So mad I could spit !!!
 

I was in the shower when the lights went out. It was TXU sutting off the electricity for nonpayment. :o I swear I didn't get a disconect notice! Anyway, called them and they wanted 309.00 plus a 90.00 reconect fee for same day and 30.00 for next day reconect. So we russled up 309.00 and borrowed the 30.00 and paid the bill. This took 2 days, meanwhile were freezing our %*#^ off cuz we don't have heat. We called them to say OK it's paid now turn it on. Well... She says NO. :yeeha: You have to pay a 200.00 deposit fee and a 48$ reconnect fee now. :waa: By this time I'm so mad that I'm crying. :waa: So here we are with no lights and no heat and no money! Then we get a disconnect notice on the door from the water company. :rolleyes: What's next the phone?
It could be worse. We found out that we are getting some money next tuesday.
This is where y'all come in. Tell me, should we pay the &*$#'s at TXU thier deposit or shoud we go out and get a generator? Any other alternatives? I would like to do solar but we are renting this house and won't have that much $ anyay. How much do generators cost? How loud are they? Would that be a problem in a suburb?
Sigh. I'm at my mom's so it might be a couple of days before I can respond to answers but thanks for any advice. :)

Are you serious? You shouldn't be "going out to get" ANYTHING!!!! Just pay your bills!!! :no:

I'm not certain but I believe utility companies are limited regarding turning off utility service in winter months. It may be a state by state thing, though. Not certain. If they have violated the law then they'll roll over pretty easy IF you make an issue of it.

Call them back. Perhaps someone else might honor what they first said. A generator would cost more to run then they charge.

Yargh! Sounds like your electric company got bought up by the same one which took over in Tulsa. They're truly evil!

But I don't think you have much of a choice. You're going to have to pay them. I doubt you can afford a truly efficient generator and, as someone mentioned (ed?), you're still going to have to put money into running it.

What you can do, though, is cut way down on that electric and start saving to move away from that electric company. :)

What are you mad for? You didnt pay your bills until it got to 300+ dollars, then get mad when they shut it off and want a fee to reconnect it?
And the water too, what next the phone? That happens when you don't pay bills, they shut them off.

Pay the bills and don't be buying anything.

Best way to fix this problem in the future is to pay your @#$%^^ bill on time. Can't blame any one for wanting what their customers agreed to pay for after the service was rendered.

Do you have gas heat for your hot water or for your oven?

Cause, if you have hot water you can fill the tub and it will warm the house a LITTLE, at least!

Kerosene heaters are MUCH cheaper than generators, but you MUST crack a window to let the carbon monoxide out, and you do NOT run it at night!

Look on the bright side, who needs power for the fridge when food stays cold on the counter? :p

Do you have a grill for a cookout? There will NEVER be a better excuse for a bar-b-que! :dance: You don't need charcoal, if you stand there with twigs in your hand you CAN keep the temperature of the fire steady enough to cook your food! :dance:

Take your time, catch your breath, regain your equilibrium. This is a MAJOR inconvenience, but you can do this. It's BORING to be in a house with no power, no TV or radio, but you can do this. We were without power for 3 days during the ice storm.

Then, find out what their disconnect policy is. If they require notice, ask to see where you signed for the certified letter (if they have to send you one). If they did not follow their own policy, SQUEEZE them a little to see if they will give a bit. After all, THEY had to agree to a few things before they were given their monopoly! :yeeha:

electric shut off
 

hi, we all have had a problem at one time or another remembering, so don't let it bother you to much. I would make a list and post it on my refrig to keep it at eye level, to help trigger your memory. If it was a financial situation,there is a place,I am not sure of the name, but they assist people who sometimes need financial help through the winter for heat bills, electric,gas. They did tell you if you paid the 2 fees they would connect the electric again. no mention was made of other fees. Call the main office and insist they take care of this. It is possible to do anything but alas it all takes money. I am not informed as what type of heat you can do where you are at.Wood stove- kero heater, on these you can heat water and warm your body. A solar hook-up is not real complicated but are usually done when you own your own home. Take care and God bless, lexi

