So I forgot to pay my electric bill.....

[trumad]

This morning---10:33 am to be exact, my power went off. I thought it a bit weird and walked outside to see what was up. I noticed a Duke Energy tech in my front yard and asked him---what up? He told me he had a disconnect order---I said---oh shit!

I called my wife at work and said --Honey--- did you pay the electric bill--- she said---no Honey, you were supposed to pay it.

I then jumped on the phone, called Duke Energy, and promptly paid the bill.

That was almost 7 hours ago. I still have no electricity. After my 3rd call I have concluded that I am at the mercy of the dispatch system at Duke Energy. Oh---did I say that it was in the mid 90's today in Central Florida and my house is now about the same temperature.

7 hours and still no electricity.

I DESPISE MONOPOLIES---

[badtoworse]

1. When was the payment due?

[trumad]

7. Oh it's late---not disputing that

it deserved to get shut off. BUT---for god sakes, over 7 hours, now going on 8 to reconnect. That's some serious bullshit.

[Skittles]

13. may I ask

did you receive REMINDERS regarding your late bill, or a phone call?

[trumad]

17. No phone call....

Probably got a mail reminder---but we are paperless...so I most likely ignored it thinking it was some advertisement.

[Skittles]

19. well do it old school then

your bills are monthly? write a list of them on your calendar each month and circle 'em off as they are paid

[trumad]

23. Snarf...

I'll forget.

I just need to do auto pay---deduct---whatever they call it.

Problem with that is I like to see what they are gouging me before they do.

[Skittles]

24. I absolutely refuse to do auto-pay - too many problem charges

they sneak 'em in if you're not checking

[trumad]

26. Exactly---unless it's a car payment or a payment that is consistent...

I don't trust arbitrary bills.

[Sissyk]

42. MTEC emails me the bill each month.

I can log in to MTEC, review my bill, and then pay from my checking account automatically. Much better than paper. Also, I can dispute it easier online.

[DesertFlower]

54. i do auto pay on almost all my bills.

tht way i don't have to worry.

[winter is coming]

51. LOL, I used to put 'em on top of my TV until they were paid. n/t

[GreenStormCloud]

44. Here is my solution.

I have a list on a Word document of each bill that is due and the date it is due. At the end of the month, since most bills are the same, I just change the month at the top. I check the list every couple of days and every payday.

I refuse to have variable bills on automatic payment. It screws up my ability to plan carefully. Sometimes I may need to wait a few days to pay a bill, and auto-pay ruins that.

I also check my bank online daily and reconcile it with my Quicken account. Only takes a few minutes, unless there is a error somewhere that I have made and have to find.

[Mika]

2. Cutoffs take priority over reconnects.

Now that they have your money.

[darkangel218]

3. Omg how the hell can you stay without AC ??

It's 95. F

[HappyMe]

30. I have no ac.

It was 96 here today. We're salty and sweaty.

[darkangel218]

50. You serious? i would die without ac.

Granted I'm in fl, we have to have AC in the summer or we'll die.

[kestrel91316]

35. I never turn on my AC unless the forecast is for over 95F. I can't afford it.

Makes me SOOOOO happy that June has been unusually moderate this year.

[MuseRider]

52. I do the same

for that reason and also because we work outside so much and being acclimated to the heat helps. Plus, I would rather not use up so much energy. Gets sticky!

[Wait Wut]

4. Be glad it wasn't on a Friday.

We did the same thing about 3 years ago, but on a Friday. They wouldn't turn it back on 'til Monday.

I have since taken control of all bill paying.

[RebelOne]

5. Well, I have something positive to state about Comcast.

All my bills except for Comcast are paid by automatic deduction from my checking account. I forgot the bill for 2 months and they shut my cable down. I went online and paid the bill and my cable was immediately restored within seconds.

[djean111]

29. Electric is manually shut off. So is water.

Cable/TV/internet is just a click on a box on a screen, all handled automatically at the switch. I used to code and test that sort of thing.
I don't trust automatic billing in any way, shape, or form, I just pay everything with my credit union debit card or paypal debit card.
I live near Tampa, but have not been able to afford to turn on my air conditioning for two years now. 2100 sq ft house.
Amazing how you learn to get along with ceiling fans and a couple of small window fans, really!
I was one who always said oh i couldn't live here without air conditioning, but evidently I can.
If I get too warm I just go to the grocery store, freezing there.
Went through the Audubon House down in Key Weest, no air conditioning except for the print gallery. House filled with antiques. The guide said it is the turning air on and off that damages things, too much moisture in the air - so all the old wood furniture was fine.

