Utility company vent

[postage stamp]

So somehow or another when paying bills this month I forgot to pay the electric bill.

So the bill is 2 weeks late (which it's never been in the 4 years I've dealt with this utility company at 2 addresses) and instead of sending me a reminder they send me a DISCONNECT NOTICE!

I look in my ledger that I hand write and I budgeted for it, I looked on the bill that I filed away and wrote that I paid it, but when I looked at the account that I pay out of, sure enough it had the exact amount of the bill more than it should have.

I mean I KNOW it's not OK to not pay your utilities, but this past summer they over read my meter (for the SECOND TIME) by more than $700. So I had to pay them $700 extra and argue about it later. It took them 8 months to get me my money back and I had little to no recourse, but I'm 2 weeks late for the first time ever and they are threatening to disconnect my service?

It just really sticks in my craw!

 

[golfgal]

I think it is just standard practice for utility companies to send out disconnect notices for non-payment. There is probably 30+ days before they actually disconnect too.

Just send in the bill.

I have all of our bills automatically deducted from our account so I don't have to worry about these things.

 

[luvmy3jewels]

Our local utility company sends those notices out if you are two days late with your payment. And they charge a certain % interest. I don't know at what point they actually disconnect power....I think it is 2 weeks after the bill is due.

 

[cglaura]

Yep, standard practice. I usually pay at the office in town, but sometimes I mail in a check, which sometimes makes it a day or two late. Even just a day or two, and I get the notice. But the notice is received at my house after the late check they received has posted to my bank already!

You'd think giving a 15 day grace period or something would save them a ton of postage not to mention ecological friendliness...they are always tell us to conserve!

But in the end, it was my fault it was late, so I try to pay in person...immediate posting.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Yep, standard practice. I usually pay at the office in town, but sometimes I mail in a check, which sometimes makes it a day or two late. Even just a day or two, and I get the notice. But the notice is received at my house after the late check they received has posted to my bank already!

You'd think giving a 15 day grace period or something would save them a ton of postage not to mention ecological friendliness...they are always tell us to conserve!

But in the end, it was my fault it was late, so I try to pay in person...immediate posting.

No offense but the bill due date is the date it's due, not 2 or 3 days later. I don't see how mailing a check makes it a few days late, that means you're not mailing it soon enough. Now it may not seem like a big deal but those costs to mail out the late notices to those who do not pay on time are just increasing the costs you are paying in delivery fees.

I don't see how it's fair to blame the company for sending notices out due to non-payment; the customer should pay on time, then there won't be notices being sent. If the company stopped sending notices (and personally, I think if the payment is even a day late, there should be some small penalty applied) then people would just take advantage of the 15 day window, and then complain that they got a notice 2 days after that window.

 

[cglaura]

No offense but the bill due date is the date it's due, not 2 or 3 days later. I don't see how mailing a check makes it a few days late, that means you're not mailing it soon enough. Now it may not seem like a big deal but those costs to mail out the late notices to those who do not pay on time are just increasing the costs you are paying in delivery fees.

I don't see how it's fair to blame the company for sending notices out due to non-payment; the customer should pay on time, then there won't be notices being sent. If the company stopped sending notices (and personally, I think if the payment is even a day late, there should be some small penalty applied) then people would just take advantage of the 15 day window, and then complain that they got a notice 2 days after that window.

Yes, in case you didn't notice, I did say it was my fault. I would have paid it in the office, but didn't get there, so mailing the check later then I would have if I had planned on mailing it.

I hope you are never ill or have some other thing in your life that makes a bill a day late. Or that you are not all alone with no back up to get a payment out, or if you are out of stamps so can't just put it in the box. Bless you for being the perfect bill payer that you are.

I never said to stop sending notices, just wait a few days, not THE first day, and also never said anything about not wanting to pay a late fee. I was late, I paid the fee the next bill.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Yes, in case you didn't notice, I did say it was my fault. I would have paid it in the office, but didn't get there, so mailing the check later then I would have if I had planned on mailing it.

I hope you are never ill or have some other thing in your life that makes a bill a day late. Or that you are not all alone with no back up to get a payment out, or if you are out of stamps so can't just put it in the box. Bless you for being the perfect bill payer that you are.

I never said to stop sending notices, just wait a few days, not THE first day, and also never said anything about not wanting to pay a late fee. I was late, I paid the fee the next bill.

90% of my bills are autopay, the 10% that are not, I pay as soon as I get the bill, being proactive and taking ownership. I know it's easy to come up with excuses (not meaning this in a bad way), but it's not like it's unexpected, it's a recurring bill (amount changes).

 

[scoutmom41]

You made a mistake it can happen to anyone.

But the utility does have to collect, and collections is
a big part of their business.

If you don't like it you can always go without their service.

