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PA BEN
01-31-2008, 08:09 AM
Did a non-payment at a house with my pole partner and the lady at home knew we were coming to do it. She answered the door in a tight T-Shirt no bra on and she was cold. Nicest set of McGovern's you ever saw.:rolleyes: She leaned her back up against the door jam and invited us in so we could talk about it. We said, Na...Na...na...no:o we can't do that. Then she said, what could she do to stop this? I told her she had to pay her bill in full. She said she had no money but she could do something else. My co-worker and I have wives and families so this just wouldn't work for us. I've been around you might say but, my co-worker was red in the face and I saw he wanted to run, I have to admit I wanted to run too. But, by god, we were there to do a job and we were going to hold our ground and turn this nice gal's power off. When she found out we meant business she call us various names and slammed the door. :eek:

BigClive
01-31-2008, 02:29 PM
"Ooooh! Yeah, look at my tits. Is there perhaps anything I can do for you boys? <wink>"

"Yeah darlin' shove the kettle on for a coffee before we bang your power off. Oh, and better get a jumper on. It's gonna be damn cold in here shortly."

(Just call me cold hearted Clive.) ;)


It sounds like the best thing you could have done for her was replace the lamp in her porch light with a red one.

PA BEN
02-02-2008, 03:02 PM
Did a non-payment off at a trashed house. The out side smelled like skunk very bad, he was living under the house. She screamed at me telling me her no good husband left her with all the bills and kids and this skunk was adding all the more to her misery. It appeared to me that there was a drug/drinking problem also. After I turned her power off I told her I would come by after work and get red of the skunk. I came by with a trap, she just looked at me and glared. The next day I had the skunk and all I got was the same glare and no thank you.:eek:

mainline
02-02-2008, 06:07 PM
I'm glad I do construction, do shut offs must suck. Good reason not to be a troubleman.

graybeard
02-02-2008, 07:15 PM
I'm lucky, after hours troublemen and crew are one OT list. Having done crew work then trouble and now crew foreman if I go I get to be the good guy and turn the lights back on. Never did get the whatever I need to do to get the lights to stay on offer. I must be ugly for that offer.

Ski_Digger
02-02-2008, 11:38 PM
Pa Ben-
I do a lot of them, No Pays. I have been pretty much in your shoes, but not that far!!!. I have seen a lot of things over the years, consider it lucky you had someone with you. I do it all by my self, in alot of remote areas.
I am just waiting for the time to come when it all goes down and she, turns it all around and says your the one doing it and offer to cover the bill for her.
Who will the cops say is tell the truth, when a guy is by himself? and SHE is not that kind of girl.

Work safe and enjoy what ya see.
ski

PA BEN
02-03-2008, 08:44 AM
It's a safety thing not only entrapment you're dealing with some bad people out there doing non-pay offs. All you need to do is out run your partner:p just kidding. This would work with dogs although.:eek: Just kidding:rolleyes:

Some times we would tag team them. I'd go to the front door and my co-worker would wait at the side so he could hear me talking to the customer, when it got ugly he would go and pull the meter, almost every time when the lights went off the customer would look and see no lights and slam the door.

Ski_Digger
02-05-2008, 11:27 PM
Pa Ben-
I was told one time why get two guys shot--- we will only send one for now. About out running my partner I am dog meat, I did have one of the guys tell me "ski if the dog eats you he will be to full to do anything to me and I can help you out then:D :eek: " I just consider the source.
I did have a lady one time get pretty upset, telling me she could make a deal with the office. I informed her I spoke with the office and there were going to be no deals made. I gave her the no-pay slip with the totals, she insisted she was going to call the office, calling on her cordless phone. She started in with the office how they are no good sob's walking around the yard.
So I said self enough is enough. I walked over and sleeved the meter. Comming around the house she was looking at her phone saying "why is the phone dead"
I looked at her and said cordless phone? "YES"
I then said sorry it will not work when the power is out.:mad:
As the door slammed shut, I smiled and said have a nice day.:confused:

The office then called and was wondering if something went wrong.
I said no just got tired of her yelling at you on the phone so I pulled the meter, we both got a good laugh.

In the winter Know we use a 30min on 30min off meter set. If you are looking for a way to get people pay that is it. Really messes up the tv.
Ski

BigClive
02-06-2008, 03:40 AM
In the winter Know we use a 30min on 30min off meter set. If you are looking for a way to get people pay that is it. Really messes up the tv.
Ski

Now that's a clever tactic. Don't think they could do it here though, since all our meters are in the residences and there'd probably be a contactor clapping in or out every half hour.

Ski_Digger
02-07-2008, 09:24 PM
Big Clive-
There is a company that does have another one that a person can call up a pager and
1. shut off the meter by calling it
2. turn on by calling it
3. turn on the 30/30 on /off by calling it
4. if the cust. is shut off the cust. can go to the meter
and then reset it by them self.