I am shocked at you guys, did your mothers not teach you if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all. :no: You have no right to be so judgemental, not all of us are as lucky as you to have a money tree growing in the back yard. Some of us do have money problems, not all of us are blessed with rich daddies! You have no idea what has occured in her life to have put her 300$ behind, I'm sure if she had the extra money she would have paid it before then. Buffy I am so sorry. It sounds to be as if they are ripping you off. Did you pay a deposit before, you might want to check that one out. I personaly would just pay the extra 200$ you wont get a generator that cheap and you've aready paid them 300+ nad you wont get it back. I'm sorry sweetie, I've been in your boat. I hope you are able to work it out. Good Luck and God bless you.

In CHrist
Jennifer

Go to Modestneeds.com they can help you with this.

you think power is expensive, whait till you go buy a diesle gen.. where ya gona get a lifetime supply of diesel fuel?

around here they cant kill the power in the winter.

I'm on budget, and its 95 bucks a month all year. in the summer i use next to no power, the actual use is less than 30 a month, then in the winter it goes WAY up, but I still pay 95 a month, and all things even out by next winter...

now you got the power shut off for a 300 dollar bill. my question is how much is your power bill ber month? now.. your n texas, so cold isnt something your really suffering with (its 13 here), so one beggs the question how many months does it take for you, in a relitivly warm state to rack up a 300 dollar power bill?

i know times can get tough... but you want to know if you should buy a generator (at least a 3000 buck investment to run a house on) and it goes without saying your able to buy the fuel.....

I'm sorry i must have missed that day in math class or something.... :haha:

I repectfully ask IF your ready to go buy a generator and fuel... why not just pay the power co, its WAAY cheaper.

I was in Ok a few times in the winter and still sweat my jewels off... how cold can it be in texas?
:confused:
I'm not being judgemental not at all I've been behind in bills myself more times than I can count.. but your so upset they killed the power for non payment, did you not think this would happen? I dont know how old you are, and if your a young un, I can see where that might no occur to you.
sometimes you have to go hungry to keep the utilities on, if the result of not paying them is a bunch of fines. I've done that a lot... being poor isnt all the glamor its cracked up to be.

We lived in Memphis last winter, one months bill, thermastat set at 77 all the time was 200+ There was one bill we had for 375 :eek: We were paying more for heat than rent

" This is a MAJOR inconvenience, but you can do this. It's BORING to be in a house with no power, no TV or radio, but you can do this. We were without power for 3 days during the ice storm."


Not boring at our house. Depends on the marraige, I reckon.
We do without "power" for weeks at a time, and, never a tv....
But, we do pay everything we owe, and that, on time.

Swampdweller

Life happens. Unemployement happens.

Buffy, I have NO advice to give on how you handle money. My sister fell behind on her bills after the death of her second child (her first died, also).

Life happens.

I don't expect you to talk about the problems you are having, sometimes a person does NOT want to talk about what is causing the problems in their lives. Write about it or not: as you wish.

You are adults, you WILL work through this, it sometimes takes time.

you set the therostat at 77?????
77????

mine are set at 50 to keep the pipes from freezing, and the fireplace keeps it a liveable 60 or so.

turn the thing DOWN and put on some clothes and you wont have a 200+bill.

77? jeeze in the summer i whine if its over 70... :haha:

I have one room at 72 with a baseboard heater, thats the bathroom because lets face it who wants to freeze thier cheeks off bathing or taking care of business? and I cant stand it in there for more than a few min...

77?
my friend comes over she stokes up the stove till its 85 in here I am DYING... But she goes out and gets the wood so I dont care. when I have to carry the wood, it stays 60!! (or less)

I don't have a rich daddy either. So before you start telling people they are judgemental, Daileyjoy, I suggest you look at your own words.

As for your heat bills, why on earth would you have it set at 77 degrees all winter? :eek:

Just for the record, y'all........

I've had to deal with TXU long years ago, and they can be pretty big crapholes! Yes, you should pay your bills..

BUFFY SAID they didn't send a cutoff notice....

