Friday, December 10, 2010

Hydro client loses $12,000 to billing error

http://www.moneyville.ca/article/903132--roseman-hydro-client-loses-12-000-to-billing-error#comments


By Ellen Roseman Tue Dec 7 2010

Alan Skeoch was paying $477 a month for electricity used at his farm near Erin, Ont., using direct debits from his bank account.

On Dec. 1, Hydro One withdrew $11,907 from his account without notice, wiping out all his savings.

He had fallen behind on his payments because the electricity meter at his second property hadn’t been read since 2008.

“The burden of guilt seemed to be placed on my shoulders,” Skeoch, 71, a retired teacher and part-time CBC radio broadcaster, said by e-mail.

“Why did I not read the meter? (Are you kidding? What good would that do?)
“Did I not know that I was underpaying? (Are you kidding? I just paid my bill in equalized payments, automatically deducted, and trusted that they knew their business charges.)
“Had I not given them access to my bank account? (That was very stupid of me, I realize now.)”
Many utilities offer budget billing plans that let you pay the same amount each month and make catch-up payments once a year.

But you can end up with a whopping final adjustment if the utility sets the monthly installments too low – as Enbridge Gas did earlier this year, affecting 100,000 customers.

At least Enbridge put a temporary hold on preauthorized payments for those who received warning letters about high annual adjustments.

Hydro One, however, just swooped in without notice to grab the money from Skeoch’s bank account.

“Subsequent hysterics with three agents and three supervisors have got me nowhere,” he said, adding that he’d like to ban the phrase, “Have a nice day, sir,” used by one employee.

Skeoch went to the media with his story, which prompted Hydro One to offer a 24-month period to repay the difference between his estimates and his actual electricity usage for the past two years.

“We told him we would immediately made arrangements for the charges to be reversed. That may not have taken place with his bank yet, but it has been set in motion,” said utility spokeswoman Daniele Gauvin.

Electricity meters are read just once a year for seasonal accounts. That’s how the problem arose.
“If your cottage consumption was X in the summer of 2008, then we send you bills during the year based on that reading,” Gauvin explained.

“In the summer of 2009, we read it again when we can access your property and base the next year’s billing on the updated summer 2009 meter reading.”

In Skeoch’s case, Hydro One read the meter in summer 2008 and 2010, but not in 2009. So, the final reconciliation reflected increased energy usage over two years (from the 2008 baseline).
Starting in September, customers can see the amount owing and the withdrawal date on their bills. But Skeoch, who said he pays by preauthorized debits because he doesn’t want to worry, never looks at his bills.

He has an electric furnace and water heater at his country home, a 25-acre property that has been in his family since 1908.

“I’m getting rid of the furnace and water heater, but I’m not going to use an outhouse like my grandparents did,” he says.

Hydro One tries to call customers in Skeoch’s position to talk to them about spreading out their payments. But the call never took place.

“We’re reviewing our customer service process to identify ways we can improve,” said Gauvin.
In my view, companies should be accountable for recurring billing errors.

Hydro One could have made concessions to a retiree earning $3,000 a month – instead of sticking him with a bill of almost $12,000 – after failing to read his meter for two years.

But in a world where customers often take the blame for not spotting errors, you have to double-check your bills. Ask questions if something isn’t clear. Find out whether you’re up to date.
Pay attention to what you’re paying.

Ellen Roseman writes about personal finance and consumer issues. You can reach her at eroseman@thestar.ca.

23 comments:

  1. Helpful information. Fortunate me I found your website by chance, and I
    am shocked why this twist of fate didn't came about in advance! I bookmarked it.

    Also visit my web blog: registry cleaner review

    ReplyDelete
  2. Browsing delicious.com I noticed your site book-marked
    as: Blogger: Hydro One Rip Off. I am assuming you book-marked it yourself and wanted to ask if social book-marking gets you a good deal
    of traffic? I've been considering doing some book-marking for a few of my sites but wasn't certain
    if it would produce any positive results. Thank you so much.


    Check out my web site - furnace prices

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good day! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give
    a quick shout out and say I genuinely enjoy reading your posts.
    Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that go over
    the same topics? Thanks a lot!

    Also visit my weblog ... gas furnace evolution system plus

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello! This is the third time visiting now and I really just
    wanted to say I truley get pleasure from reading through your blog site.
    I have decided to bookmark it at digg.com with your title: Blogger:
    Hydro One Rip Off and your Website address: http://www.
    blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8138137893093179130&postID=6873826070424555550.
    I hope this is ok with you, I'm making an attempt to give your good blog a bit more coverage. Be back shortly.

    Feel free to visit my website extended stays in Tucson AZ

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey there. I'm sorry to hassle you but I happened to run across your website and noticed you are using the exact same theme as me. The only issue is on my website, I'm struggling to
    get the page layout looking like yours. Would you mind e-mailing me at:
    jackibankston@zoho.com so I can get this figured out. By the way I have bookmarked your web-site:
    http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8138137893093179130&postID=6873826070424555550 and
    will certainly be visiting often. Thankyou!

