Gas company suddenly bills you for 6 months worth of charges. What would you do? - GoFuckYourself.com

rowan · 01-14-2009, 09:53 PM

Today I received 4 invoices from the gas company covering a 6 month period. I did some further checking and it looks like there's still a couple more that may arrive, which covers a further 4 months. The last invoice would have been issued in late 2007.

They want payment by 2nd Feb.

I'm curious. What would you do in this situation?

(Payment isn't going to cause a great deal of hardship in my case, but I'm pretty pissed that after more than a year they're playing fast catchup... pay now or else...)

rowan · 01-14-2009, 09:53 PM

In other news, I was double charged by my host a couple of days ago.

Must be the season for billing errors.

After Shock Media · 01-14-2009, 09:55 PM

Um did you not realize you were still using gas and not paying a bill?

I figure they should work with you of course and I am pretty sure a manager would help make a payment plan. Yet it does sound like both of you were asleep at the wheel or something. Only difference is you did use the service.

tony286 · 01-14-2009, 09:56 PM

when you werent getting bills did you call to see whats up?

brassmonkey · 01-14-2009, 10:00 PM

damn pay yo damn bills!!

is this past or future billing and hows yo kid should be big now

rowan · 01-14-2009, 10:03 PM

I really only keep track of invoices that I've received... I'm too absent minded to "expect" them at a specific date.

We're billed by the same company (but separately) for gas and electricity which is probably why I didn't realise that I hadn't seen one of those blue and white bills for a while.

I should add this is not the first time there's been the delay issue, this is the second time I've experienced it personally. I also found an article which said that 200,000 customers in another state experienced a similar problem. So it's not really about whether I should pay or not, it's about a fucked up public utility system that needs to be fixed. Officially.

SordidShawn · 01-14-2009, 10:03 PM

Same thing I did when the electricity provider decided that my meter was broken and I was liable - check for alternative sources, find none, then bite down on the pillow.

sortie · 01-14-2009, 10:16 PM

Take the money to pay the bill and use it as down payment for solar panels and a
generator.

If there's a fried food restuarant in your area then get the generator modified to run
on cooking oil. They will gladly give you the used oil because otherwise they have to
despose of it legally(they can't pour it down the sink).

rowan · 01-14-2009, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sortie

Take the money to pay the bill and use it as down payment for solar panels and a
generator.

If there's a fried food restuarant in your area then get the generator modified to run
on cooking oil. They will gladly give you the used oil because otherwise they have to
despose of it legally(they can't pour it down the sink).

How do I convert solar energy and oil into natural gas?

Alternative energy is something I'm very interested in, but with a small array of servers consuming around 1kW 24/7/365 (plus the associated air conditioning power) it would require a shitload of capital investment to cover.

sortie · 01-14-2009, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rowan

How do I convert solar energy and oil into natural gas?

Alternative energy is something I'm very interested in, but with a small array of servers consuming around 1kW 24/7/365 (plus the associated air conditioning power) it would require a shitload of capital investment to cover.

The idea is not perfect, but wow, wouldn't you love it if you got it all to work and
told the power company to fuck off?

Bird · 01-14-2009, 10:31 PM

Fuck, I had that problem for 11 months due to PG&E billing issues, I told them to fuck off I will pay you an extra $50 a month. Two months later they shut me off.

At that time I didn't have the $1300 turn it on so I busted in to my 401k and paid the penalties.

Fuck the power company one day I will be all solar.

AsianDivaGirlsWebDude · 01-14-2009, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rowan

Today I received 4 invoices from the gas company covering a 6 month period.

I'm curious. What would you do in this situation?

ADG

bdld · 01-14-2009, 10:54 PM

contact them and set up a payment plan, no interest no penalties. that is, if it was their fault not to send the bills.

Sly · 01-14-2009, 10:57 PM

I would contact them and tell them you simply don't have the money but want to work out a payment plan. If they say no, I would go up the chain and also contact someone from your city Council or a local state representative of some sort (not sure what you have in Australia). If they did it to you, the odds are there are others.

CDSmith · 01-14-2009, 11:02 PM

Go postal.

rowan · 01-14-2009, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sly

I would contact them and tell them you simply don't have the money but want to work out a payment plan. If they say no, I would go up the chain and also contact someone from your city Council or a local state representative of some sort (not sure what you have in Australia). If they did it to you, the odds are there are others.