Hey... they should stick by their first story on the phone to you.... call back.. bitch til you get 'sataisfaction'.. threaten a lawyer or something.. that usually works :):) OR just be really, really NIIIIICE.. it's not the phone operator's fault of course... But if she/he is one of THOSE operators... give 'em hell, til they straighten up. If you got same day cut off turn on... ??? How could they POSSIBLY charge for another deposit? Maybe you never paid a deposit to begin with .. might have been a transfer or something and they COULD stick it to you?

Now... for future advice: I have seen ads where you can now CHOOSE your electric co? Check into it... I've been curious anyway.. you can tell us all here in Texas what the deal is. (Maybe I was in Houston at the time I saw Ad?)

ALSO.. look on this as an opportunity to LEARN about homesteading/grid free living.... get extra blankets. etc. Play board games.. use a kerosene lamp. It COULD be fun... a 'little'? :):)

Good luck... and don't use CREDIT CARDS to buy ANYthing... EVER or you'll NEVER get out of the city (or out of debt) !!!!!!!! The city would probably just write you a ticket of some sort for the noise of a generator anyway!!

I'm going to bet the Texas utility was bought by the same company that bought the electric company in Tulsa.

And it is no exaggeration to see they are thoroughly evil people.

I am so glad I don't have to deal with them anymore. Not only were their rates outrageous, they absolutely would cut the electric off without notice. Never happened to me - but I can sure see that they would gladly do it.

So lighten up people - this isn't ordinary electric company we're talking about. These people are vile!

Oh, yeah.... and the really great part... those bozos at TXU use lakes three hours east of Dallas (right out HERE with ME) to generate for DALLAS!!! Pft.
:no: :no: Amazes me how far reaching the 'grid' is.

Hi Buffy , hope you get thru this with a level head. I know how it feels to be put on notice that you are being held hostage by a the utility company to pay their ransom. Money is hard to come by at different times in our life and it looks like this "is" one of those times for you. After you have settled up with TXU i would begin looking for a cheaper home in the country if it is feasible for you to drive alittle farther to your job. TRY to keep from getting so Mad as it will totally consume all your energy and it just isn't good for your health either. It took me along time to conquer my Anger monster but it feels so much better to keep a level head. Try to use this negative situation to initiate a Positive change in your life and you will have learned from your mistake. , Merry Christmas and good luck , fordy........... :D :eek:

Amazing comment, just check out the deadbeat list on the barter board!

Back to the subject at hand, get hooked back up and vow to never be put in that position again. Monitor your usage and plan for seasonal usage. If you take the information offered in the archives, you could easily cut your utility usage in less than half and not suffer a bit.

We've all been slapped a time or two in our lives, the trick is to LEARN from it and strive to not let it happen again.

Buffy, decide which one or two rooms you will heat and all of you sleep there until you get your finances back in order. If your area has it, see if you qualify for any discounts or work done to make the place weathertight--some programs don't cost you or the owner anything--things like caulking windows or putting plastic on the other windows. If you have an open floorplan, try to put up spring-loaded shower rods and curtains to help keep the heat in.

We have ceiling heat, so it's set at 55-60, and I wear sweaters and sometimes a hat in the house.

I don't think that a generator is the answer to your problem. It's tough to be struggling and I think we all have at one point in time. I don't know what your power rates are like but that would only be 6 weeks of consumption here. I find if I'm going to be late making a payment, it's wisest to call in and make arrangments. I do hope you can get the matter cleared up soon without the need for a deposit. Most places do have some form of help for people struggling with utility bills, you might want to contact social services and they can point you in the right direction.

Buffy, call the utility company, and ask for a manager-get his/her name from the customer service rep along with a telephone and fax number. If they hesitate say "Are you refusing to give me this information?" That usually works. Then explain, patiently at first, what the original CSR told you-$309.00 to turn the power back on, which you did on such and such a date with cash (did you keep the reciept?, or check # whatever) If the supervisor gives you a hard time ask if you can pay the deposit in installments, if they still give you a hard time tell them you are contacting the Attorney General in your state as it's winter, you're cold, if you have children make sure they know that. Tell them you'll go to the media and make it public that you paid your bill and they will not turn the power back on. NYS has advocacy departments for things like this-utility, banking, insurance, etc. check your yellow pages to see if there are any in Texas.

