on the phone with them trying to get it straight.

 

[_19disnA]

I know some who use 'budget billing' or whatever that is now called and one month each year they adjust any over/under payment for usage all during the year. If you aren't on budget billing, I would call the electric company to see what went wrong. If some sort of billing calculation error, likely you wouldn't be the only ones to call and ask that question.

If you have an electric meter that isn't working correctly, likely they will come out and replace it. I would certainly call to inquire about what is wrong. Ignoring it and hoping it magically goes away next month isn't how I would deal with this.

 

[twinklebug]

Curious what others will say. Already know what I am going to do, this is just for an interesting discussion here.

So we got our electric bill for the month. It was a whopping $6.46! Never ever had an error like this happen. Bill says “actual” meter reading (like every month) and we are on autopay each month. We have National Grid but use our town’s energy supplier which is a different company. This month for the first time in 23 years it has no supplier listed on bill and is showing the meter has not changed. We have checked the meter and it is running like it always has been.

We are going to wait one month to see if it gets corrected before I spend hours on the phone getting frustrated . But what do you think?

Can or should we even be held responsible for this if it says actual reading and not just estimated? In our defense, we pay the bill in full every time. Shouldn’t this be the electric company’s problem and not mine? Even though I do know it is our problem.

By the way, my niece actually had this happen to her in another state. Went on for almost two years. They just sold their house in September and electric company told them it was not their problem since the company made the mistake. Crazy because what are the chances of the exact same thing happening to us now? Has this happened to anyone else?

This sounds to me like they had you on estimated payments for many months and they had you over paying. They're just catching up and making the bill right with an actual read.

I could be wrong. I hope not.

 

[sam_gordon]

Don't call the electric company until you get the reading off the meter and compare it to the readings from your last 3-4 bills. THEN you'll have some knowledge to know whether they have a bad reading or maybe a bad meter.

 

[prairie_girl]

This sounds to me like they had you on estimated payments for many months and they had you over paying. They're just catching up and making the bill right with an actual read.

I could be wrong. I hope not.

This was my assumption too. They’ve overestimated for a few months and now you’re getting the benefits of an actual reading.

 

[tvguy]

This was my assumption too. They’ve overestimated for a few months and now you’re getting the benefits of an actual reading.

Not sure I would do anything until I see the next month's bill. Didn't realize they estimate or physically read meters in person anymore. We've had smart meters for more years than I can remember and I can check my usage online on a daily basis because that is how often they check my usage.

 

[barkley]

I know some who use 'budget billing' or whatever that is now called and one month each year they adjust any over/under payment for usage all during the year

we have this-due to an unseasonably warm winter (so far) and some household changes that (unintentionaly) made us more energy efficient we currently have a $675 negative balance. i still have to pay my monthly 'balanced budget payment' but come june or july the electric co-op will apply the credit towards what they anticipate we will incur for the following year and come up with a new payment amount (not complaining but i think we are among the few whose utility costs have decreased year to year over the past few years). i could pay the actual bill each month but i like being able to budget for the same amount every month.

 

[lanejudy]

It sounds to me like they’ve “balanced” your estimated or budget billing account and you’ve been overpaying. I agree with PP who recommends writing down your actual meter reading. Pay whatever it says is due, then see what the next bill says - and check/record the meter reading at that point again. Our “budget billing” is reviewed/adjusted twice a year. Where we used to live would review and adjust annually.

IF the current meter reading isn’t anything logically close to the current bill (expect it to be higher), then I would make contact sooner rather than later. I would not bank on the utility erasing any error as their own. If you used the electricity, you owe for what you used even if there is an error on a bill, unless you can show a defective meter and you didn’t use the amount they claim.

Since there are 2 companies involved it’s possible something is getting changed in that “partnership.” If the 2 have split you may end up with s second bill.

 

[amcnj]

I had incorrect readings in the past. I remember having to tell them the actual meter reading sometimes, and it could take a couple of months to get the money end all straightened out.

Back then they did an estimated reading some months and actual readings some months. One would assume errors would all even out eventually. A future actual bill would get it all back on track again.

But I remember one time a future correct reading wasn’t going to help. I am trying to recall the exact circumstances but so far it’s eluding me.