Understanding Debt - Utility Bills
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Food, housing and utilities are the three most important sectors where it is necessary to settle debts if at all possible. Some people like Lana and Jon Courtright of Bangor Maine chose to buy food and pay heavy gasoline costs before paying their electric bill. They worked on the assumption that the Power Company would not cut them off during the cold winter months. A few days ago they received a disconnection notice from Bangor Hydro- Electric Company for their past due $400 electricity bill.
They are not alone:
The Courtright’s disconnection notice is one of 46,000 that the company has issued to its 118,00 customers. It is shocking to learn that 36% of residents in the Bangor area are behind in their utility payments. Kim Wadleigh, the power company’s senior director of customer relations says the company is plagued by $3.6 million in unpaid debts. “What’s more”, she says, ”the trend in unpaid bills has been on the increase since 2005″. The Maine Public Utilities Commission has a no winter disconnection rule to protect residents from severe hardship. Spokeswoman Gail Rice of Central Maine Power gives these tips to consumers when they are confronted with large utility bills that they cannot pay.
Make an effort:
If customers are seen to be making an effort the utility companies will usually look on them in a more considerate light.
What to do if you get a disconnection notice:
Don’t panic. The notice gives you one month to put the matter right. When the notice arrives, call the Company. This reassures them that you are not about to leave them in the lurch.
Explain your predicament:
Gail Rice says: ”We can work together and we are very successful in negotiating with customers to avoid disconnection.” If a customer offers to pay something, very often the company will accept the offer and run with it. It is important, however, to meet the commitment, otherwise the Company might think you are trying to avoid paying the bill and then they will cut you off.
Rise in gas prices put people in a pinch:
Jon Courtright that this year’s hike in gas prices has really put his family in a pinch. “We’re dishing out $40.00 a week for gas. Multiply that by four and that’s the electricity bill, right?” The power companies know that there is a finite amount of money circulating and that people have to have heat in the cruel Maine winter. If you do get into trouble with these bills, don’t sit there saying nothing. Call up the utility company and strike a deal. You are not alone in this predicament, and the companies would rather have some money coming in preferab, ly to none at all.
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28 May 2008, 10:08 pm
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