[RebelOne]

37. If you live in South Florida, it is hell without air-conditioning.

It is not so much the heat that gets to you, it is the humidity. I lived in Miami most of my life until I moved here to North Georgia. People who live here in Georgia complain about the humidity in the summer. I tell them that they do not know what real humidity is if they haven't been to South Florida in the summer. I used to go from my air-conditioned apartment to my air-conditioned car to my air-conditioned office. I rarely went outside because I would totally melt and have to run inside and take a shower.

[The Straight Story]

6. Two ideas

1. Call em from a payphone, give your neighbor's address and tell em the meter is sparking and mid sentence hang up.

2. Call em and tell em that you need your grow lights back on for your medical pot. Someone will be there shortly....

[trumad]

9. If they are not here within the hour...I'll cut that tag and reconnect it myself.

It's hot and my Frig is melting.

[RebelOne]

40. Do not open the frig or the freezer.

We had some very bad storms here in the Atlanta area a couple of weeks ago and thousands lost power. Mine was out for 2 days. I did not dare open my refrigerator or freezer. When the power was restored, the ice cream in my freezer was soft but not totally melted and the milk in my refrigerator did not sour.

[avaistheone1]

12. Both winning ideas.

BTW Your mind is scary.

[Jamastiene]

8. I'm surprised it is not much hotter inside.

Usually, the temperature inside is much hotter than outside, especially when the sun beats down on the place. I hope you can find an alternative way to keep cool. Temperatures that hot are very dangerous if you cannot find a way to cool down.

[trumad]

10. It's getting there.

[rug]

11. Deadbeat.

[trumad]

14. Hey---I'm a Liberal...

Big cars outside---High speed internet, Hookers heading over later...

[pintobean]

20. I don't think the hookers will stick around without A/C

[trumad]

22. Shit---You're right.

[quinnox]

15. synchronicity. I just said the same thing yesterday, when I was trying to get customer service

with century link, my phone company which is a monopoly here. They suck!!! I had to call three times, and finally hung up in disgust, because I kept being given the run around, and being put on hold, or given invalid alternate numbers to call to fix my issue. It was something VERY simple too, that I needed done.

Fuck Century Link! They are a monopoly, so they don't give a damn about CUSTOMER SERVICE.

[trumad]

21. That's what I hate...

If this was a company who had competition, I'd have a bit of leverage.... but I don't.... there ain't shit I can do.

I hate being powerless--- and yes that was a delicious pun.

[FarCenter]

27. Oh yes, two or three sets of wires and poles in the street - that'd be great!

[okaawhatever]

16. They may not be planning on recennecting it today. You may need to pay an "after hours"

reconnect fee. That may also be worth it if you have food in your fridge. Even $50 is worth it if it saves $100. I've dealt with that a lot since I used to have rental properties.

[trumad]

18. Major promises when I called the 3 times I did.

[okaawhatever]

25. Oh, good then. When I didn't have water or electric at a rehab house it would always

make me appreciate it that much more when I had it again. I'll bet spending all day in 100 degree heat will have the same effect.

[SwissTony]

28. Did the same in Darwin (Northern Territory, Australia) in Decmber a few years ago.

My wife had just come over from Holland (winter there). I'd forgotten to pay the bill and she was not happy with 30+C and 99% humidity (it's called The Wet in Darwin - just two seasons - The Wet and The Dry (we don't even mention The Build Up)). Bit like Florida, I believe.

But I hadn't paid the bill.

Lucky I didn't have to sleep on the couch.

It was much cooler sleeping on the tiles.

[NJCher]

31. don't you hate it when

...you do something and have only yourself to blame?

I hate that.


Cher

[trumad]

32. thats not the point

People make mistakes..

But 8 hours plus is plain fucking bullshit.

[HappyMe]

36. Sometimes there is a re-connect fee.

Did you pay that too? If your last bill was a disconnect bill, it would say that ther eis a reconnect fee.

[trumad]

38. I called 4 times

Each time the assured me im on the schedule...

[HappyMe]

41. 96 here today, I don't have ac.

Take your freezer stuff to the neighbors.

[NJCher]

47. yeah, I know it's not the point

It just eases the pain when you can blame somebody else!