My oldest DD made a telephone payment on her credit card. The person that input her account number apparently did it incorrectly so the payment was never credited to her account. She called and tried to straighten it out but they gave her the run around and just kept calling dunning her for money. She did try for about two weeks before she called me in tears. It took me a half hour on the phone with a supervisor but I got the whole thing straightened out, including having them remove two telephone payments, dropping the "bounced" check fee (that was their error to start with) and I got her interest reduced a bit (she had the card for over a year without a single late payment) You have to be forceful, and stick with it-don't let them off the phone.

Everyone has problems at one time or another. It's not the end of the world.

Good luck,

Stacy in NY

Call and talk to a supervisor.... tell them exactly what you were told you had to do... tell him if they cannot stick to their words... then you will contact the Public Utilities Commission and file a complaint... do this very calmly and rationally... This should get you results immediately. If I were you, also, I would also file the complaint with the PUC ... just to make sure this doesnt happen again.

As far as Texas goes..... almost every home is ALL Electric... except in the rural areas and then it is electric and propane. This to me is the funniest thing about living in texas... we have oil wells everywhere.. and refineries.. and what do they do with natural gas.. they burn it off at the refineries instead of using it for heating and cooking.

Also in Texas, they cannot shut your power off during the summer because of the heat... every one must be able to have their Air Conditioning ... but at least in Houston, in the wintertime... it doesnt get that cold... We had our second freeze last night... its 39 degrees as I sit and type this now... and will be up into the 50's today...

I lived in the high desert in California, where it snowed every winter, and we always had very cold days.... had natural gas there.. at night the heater was turned down or off... the taps were left on to prevent freezing... and we wore sweats to bed, with several blankets and a sleeping bag on each bed... work caps to sleep.. during the day, the heater was set at 50 degrees... and i usually cooked a pot of soup or beans every day.. and that helped warm the house.

Anyways, I hope that helps You...

Lynn in Texas

PS... PUC will help with gas bills, and phone bills too... SBC is very afraid of the PUC...

:haha:

Buffy said "309.00 plus a 90.00 reconect fee for same day and 30.00 for next day reconect" and then that she didn't pay it until 2 days later. So since she didn't make the cut-off she would have to pay by the third day rules. I don't think they were necessarily out of line since they told her the fees and she took longer to make the payment and was then past the deadline re: those particular fees. It stinks, but that is why I am religious about paying the utility bills before anything else. I don't want them to have a reason to send me notices of any kind.

When I just checked the weather the high for the next seven days is expected to be 69 degrees and the low one day of 30 degrees. You can manage without whole house heat with that fairly easily. What we used to do when we had a heat wave and no air conditioning in our rented place was to hang out where they did. Do the same with heat. Some ideas: go to the library to use their internet, walk through a shopping area until you get warmed up, work extra hours at your heated indoor job.

Since you refer to other money issues and you are fired up about things now, you might consider this an opportunity to make some changes. Check out the book "Your Money or Your Life" from the public library. No matter what you earn it will help you create a healthy relationship with $.

:eek: 77!!!!! Good Lord. At our house, 67 is pure luxury!

Buffy sorry you're having troubles. I don't have any advice other than talk to them about setting up a payment plan for the remaining amount they want. Maybe they will just add a set amount onto each of the next 6 mos bill to cover what you still owe.

Since this is December, here's a suggestion for 2004. :)
Get one of those free calenders every place gives out at the holidays. Sit down and go over your past bills and find out when each bill is due ( usually it doesn't vary by more than a few days so use the earliest date you find for each biller).
My electric is always due on the 4th, water the 15th, telephone the 5th, insurance the 14th, etc.
Then mark your calender for each month with the Name of the biller on the date it's due by. That way if a place doesn't send you a bill or it gets lost, you can check the calender weekly to see when each thing is due, it may prevent cut offs and those high re-connect fees you're talking about.

