UGH in the continuing saga of can my life get any " @#$%er " Apparently the answer is : Yes it can.
When we moved, we were under the impression that we had paid our electric bill down to a zero balance. We had the budget plan that made our payments the same over the course of the year basically it averaged it out based on your prior years electric bill. Because at the time Andy and I had mutually agreed we were splitting, we paid off the past due bill ( It was a long hard winter money wise and our electric bill was always insane) I paid $400 and Andy paid $400. I transferred the electric to the new address since it had already been in my name, and so the deposit just moved with me ( yeah, no new deposit to pay) shortly after living here we got a new bill from the old place telling us what our "balance" was ( ??) Apparently when we "opted" out of our "Plan" we owed...a LOT!
We have been trying to play catch up and diligently paying a little each month...our bill now stands at $1193.00....the electric company WILL NOT let us make payment arrangements : ( They assured me over the phone that they do not have a "work order" to turn us off so most likely the soonest we will lose power is Tuesday...we have no way to borrow the money and at best we can only afford to pay $400 by Friday. SO I guess that means we are getting shut off. There is assistance that will help with a one time payment of up to $300 in our area...but you have to be able to pay down the existing bill to a zero balance, and we would even still be short of that.
So...we are in 90 degree temps right now. I guess we just pretend like we are camping? I am really dreading this, the kids are out of school, so I will have my 10 yr old daughter at home and my 4 yr old ( my oldest will be at ROTC camp this next week so he will miss this "FUN" )
Besides the obvious play in the pool, what can we do with no power to have fun? ( the 4 year old is a Sesame street addict I fear major melt downs)
Also...what do you eat all week with no way to cook food and no refrigeration ( we will have a cooler! Even if I have to go buy a bag of ice each day! I cannot live without cold drinks if we are going to be in 90 degree heat with nothing not even fans to cool us)
I agree talk to a lawyer, chamber of commerce, etc etc
You didn't really 'opt out'* you got divorced! You were not going to be living there anymore!
Also contact HEAP if that is still their name...
We have a plan (not the same $$ every month but the higher we pay in one season covers the difference so if they tried that on us it would be on. Plus I keep my paperwork-do you have a copy of the contract?)
I think there is a law that prevents power companies from disconnecting utilities during certain types of weather. You should look into that and also see if there is a place in your area (such as the Salvation Army) that offers utility assistance. Best wishes!
*****************UPDATE************************
Okay I just found out that in 2008 there was a "Hot Weather Rule" passed for the state of Missouri
"Hot weather rule (effective Aug. 28, 2008): From June 1 to September 30, utilities can not shut off service for nonpayment if the temperature is forecast to be above 95 degrees or the heat index above 105."
I hope that helps some and I also found some sites for help with paying utilities: http://liheap.ncat.org/profiles/Missouri.htm ;
http://www.needhelppayingbills.com/html/missouri_assistan...; I don't know their rules though, I just did a Google search
*** What state do you live in? Mamapedia is showing that you live in Webb City, MO.
I'd be on the phone with the electric company until this was resolved. How can they suddenly come up with an amount that high and then NOT allow a payment plan? Nope, don't stand for it. Just keep asking for the next level supervisor and threaten legal action, whatever it takes. Call the attorney general of your state. A friend of mine just won against an insurance company, so it can be done.
I believe there is a law that power can not be turned off in "dangerous" conditions, especially when you have small children. I agree that you need to go up the chain of command with the utility company until you get some sort of resolution acceptable to you, or contact a lawyer.
Good luck.
To be really honest most states will not allow children to live in a situation without electricity. I encourage you to call shelters in your area and try to get a room so that you can have a stable home for your family.
I know this is not your fault but the law is the law and I know of people who have lived without gas but if electricity is off then so is water if it is billed together. Plus sewer and trash pick up. Your family is in pretty much a crisis and some kind neighbor might call CPS and turn you in and there go the kids.
Please try to get to a shelter or a friends home so that your kids won't be taken away...also your ex can use thins BIG TIME against you if he ever decides to go for full custody. It's just not worth it.
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Why the bill is so high for her.
When you have average monthly billing the amount paid each month is not the actual bill, the amount paid is a portion and can either be under the amount for the billed month or above. For instance if the family had a $100 bill for the month of January when the gas bill is highest but had a average summer bill ($600 bill in July) when the electric is highest then if they move to a new home in maybe September then the money over the lower bills in the Fall when it's cooler is not coming so the entire Summer bill is due all at once. It is usually averaged out for each month and since they moved, the higher bill from the high months is due all at once.
Okay I am sorry for what you are going through.
Can you call your City department and ask to speak to the head honcho.
See if there is anything they can do to help or help spread out the payments.
Can you quickly sell any item you don't need on Craigslist (just be careful).
Have a garage sale to raise $.
Can you borrow from anyone?
Call to see if your local Wal-Mart has a DVD player that runs on batteries.
Try to raise/borrow the $300 then call them to get assistance.
Do generators run on electricity?
You can buy battery operated lights in the camping are of stores I think.
Get a few flashlights for walking around the house.
Take the kids and hang out at the library, mall to walk around in the cool air condition and hopefully they have a "playland".
Yes a couple of ice chests for bottled water, sodas, juice.
Wow, that is not right on so many levels. Is there anything you can pawn? At this point I would be willing to part with quite a bit. Plus you can get it back, most places only charge a 10% upsell from what you get. Whatever you are willing to sell outright I would put on Craigslist.