Cher

[one_voice]

33. That's fucking ridiculous!...

it didn't take 7 hours to turn it off. It didn't take you seven hours to pay once you realized your error.

Why didn't they just have the guy that was there turn it on.

Bullshit. I hate monopolies too!

I hope you get your power back on soon.

[Motown_Johnny]

34. Odds are you will not have power until tomorrow, at the earliest.

They have their route already set up and your call isn't going to change that. They aren't going to pay overtime just so someone can turn your power back on.

Is there a cheap hotel nearby?

[warrprayer]

39. forgot to pay a garbage bill for waste management once

found out I had to mail it to some different office and there was a 2 week delay. I even offred to come to the local office in person and pay it, but no.

[madinmaryland]

43. You could always go out and watch the Marlins play and then hit a couple of bars on the way home.

At least you won't give a shit when you get home, and you will have seen a team that is worse off than you are!!

[Cleita]

45. Duke Energy is the pits. I have had electricity from both municipal and private electric power

companies in my life time. The government run ones are more efficient, cost less and have fewer outages than the privately owned ones. Right now we have PG & E and went through a four hour, countywide outage Sunday night. They patched together something to get electricity to everyone but they still don't know why and claim it's gonna cost mucho dollares to find the cause.

If you would have had a government run electricity company, the service guy would have knocked on your door first to tell you he was disconnecting you. You then could have offered to pay him and he would have gone on his way with your check. It happened to me with the Dept. of Water and Power when I lived in LA and forgot to pay the bill. All utilities should be municipally owned, which means by the people, IMHO.

[NJCher]

48. I have heard that before

Why are we always stuck with the worst possible economic options in this system of ours?

Maybe we're not, but it seems that way.


Cher

[GreenStormCloud]

46. How did our grandparents live without electricity?

It is amazing how we come to view coveniences as necessary. I am not fussing at you, I am the same way. Until I was 5, my folks did not have electricity. We were sharecroppers, and that means really poor. It was in the late 1940s. Lots of rural home had no electricity.

Finally Dad gave up sharecropping and got a job on a farm that came with a house. Electricity, but no A/C. Nobody had home A/C in those days. One August day the temp got up to 114. I was in my teens and worked outside helping Dad move railroad ties that we were going to use for something. I only moderately noticed the heat.

Now? It is only 95 and I am staying in the A/C. So is my wife, and so is the cat.

[Cleita]

49. Well, I remember when no one really had air conditioning in So. Calif. when it was

over 100 degrees most days in summer and often climbed almost as high as 120 degrees at times. The houses were built with keeping them cool in mind and trees were planted to create shade and lower the temps. It was still bad though. I remember the women doing their cooking and housework at night when it cooled off and just hibernating during the day in front of a fan or a swamp cooler if they were lucky. My mom often took me to the movie matinees in the summer because the theaters were the only buildings with air conditioning. Cars didn't have it either. That's why convertibles were so popular in the forties and fifties, but not so great in the winter.

I still don't care for A/C. I fortunately live in a place that doesn't get too hot except for a short period of the year. I do have lots of windows in my house and have planted a lot of trees for shade which are finally maturing. Other than that, I have fans and cold drinks to get past the hot days, but even than requires a fridge.

[elleng]

53. Monopolies BAD,

and state 'sanctioned' monopolies worse unless the state takes their obligation to regulate seriously. Keep in mind that a PERSON, apparently, has to turn your power ON, so that person has to be instructed to do so. These are persons like you and me, doing a job; its the REGULATION that's critical.

[MineralMan]

55. Calendar software.

Get it. Use it. Monthly reminders.

[Shrike47]

56. I grew up in So Cal in the 40's and 50's and 60's. No air conditioning.

Never lived with it until we moved to Riverside in 1972. Central air, wow!

We live in Western Oregon now, no air except a wall unit in the bedroom. August can be bad, I remember highs of 104 degrees and like that. People go sit in the river.

[trumad]

57. Went out to eat---

Got home---sweet AC and lights.

Bought fricking time.

[Phentex]

58. YAY!

Happy to hear it! Enjoy.

[CokeMachine]

59. Same thing happened to me this morning at around 9:00.

I thought it was an outage since we are having unusual late June rains. I called to report the outage and found out my payment was past due. Paid the bill over the phone and the power was back on 10 minutes later. One of the reasons I like the smart meters.