I've been using this sytem for years and I have never missed paying a bill due to not having the notice-it's getting harder to get your mail with the Postal Service lately.
I know when each thing is due so if it's not in my bills to pay folder I can call the company and get the amount so I don't have late charges.

Good Luck and just try to work with them to catch up and stay current if at all possible. Those fees end up being more than your bill would be. :eek:

Don't be mad at them or us; they are businesses and they can't give their services away for free but if you find you can't pay a total bill in the future please try contacting them before it is overdue. Most, not all places will work with you IF they know before there's a problem with non payment.
Just think of it in reverse; if you worked for someone and was expecting to be paid then the place didn't pay you not only would you be ticked off but you wouldn't continue to give them your work services for free.

Blessings,
Kathy

So pay your bills ontime next time and you won't have to worry about not getting a disconnect notice. In the meantime, pay them what you owe and quitcherbeefin.

I don't see a reply from you answering someone's question about what time period the $309 covered but I'm guessing it's not for just one month. Do you think you can skip paying your electric? They send a bill every month and you're supposed to pay it every month. Works the same way for your phone and water and rent in case you were wondering.

I really don't feel sorry for you.

And forget about the generator. I don't think you can afford the generator or the fuel to run it if you can't pay TXU.

The only practical advice I can give you is...

forget the generator, if your bills are 300+, the cost of the gennie and fuel will exceed that for many months, until the genny is paid for, and for a whole house system, 24/7, your looking at megabucks. Very impractical.

Turn your heat off. Yes, OFF. When you go to bed, crawl under a comforter or sleeping bag. At least turn the thermostat down low, in the sixties. Electric heat is for rich folks.

I know it's hard paying bills sometimes. I always have the money available, no suger daddies, but keep an eagle eye on my budget. It's just the remembering part about "paying" the bills. So, I pay six months at a time on my electrics. Six months on my long distance and regular phone bills.

Try your darndest to escape renting. Buy anything, a hovel even, improve on it with sweat equity, and you will have something for your troubles. Stay there awhile, you'll gain equity, when you leave, you can make a profit or break even. Renting is a trap. Keep renting, you'll never escape. Of course, you probably know this already. If you are on this board, your obviously trying to escape that life and seek a better one.

Move to the country. Can always get a wood stove...free heat, almost. I have free natural gas, live in the right county, and the right property, and you could have it too.

good luck...

mad
 

Hi all,
Well, we are still without electricity but it isn't too bad. After I posted I sat down to meditate and reflected on the whole situation. I deceided to treat it as an adventure. I re-read my book "How to live without elect. and like it" and got ideas. It has been nice sitting by the fireplace having actual conversations with my children. :D We are planning to move to the country and be off the grid so this was good practice. Thank you to all the people who gave encouragement and good advice. :D I am putting several into practice since I am taking over the bill paying now!

The $309. was for 2 months. During the summer months it can be 3-4 hundred a month. :eek: We are very careful and try to save elect. but with this house and TXU it ain't easy. We are changing companies as soon as it gets turned back on.

We went out and looked at generators and compared prices. Yes, it would be a large investment, but one we were planning already for building our house. The reason we thought about doing it now is to get out from under the tyrany of the utility companies, who have us by the short hairs. I wasn't angry that the elect. got cut off. I was angry that they changed the rules. I paid what they told me, THEN they demanded more.

To those who may think I am blowing smoke with my plans, Yes, we are broke now. Next tuesday we won't be. :haha: Oh, happy day!

To those who chose to post hurtful things. Thank you for your opinion. I will be praying that you resolve your karmic issues quickly and become happier people. ;) Don't worry I never hold grudges. :p GROUP HUG :D

If you are going to change electric companies anyways, why wait until the power is on? You are financially square with them now, yes? Why pay a reconnect fee TO THEM, if you don't want to do business with them?????

Very nicely answered Buffy.

mad
 

My husband called several companies and they all said we have to have the elect. turned back on before we can change companies. Must be some legal thing.
Thanks kathy :D