Do you have a grill? You can cook with that. Do you have a portable DVD player or game system that has a car adapter? You should be able to charge them that way. Battery operated fans are a lifesaver when camping. Take stock of what you have now so you can be as prepared as possible. Talk to your kids now so they will be ready, make it sound fun and like an adventure. You could even camp out in the back yard.
Im sorry this is going on. Def look into the law Cupcake mentioned. I would even threaten going to the local news station. I bet they would eat this up. In this economy darn near everyone is struggling and electricity is considered a neccessity not a luxury.
okay - you need to talk to a supervisor there and ask for proof where you opted out of your program.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO COW-TOW to the "big corporation"..it is OKAY to ask questions and DEMAND answers..
If the electric company can't give you proof of when and where you opted out - they can't turn your electricity off (at least here in FFX Cty, they can't)....
If money is that tight - find a shelter that can help you. Find someone who can loan you the money and get this mess straightened out.
I'm totally sorry this is happening to you!! Our water got turned off once - and it sucked - it was a HUGE mistake on BOTH our parts - husband and the H20 company so it was ONLY for a few hours...but I understand your pain!!
GOOD LUCK!!
We live in hurricane country, so we sometimes are without power after a storm.
We have a gas grill and I discovered after Gustav that I could not only cook on it, I could bake on it. I have cast iron cookware so I don't have to worry about plastic handles on pots and pans on the grill.
We also invest in single serving canned goods - juice, fruit, tuna, etc. so there are no leftovers to have to refrigerate.
We mix up powdered milk as we need it for cooking or baking.
We eat peanut butter.
We buy crackers instead of bread - they don't go moldy in the heat and humidity.
We buy cereal bars instead if eating bowls of cereal, since we don't like room temp powdered milk on cereal.
Spend time at the mall and library, and in the shade at the park. Spray bottles of water to mist yourselves helps. Open windows at night to let any cool air in that you can.BBQ everything, or make sandwiches.Dont spend money going out to eat,,you cant afford it right now. Dont worry about tv and DVD stuff, kids can adapt to life without it and you cant afford batteries and all that. Use flash lights in the dark but dont do candles. Its too much of a fire hazard. If you have a big pool, without electricity the filter wont run and it can become full of bacteria, so watch out for that. Small wading pools work great for splashing and staying cool and you can dump it out and refill every day. Ice chests are ok, but ice costs and it doesnt take much to make food go bad, so maybe ask a neighbor if you can borrow a shelf in the fridge to keep things and get what you need each day for the ice chest. Or maybe have them plug in your fridge to their power for a bit and keep it running but make sure you pay them for any power over a certain ammount. And dont take advantage of their generosity by running the a/c on 65 and watching a bunch of tv. The biggest thing tho is Im sure there is a law saying the city cant turn your power off in the heat or freezing temps. Dont forget to find a friend to recharge the cell phones so you can keep in contact with family and work. And yes sell whatever you can, and have a garage sale, and offer to baby sit for a friend in their home for a few dollars. Youll have a cool home to stay in during the day that way and help them out too.Or in exchange for a place on the floor to sleep. Call on your friends,, thats what friends should do for eachother.
Ask around and see if you can switch electric companies and then try to make payments for the old company
camp fire, lanterns, cook over the fire in the back yard, get a firepit, make hot dogs for something simple, make foil dinners, (put everything in foil and cook individually) pitch a tent in the back yard, get battery operated fans, use candles, or flash lights, do you have a dutch oven, you can cook TONS of things that way, cast iron skillet? breakfast lunch dinner dessert all taken care of right there , stew, fried eggs, dump cake, fried potatoes, YUM! food cooked over a fire in a dutch oven is the best. ... during the day go to places that do free things for cooling or just anywhere to do fun stuff you don't have to feel trapped
L. d
A lot of times electric companies won't set up a payment plan with YOU but WILL set one up with the assistance programs or with a local church based on the payment the assistance program makes.
Go ahead and apply for the assistance and pay whatever you are able to in addition to that. Also I don't know if the electric company you use is regulated by a corporation commission or not but usually contacting them and getting them involved as a mediator on your behalf will work to your favor. They are usually more willing to work out payment plans if the corporation commission is involved so check into that.
go to www.modestneeds.com and try and put through an application. That should help hopefuly.
Im so sorry. It just isn't right. Supposedly you should be able to contact your city services for emergency help but from what I understand the waiting list (in dallas) is super long. Can you switch elec companies? I had reliant and it was so exspensive I switched and didn't have to pay a dwn payment. Can any churches in your area help you? I would contact the city and salvation army, anybody that may be able to help.
for the cooking get a propane camping stove. buy big water guns so they can spray each other and keep cool. look in the camping area for other things to use. coolers, lights and stuff like that spend that 400 on camping gear if necessary.
Everyone has great advice so nothing to add in that aspect... but have you figured out why the hell it's so high in the first place? Something doesn't seem right about how high those numbers are (is it usually $400). You need to call the city, the police, everyone until someone has answers for you. They can't turn off elec from (like another mom said) what I understand when you are in dangerous conditions. It will be 90 outside but dangerous DANGEROUS inside. I lived in yuma az and the power in the apt complexes went out and it was 90 outside, 110 inside the apt. Me and my ex weathered it out (with much complaining) but our baby girl stayed with our babysitter. Can you look on craigslist and find an ac unit or swamp cooler? That's the most important part to me. Other stuff you can start a campfire and cook or whatever. You have to call people though because that isn't a good way to live with kids :)
