Con Edison charging for 2 years of back charges
So I have a strange story to tell and wanted to see if anyone has heard of anyone who went through a similar thing Soon after I bought my one bedroom apartment close to 3 years ago, I got a large credit on my electricity bill after a new meter reading. I figured this was…
So I have a strange story to tell and wanted to see if anyone has heard of anyone who went through a similar thing
Soon after I bought my one bedroom apartment close to 3 years ago, I got a large credit on my electricity bill after a new meter reading. I figured this was because the previous owners overpaid based on estimates and I lucked out. So for many months my charges were $0 because of the large credit I received. When I started getting charged again (maybe a year later?) my bills were very small – around $20. Since I was used to paying $0 for the previous year, I didn’t think much of it and paid every bill.
A year later (6 months ago I believe) I got another large credit back (around $300). I called Con Edison because I wanted to make sure this was accurate and they assured me it was. Happily, I have paid $0 since then because my cheap bills were coming off my credit.
Last week my neighbor received a letter stating that the meter for apartment 3FT didn’t have an account and would be turned off. They called Con Ed and determined they were 3BT and figured it was my account. After talking to Con Ed for more than an hour, we figured out that I was paying the minimum service charge as Con Ed switched my meters but didn’t upgrade their computers.
Now they want to charge me for all the back electricity since 2006. I haven’t yet received the bill but I’m assuming it will be a few thousand dollars. I have no problem paying future bills based on my actual meter readings, but I don’t understand why I would have to pay back electricity charges due to Con Ed messing up. I didn’t budget for this and have no idea how I would pay it.
Has anyone else heard of similar circumstances? I’d love to fight this, but have no idea how realistic it is. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Matt
I have had a similar problem. A new tenant got a bill for $400 and we have tried to clear the issue up with them for over a month now without success. The tenant just moved in and there is no possible way they could have run a $400 bill!
Tomorrow I am having the meter read (they were estimates till now), however when I called in the meter reading they informed me that the excessive charge is correct!!
When you’re a brand new occupant, and delivered a giant refund, it’s neither arbitrary morality nor much of a stretch to figure out the money’s not yours. You think the previous occupants would have liked to get their money back, or that, no, they intended Bkmatt to “luck out” with a random act of charity?
Railing against Con Ed is a bit like cursing the Creator for dumping a load of snow on your sidewalk. When you’re done venting, you’ve still got to shovel the walk. And if you want to be a homeowner in NY, you’ve still got to arrange for Con Ed to read the meters. In 1/4 the time it takes to post a complaint, the next meter reading date could have been added to your calendar. In 100th the time it takes to read your own meter(s) and call it in, you could have applied yourself to a more worthy cause than qualifying as a “put together” customer. And if you never note the date at all, you virtually assure that you’ll perpetuate your aggravation by not being home when ConEd arrives.
Had Matt called ConEd when the first huge credit showed up, it probably would not have taken much to straighten out his account and return the credit to the rightful owners. Now he’ll make the effort to reduce his total owed and/or work out a payment plan. Either way, consider it expensive tuition toward both learning experience and services rendered.
Vinca, not sure what more OP should have done…offer to pay Coned money that they said he didn’t owe?! How much should he have paid? And how many times should OP have conscientiously called them in order to pass your arbitrary morality test? It’s not as though OP can go measure his own kilowatts to check up on the bill. And how the hell is he supposed to track down the prior tenant?!
What makes you so sure Coned is right about the money they say is owed? Perhaps OP doesn’t owe anything and this charge is a screw up. You’re lucky your meter reader is so prompt. I haven’t seen my guy in months. That said, OP, if you used the service you oughta pay for it. But you should get a precise accounting from Coned before you fork over a dime.
I had a similar issue with a utility company in Chicago a number of years ago (RCN for cable TV). They were billing another customer’s credit card some amount of my bill (say $50) and I was having the remainder (say $45) automatically debited from my bank account. Since I had direct debit, I never really looked at the bill. At some point they figured out what was happening and instead of sending me a new bill saying what I owed, they shut off my service and reported me to a credit agency. Their basis was that I was so far behind on my bill. I paid it in full right away, but had to battle to get it removed from my credit report. I know my story doesn’t help you any – it just shows that the utilities kind of have you. They can provide lousy service and there isn’t much you can really do about it.
I think Matt deserves an explanation from ConEd, and maybe a break as well, in the sense that he has thought (and has asked for confirmation from ConEd) over the years about his admittedly low bills. At the very least, they should give him a number of months to pay off the bill without incurring interest charges or penalties. For starters, they’ve screwed up the billing to date, he has to be careful they haven’t screwed up again.
Vinca, please.
Every Con Ed customer deserves to get one bill every month that clearly states how much they owe.
The clarity of that bill should not depend upon the customer’s work schedule, the timeliness of their individual meter-reader, the goodwill of the person they phoned in their reading to, or even how put-together the customer is about diligently writing down the next meter reading date on a calendar.
ConEd really is a terrible company. you might or might not owe the money. If you can take advantage of their mistake, more power to you.
Sadly, it will probably end up like a bank error where you get excited at first and then disappointed when the error gets fixed.
it seems odd that ConEd would have given you a credit right off the bat like that. even if there was a credit owed to a previous owner, they must know that you’re a different account. it sounds like they just plum screwed up, but you are justified in asking for proof of what you owe. of course, considering the quality of ConEd’s billing, I wouldn’t hold my breath for a detailed summary. but when you get the bill, do the math and see how much it really comes out to per month, counting in your credits and what you’ve actually paid. if it turns out to be within the realm of possibility, eh, just pay it.
Actually, Bkmatt, my mother taught me that money and electricity doesn’t grow on trees, and that you don’t take/keep what doesn’t belong to you. (Not so) Funny that you “don’t complain” when the money’s coming out of someone else’s pocket, but start howling when it’s you who needs to fork up. As if the issue was about complaining, rather than about your own ethics. And BTW, for a certain period and unless requested otherwise, Con Ed doesn’t turn off service to apartments when a tenant vacates–they terminate the tenant’s account, but maintain the service.