    Also visit my web blog; lennox furnace troubleshooting

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any issues with hackers?
    My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing many months of hard work due
    to no backup. Do you have any methods to prevent hackers?

    Also visit my site ... gymnastics clothing

    ReplyDelete
  7. Have you ever thought about including a little bit more than
    just your articles? I mean, what you say is fundamental and everything.
    However imagine if you added some great visuals or videos to give
    your posts more, "pop"! Your content is excellent but with images and videos, this blog could definitely be one of the most beneficial in its niche.
    Superb blog!

    Here is my web-site ... fashion institute of technology alumni
    My page > fitness gloves india

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am starting up a internet blog directory and was wanting to know if I can submit your blog?
    I'm hoping to grow my directory gradually by hand so that it maintains high quality. I'll make sure and put your website in the
    proper category and I'll additionally use, "Blogger: Hydro One Rip Off" as your anchor text. Please let me know if this is acceptable with you by e-mailing me at: gerard_chavez@inbox.com. Cheers

    Look at my blog post - fitness clubs near me
    My page :: rei duffle bag wheels

    ReplyDelete
  9. Heya, I am new to running a blog and websites in general and was
    curious about how you got the "www" included in your domain name?
    I see your domain name, "http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8138137893093179130&postID=6873826070424555550" has the www and my domain
    looks like, "http://mydomain.com". Do you know the best way I can alter this?
    I'm using Wordpress. Regards

    my web page: studio shoes

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hmm it seems like your site ate my first comment (it was
    super long) so I guess I'll just sum it up what I wrote and say, I'm thoroughly enjoying your blog.
    I too am an aspiring blog blogger but I'm still new to the whole thing. Do you have any tips for novice blog writers? I'd really appreciate it.


    Here is my blog; http://asianet-international.com/articles/view/printview-34507.html

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hey! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with Search Engine Optimization?
    I'm trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I'm not seeing very good gains.
    If you know of any please share. Appreciate it!

    Here is my webpage ... linear optoisolator

    ReplyDelete
  12. Howdy! I just noticed your web page: Blogger: Hydro One Rip Off when I was browsing digg.
    com. It looks as though someone liked your website so much they
    decided to bookmark it. I'll unquestionably be coming here more often.

    my web site: electrical engineer salary out of college

    ReplyDelete
  13. I know this if off topic but I'm looking into starting my own weblog and was wondering what all is required to get setup? I'm assuming having a blog like yours would
    cost a pretty penny? I'm not very internet savvy so I'm not 100% certain. Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

    Take a look at my weblog - power mosfet driver ic-tc4424

    ReplyDelete
  14. Today, I went to the beach with my children.

    I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said "You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear." She placed the shell to her ear and screamed.
    There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear.
    She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is completely off topic but I had to tell someone!


    Feel free to visit my website :: flash memory toolkit crack

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hey! Do you use Twitter? I'd like to follow you if that would be okay. I'm definitely enjoying your blog
    and look forward to new posts.

    Also visit my web blog - semiconductor materials market

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi there! I was curious to know if setting up a website such your own: http://www.

    blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8138137893093179130&postID=6873826070424555550 is hard to
    do for unskilled people? I've been hoping to create my own blog for a while now but have been turned off because I've always believed it required tons of work.
    What do you think? Kudos

    Here is my webpage; http://www.purevolume.com/dirtlow4/posts/3019973/It's+Hard+to+Find+the+Best+Free+Android+Applications!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Interesting blog! Is your theme custom made or did
    you download it from somewhere? A theme like yours with a few simple adjustements
    would really make my blog shine. Please let me know where you got
    your design. Thanks

    Look at my site - furnaces prices edmonton

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi, i read your blog occasionally and i own a similar
    one and i was just wondering if you get a lot of spam
    remarks? If so how do you protect against it, any plugin or anything
    you can suggest? I get so much lately it's driving me insane so any assistance is very much appreciated.

    Also visit my weblog las vegas plumbing jobs available

    ReplyDelete
  19. Have you ever considered about adding a little bit more than just your articles?
    I mean, what you say is valuable and everything.

    However imagine if you added some great images or videos to give your posts more, "pop"!
    Your content is excellent but with images and video clips, this website could undeniably be
    one of the best in its field. Wonderful blog!

    my weblog - vacation rental by owner maui hi

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hello, i think that i noticed you visited my blog thus i got here to
    go back the want?.I am trying to in finding issues to
    enhance my web site!I suppose its good enough to make use of some of your ideas!
    !

    Here is my web blog Las Vegas Golf Lessons

    ReplyDelete
  21. Pretty! This has been an extremely wonderful article.
    Thank you for providing this information.

    Also visit my weblog ... small appliance repair tucson

    ReplyDelete
  22. Fantastic post however I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this subject?
    I'd be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit further. Cheers!

    Here is my blog appliance repairs - http://orangecountyfixitideas.wallinside.com/ -

    ReplyDelete

Please feel free to leave a comment, especially if you wish to share your own horror story. If you wish to get involved in the class action suit please contact me directly at jrwakefield@mcswiz.com put Class Action Suit in the subject please.