There's an energy industry ombudsman which I have already contacted with a preliminary enquiry. The fact that it's happened more than once, and the latest incident covers a ridiculous period of time (no invoice for more than a year?) means I'm willing to take it further rather than just quietly paying and forgetting about it like I did last time.

Ethersync · 01-14-2009, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdld

contact them and set up a payment plan, no interest no penalties. that is, if it was their fault not to send the bills.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sly

I would contact them and tell them you simply don't have the money but want to work out a payment plan. If they say no, I would go up the chain and also contact someone from your city Council or a local state representative of some sort (not sure what you have in Australia). If they did it to you, the odds are there are others.

CDSmith · 01-14-2009, 11:21 PM

That's kind of the nice thing about Winnipeg, it's so cold in winter that it's against the law for the gas company to shut you down during the cold months. They HAVE to work out a payment plan with you, because shutting off service to someone's house can often mean people freezing to death.

But seriously I doubt there's a utility company out there that isn't willing to work out a payment plan, so I'm inclined to go with what like Sly said.

V_RocKs · 01-14-2009, 11:37 PM

I doubt we can fix this for you.

Sux but ultimately you are the one that should be on the ball according to their TOS which spans 32 pages....

Rochard · 01-14-2009, 11:39 PM

My house here was a model home, and was one of the first houses built in the area. It was built before any of the streets existed, so it had no street address. Being as it was a model house, it was fully powered up for a few years while people walked through it.

When I went to change the power into my name it was a huge hassle. Every time I called they told me that my address didn't exist and passed me up to a manager. Every time the issue was "unresolved". They even had me read the serial number off of the meter outside, but told me this number didn't exist.

After a year and a visit to their main office in Sacramento, they finally sent someone out. I'm not sure of the details, but it was some kind of special arrangement with the power company and the home builder. I didn't pay for power or gas for six months and never got billed for it.

Fuck 'em.

CDSmith · 01-14-2009, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rochard

Fuck 'em.

Best quote of the thread so far.

01-14-2009, 09:53 PM	#1
rowan Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Australia Posts: 17,393	Gas company suddenly bills you for 6 months worth of charges. What would you do? Today I received 4 invoices from the gas company covering a 6 month period. I did some further checking and it looks like there's still a couple more that may arrive, which covers a further 4 months. The last invoice would have been issued in late 2007. They want payment by 2nd Feb. I'm curious. What would you do in this situation? (Payment isn't going to cause a great deal of hardship in my case, but I'm pretty pissed that after more than a year they're playing fast catchup... pay now or else...)

01-14-2009, 09:55 PM	#3
After Shock Media It's coming look busy Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn". Posts: 35,299	Um did you not realize you were still using gas and not paying a bill? I figure they should work with you of course and I am pretty sure a manager would help make a payment plan. Yet it does sound like both of you were asleep at the wheel or something. Only difference is you did use the service. __________________ [email protected] ICQ:135982156 AIM: Aftershockmed1a MSN: [email protected]

01-14-2009, 10:00 PM	#5
brassmonkey Pay It Forward Industry Role: Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Yo Mama House Posts: 77,225	damn pay yo damn bills!! is this past or future billing and hows yo kid should be big now __________________ TRUMP 2025 KEKAW!!! - The Laken Riley Act Is Law! DACA ENDED - SUPPORT AZ HCR 2060 52R - email: brassballz-at-techie.com

01-14-2009, 10:16 PM	#8
sortie Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 7,771	Take the money to pay the bill and use it as down payment for solar panels and a generator. If there's a fried food restuarant in your area then get the generator modified to run on cooking oil. They will gladly give you the used oil because otherwise they have to despose of it legally(they can't pour it down the sink). __________________

01-14-2009, 10:31 PM	#11
Bird Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Stockton Posts: 4,365	Fuck, I had that problem for 11 months due to PG&E billing issues, I told them to fuck off I will pay you an extra $50 a month. Two months later they shut me off. At that time I didn't have the $1300 turn it on so I busted in to my 401k and paid the penalties. Fuck the power company one day I will be all solar. __________________ ICQ:268731675

01-14-2009, 09:56 PM	#4
tony286 lurker Industry Role: Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: atlanta Posts: 57,021	when you werent getting bills did you call to see whats up?