 

[cglaura]

90% of my bills are autopay, the 10% that are not, I pay as soon as I get the bill, being proactive and taking ownership. I know it's easy to come up with excuses (not meaning this in a bad way), but it's not like it's unexpected, it's a recurring bill (amount changes).

This is true. The electric bill is actually the only bill I don't have on autopay. I just don't like to autopay something that I don't know what the charge will be, and it is the only fluctuating bill I have. My heat is electric, so it could be a difference of $200+ from one month to another when it is very cold. I should pay it right away, but I try to coordinate it with being in town (not making an extra trip out), so that is not always an option. I wish they didn't charge for phone payments, then I'd pay the day I got it. Or even online. They charge $5 for either of those. I pay everything else online with no extra fees. I guess I could send a check the day I get it, but I just like know it won't get lost or something. Silly I know.

In reality, this has happened maybe 3 times in the 22 years I've owned my house. It is not something I do all the time just because I'm lazy so it's not that I'm making an excuse...like oh, I can be late whenever I want, its just a day...it was an explanation of sorts of extenuating and unusual circumstance...the last time I was very sick. I don't remember the reason for other times, it was years and years ago right after my divorce, so I'm sure it was turmoil surrounding that.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Yes, in case you didn't notice, I did say it was my fault. I would have paid it in the office, but didn't get there, so mailing the check later then I would have if I had planned on mailing it.

I hope you are never ill or have some other thing in your life that makes a bill a day late. Or that you are not all alone with no back up to get a payment out, or if you are out of stamps so can't just put it in the box. Bless you for being the perfect bill payer that you are.

I never said to stop sending notices, just wait a few days, not THE first day, and also never said anything about not wanting to pay a late fee. I was late, I paid the fee the next bill.

Respectfully, the system is automated. If they don't trigger he notice when it is do, but wait those few grace days, folks will know they don't have to pay when it is due. Then they will take advantage of that.

We use billpay and auto-schedule it.

We forgot to pay the waterbill a couple of months ago. It happens. Not everyone is sick and the utility company cannot afford the BOD and wait a few days.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

But the notice served its purpose. It got your attention!.

The thing to do is immediately call the utility company, apologize for the problem, and do what it takes to get the money to them. The fact they note you called in the system will slow down any planned actions.

 

[disney11fan]

the notice you received is computer generated. notices are mandated by your public utilities commision. there is a procedure the company must go thru before they can turn off service.

no human intervention took place. try auto pay that someone suggested. you can also read the meter yourself and submit the meter reading either on line or call them. sorry no sympathy from me.

 

[robinb]

I'm a little surprised that you were sent a disconnect notice in the winter. I thought that northern places (like Seattle and Wisconsin) don't cut services in the winter.

 

[kellyg403]

OP, I understand what you are saying. It takes months for THEM to correct a problem, all the while using your money interest free. But be a minute late and you have a disconnect notice. That is VERY frustrating!

I would do as others suggested, call them and talk to them or go to the drop box and put the money in. My dh is the bill payer, God Bless him. He doesn't like to do things on the computer, so he does it the old fashioned way. Anything local he goes right there and pays. He has a whole system/ledger like you described. Last week he realized that he had not paid on our storage unit last month. He missed the entry for the next month. While I am sure there are much simpler ways for him to do it, it works for him so I don't say a word.

Sometimes, things happen. Can't remember everything all the time, but I understand feeling like you made a mistake. You are probably like dh, he was way more mad at himself then I understood at the time!


Kelly

 

[bicker]

I think it is just standard practice for utility companies to send out disconnect notices for non-payment. There is probably 30+ days before they actually disconnect too.

Emphasis on the "+" part. I think this became standard practice because of all the onerous regulations that have been put in place to process a disconnection for non-payment. Depending on the utility and the locality, requirements could include a certain number of (specifically) disconnect notices, a waiting period after (specifically) the disconnect notice, etc. So effectively our local governments are responsible for utilities going so quickly to issuing disconnect notices, since generally the regulations are all predicated on those notices, not on any prior "reminders".

 

[Mermaid02]

Just send them the check- they don't want an apology, they just want what you owe them. It happens, don't beat yourself up over it.

 

[barkley]

our utility bill is due about 20 days from the date it's printed up. the next bill gets printed up 30 days after the prior bill, so if you have not paid the prior you get a disconnect notice along with your new billing. you get either 7 or 10 days notice on a disconnect.

(i know this because a payment i sent in one time accidentaly got credited to someone else's account).


this is MUCH nicer than the utility company we used in california-i had a roommate who failed to pay the bill one month, and when we got the notice it was schedualed to occur in 48 hours (taught me not to just hit the mailbox every couple of days).

 

[kacaju]

I just had that happen to me too. No big deal. but coming from another person who does always pay their bills, it is upsetting to know you were late one time and got this notice.
It was a mistake....lord knows we all have forgotten to pay/do something once in a while, it is only human.