Pay your bills in full down to the cent. Or else...

[pphilipko]

I find this difficult to believe...all for ONE cent!?! Anyone here have any similar experiences?


Associated Press:

Power Shut Off After Woman Owes a Penny

Tue May 16, 6:42 PM ET

It was just a penny, but to Consumers Energy it was enough to cut off power in a local home. Jacqueline Williams, 41, of Flint had an electricity bill of $1,662.08 and paid all of it, except for one cent. That wasn't enough for the power company, which blacked her out for seven hours Wednesday.

The CMS Energy Corp. subsidiary told Williams the power would not be turned on until the penny was received.

"I went down there, paid my penny and got a receipt," Williams told The Flint Journal.

Shortly after, the electricity was turned back on.

"All of this for one penny," said Williams, who went to the state Department of Human Services for help in April and was told the agency would pay most of the bill.

But she was still short more than $500.

Williams, a Social Security recipient, went to the Salvation Army, where she received $430.67, and Consumers agreed to match $430.66 toward the bill.

However, she was still one cent short.

A Consumers Energy spokesman said that the utility had no choice in the matter, though he was not aware of any similar incidents where service was stopped for one cent.

"This was the first one I've heard about," said Terry DeDoes. He said the company has many programs to help people who fall behind in their utility bills.

Williams said she doesn't want to find herself in the same situation again.

"I'm praying to God I stay on top of my bills," she said.

___

Information from: The Flint Journal, http://www.flintjournal.com

[christopher_wolf]

I think I would end up laughing at whoever handled the bill matching in the first place; if they actually complain about things over one cent and generate *more* paperwork for them, then they should take another look at their biling procedure. I had a friend who did research on power billing and the results clearly showed that there are some gaping holes in most billing systems.

[DIGITALgimpus]

That likely wasn't a person, but an automated system.

Code: Select all

if (customer['amt_paid'] != customer['amt_due']) {
   shutPower(customer['id']);
}

[smugiri]

That likely wasn't a person, but an automated system.

Code: Select all

if (customer['amt_paid'] != customer['amt_due']) {
   shutPower(customer['id']);
}

more like

Code: Select all

if (customer['amt_paid'] != customer['amt_due']) 
{
   
   shutPower(customer['id']);

   generateHugeFine ( dueToNonPayment );

   sendNonPaymentReport ( creditBureaus, collectionAgencies, peopleWhoWillCallCustomerAtAllOddHoursToBugThem );

   
   if ( disconnectionDueToTrivialIssue ) then 
   {
      callLawyers ( powerCompanyLawyers ( all ) );
   }
}

[jdhurst]

I am quite certain that cannot happen where I live (not the US). Energy companies here must appear before the authorities to cut off power and show just cause. To cut off power for 1 cent would have the company Directors and Officers shown the door with cause en masse. Nobody could be that stupid and survive, not even a computer program, in most jurisdictions.

/me laughs and splits sides.

I regularly do not pay my full gas bill because they regularly overcharge on the every other month estimate. I pay what I owe and not more. Once they tried to charge late fees on the underpayment of what I didn't owe. The thought of this being dragged into court by me and the court laughing at them was more than they could stomach. They turned with their tail between their legs and I never heard from them again (I still underpay every so often).

I pay my electric bill (and other bills) only in whole dollars. At 25 cents and over I round up (overpay) at 24 cents and under, I round down (underpay). No problem.

Our federal government has increased to 2 dollars the amount they will not chase. Our provincial goverment routinely makes small balance adjustments under 2 dollars.

One cent! Morons.
... JD Hurst

[440roadrunner]

From where I sit stuff like this is not one darn bit funny. Here in the US the banks in particular have not got all laws so scewed toward the "thems" at the bank that they just can't lose no matter what. I don't know WHY the US citizens aren't roaming the streets beating up bankers.