01-14-2009, 10:03 PM	#6
rowan Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Australia Posts: 17,393	I really only keep track of invoices that I've received... I'm too absent minded to "expect" them at a specific date. We're billed by the same company (but separately) for gas and electricity which is probably why I didn't realise that I hadn't seen one of those blue and white bills for a while. I should add this is not the first time there's been the delay issue, this is the second time I've experienced it personally. I also found an article which said that 200,000 customers in another state experienced a similar problem. So it's not really about whether I should pay or not, it's about a fucked up public utility system that needs to be fixed. Officially.

01-14-2009, 10:03 PM	#7
SordidShawn Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 21	Same thing I did when the electricity provider decided that my meter was broken and I was liable - check for alternative sources, find none, then bite down on the pillow.

01-14-2009, 10:54 PM	#13
bdld $100,000 Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 11,452	contact them and set up a payment plan, no interest no penalties. that is, if it was their fault not to send the bills.

01-14-2009, 10:57 PM	#14
Sly Let's do some business! Industry Role: Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 31,326	I would contact them and tell them you simply don't have the money but want to work out a payment plan. If they say no, I would go up the chain and also contact someone from your city Council or a local state representative of some sort (not sure what you have in Australia). If they did it to you, the odds are there are others. __________________ Vacares - Web Hosting, Domains, O365, Security & More - Paxum and BTC Accepted Windows VPS now available Great for TSS, Nifty Stats, remote work, virtual assistants, etc. Click here for more details.

01-14-2009, 11:02 PM	#15
CDSmith Too lazy to set a custom title Industry Role: Join Date: May 2001 Location: My network is hosted at TECHIEMEDIA.net ...Wait, you meant where am I located at? Oh... okay, I'm in Winnipeg, Canada. Oops. :) Posts: 51,460	"What would you do?" Go postal. __________________ *Promote Wildmatch, ImLive, Sexier.com, and more!!* ALWAYS THE HIGHEST PAYOUTS: Big Bux/ImLive SIGNUP ON NOW!!! Put some PUSSYCA$H in your pocket. ICQ me at: 31024634

01-14-2009, 11:21 PM	#18
CDSmith Too lazy to set a custom title Industry Role: Join Date: May 2001 Location: My network is hosted at TECHIEMEDIA.net ...Wait, you meant where am I located at? Oh... okay, I'm in Winnipeg, Canada. Oops. :) Posts: 51,460	That's kind of the nice thing about Winnipeg, it's so cold in winter that it's against the law for the gas company to shut you down during the cold months. They HAVE to work out a payment plan with you, because shutting off service to someone's house can often mean people freezing to death. But seriously I doubt there's a utility company out there that isn't willing to work out a payment plan, so I'm inclined to go with what like Sly said. __________________ *Promote Wildmatch, ImLive, Sexier.com, and more!!* ALWAYS THE HIGHEST PAYOUTS: Big Bux/ImLive SIGNUP ON NOW!!! Put some PUSSYCA$H in your pocket. ICQ me at: 31024634

01-14-2009, 11:37 PM	#19
V_RocKs Damn Right I Kiss Ass! Industry Role: Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Cowtown, USA Posts: 32,409	I doubt we can fix this for you. Sux but ultimately you are the one that should be on the ball according to their TOS which spans 32 pages....

01-14-2009, 11:39 PM	#20
Rochard Jägermeister Test Pilot Industry Role: Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: NORCAL Posts: 73,908	My house here was a model home, and was one of the first houses built in the area. It was built before any of the streets existed, so it had no street address. Being as it was a model house, it was fully powered up for a few years while people walked through it. When I went to change the power into my name it was a huge hassle. Every time I called they told me that my address didn't exist and passed me up to a manager. Every time the issue was "unresolved". They even had me read the serial number off of the meter outside, but told me this number didn't exist. After a year and a visit to their main office in Sacramento, they finally sent someone out. I'm not sure of the details, but it was some kind of special arrangement with the power company and the home builder. I didn't pay for power or gas for six months and never got billed for it. Fuck 'em. __________________ “The choice is no longer between right or left. The choice is between normal and crazy.” - Sarah Huckabee Sanders YNOT MAIL \| THE BEST ADULT MAILING SOLUTION