Consumer's Energy Cut's Off Power For a PENNY

[unionhand]

Power shut off after woman owes a penny







FLINT, Mich. (AP) -- It was just a penny, but to Consumers Energy it was enough to cut off power in a local home. Jacqueline Williams, 41, of Flint had an electricity bill of $1,662.08 and paid all of it, except for one cent. That wasn't enough for the power company, which blacked her out for seven hours Wednesday.

The CMS Energy Corp. subsidiary told Williams the power would not be turned on until the penny was received.

"I went down there, paid my penny and got a receipt," Williams told The Flint Journal.

Shortly after, the electricity was turned back on.




"All of this for one penny," said Williams, who went to the state Department of Human Services for help in April and was told the agency would pay most of the bill.

But she was still short more than $500.

Williams, a Social Security recipient, went to the Salvation Army, where she received $430.67, and Consumers agreed to match $430.66 toward the bill.

However, she was still one cent short.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/POWER_OFF_PENNY?SITE=FLROC&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT






A Consumers Energy spokesman said that the utility had no choice in the matter, though he was not aware of any similar incidents where service was stopped for one cent.

"This was the first one I've heard about," said Terry DeDoes. He said the company has many programs to help people who fall behind in their utility bills.

Williams said she doesn't want to find herself in the same situation again.

"I'm praying to God I stay on top of my bills," she said.

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[Squizzy]

Makes you wonder how the company thinks, I mean she owed 1cent how much does it cost to get people out to turn off the power. I just got a new credit card with a small limit for internet use and the bank slugged me a "annual service fee" of $50 so i told them to cancel the card which shouldn't be hard as i haven't even activated the bloody thing yet...

[scammy]

I just looked at that utility for a job,,,,,,thier biggest ad was damage control over the penny issiue couldnt fine out anything about the job!

[thrasher]

This is what happens when the IT department (computer geeks) takes over. Some guy wrote a program that says if consumer A has not paid in 60 days then cut off consumer A. So the computer prints the disconnect order, the supervisor passes it along because "the computer is always right", and the serviceman disconnects because he got a valid order. However somewhere there should have been a THINKING person in this loop. Although with the way some companies have gutted middle management of anyone who knows something the disconnect order probably went direct from the master computer to the serviceman's laptop in his truck. And if it's like a lot of pre-written computer orders I have seen the service man didn't even know an amount for the disconnect, he just got the disconnect order.