Ski

Squizzy
02-09-2008, 04:03 AM
Some the undesirable customers here get a special fuse box fitted when they carded for "scheduled" work then all you do is drive by with a remote control and clunk off with the contactor.

wtdoor67
02-09-2008, 09:19 AM
take cash from the customers. I remember this guy once who drug up all the cash he had for about a 100 or so dollar bill he owed. It was a lot of ones etc. He wound up with the kids piggy bank and emptied it out and eventually paid his bill to the penny. I gave him a receipt and bagged up all the coins etc. and took them to the office. Everyone was amused.

We had one old gal who lived in a small trailer and was a regular disconnect for no pay. She had a breaker just below her meter. We never did go to the trouble of booting her meter. Just flip that breaker off and she would come in and pay up. She never did figure it out.

markwho
02-10-2008, 07:12 AM
Our meter dept. usually does the cutoffs at the meter w/boots. Once in awhile they give us a call for c.t. metering, problems with access or problems with the customers equipment. They called one day for us because they could not get the meter cover off, the people had sided right along side the pedestal of the trailer and there was no way of removing it without damaging the siding. This was a urd service and we would of had to go into the h.h. to disconnect. So we ended up shutting the breaker off and sealing it there. We have done the same for some c.t. jobs where there were multiple customers and used the disconnects. The people at customer service just don't realize how much labor is involved to just shut some people off for as little as a few hrs. Sometimes all it would have taken was a phone call to have them come in and pay up. I hate it when you give them a little time to pay up and you end up needing to go back and cut them off. It surely is the worst part of my job.

LINETRASH
02-11-2008, 01:27 AM
as a troubleman in our system I often get "no current" calls that happen to be recently disconnected folks,

They are very clever. They call in "out of service" before the disconnect order is in the system.

When I arrive at the address I dont even bother to ask the dispatcher as to the status of the account. I hook 'em up.

My take on the whole thing is if the trouble ticket gets to me, it has passed muster in the system, and I make 'em hot.

You have to consider the massive call volume here in s. florida. Lotts of custumers, tons of troulble calls.

I figure I will err on thr side of caution and help the folks.

willy
02-22-2008, 10:46 AM
When we go do a cut-off for nonpayment we do not even contact the customer we cut and run. Sometimes in the bad neighborhoods we cannot run fastest enough.:) I have gone to get an outage to do work and have ran into similar situations, no offers but really nice women dressed to please.:eek: Stay safe and becareful

linemansmilestones
02-22-2008, 08:09 PM
I used to do all my lock non pays in the morning, so the customers could pay and then re energize in the afternoon. Knock and lock was the policy, although most of us know the normal policy is cut it and cut out.

Some customers had a legitimate reason for the bill lapsing, and I would give them the opportunity to pay, if I believed them. On a FAS (field automation system) the tag will disappear from the screen when the bill is paid. If it did not disappear I would return in the afternoon and cut them off.

I knocked at a door one morning to tell the customer I was cutting them off. An aging woman opened the door, and I told her what I was there for. She dejectedly said OK. I asked if she would be able to pay the bill, and if she could, I would leave the service on.
She came out on the porch and sat down on a bench. She told me her son had just be shot and killed (I remember reading about it in the paper) and her other son had died a year ago. I could feel her depression.
She was a nurse by profession, but had to quit to take care of her husband who had a stroke. She hadn't paid the bill because she had to choose between medication for her husband, which he needs to live (no insurance) or the utility bill. The last thing she needed was for the lights to go off and no heat.

I gave her some numbers to call for relief, and left her on. By the afternoon the job did not go off my screen, so I unfortunately had to return. I knocked on the door again and the woman answered with a receipt for a paid bill. We both smiled and hugged.

I was working that weekend and it was Mothers Day. I had told the story at work and took up a collection. I bought a Mothers DAY card and put the $100 cash donation in it, and took it to her. I told Blanche the money came from people who care about her. We hugged, shed a tear, and Blanche said she will always pay on time because people of PG&E care. It was so rewarding to see her smile after all the tragedy she had endured.

Orgnizdlbr
02-22-2008, 08:50 PM
Hey Stones, you're all right in my book brother!

duckhunter
02-27-2008, 08:17 PM
We have an AMR system installed on about 2/3 of our system, the remainde before the end of the year. We have reconnect collars installed on our regular members that have to be disconnected for non-pay. A signal is sent down the line and off goes the power. When they pay we send another signal and tell them to hit the reset on the bottom of the collar. No more problems in the field.

freshjive
03-05-2008, 08:23 PM
LOL pay your bill..I used to do collections before I became an apprentice and every month it was the same people, and the same sad lame ass stories..I have heard every story you can imagine, from "my husband just ran off with another man", to "no you can't shut me off, my hampster is on oxygen", .....These people know its coming and it shouldn't be a surprise when the power co. shows up to either collect or shut you off.....

old lineman
03-05-2008, 08:42 PM
I recall reading a story once where the power company turned off the power without contacting the home owner.
Wrong address!
About 2 weeks they returned and the freezer meat stunk so bad the power company was ordered by the courts to demolish the house and build a new one. EXTREME MAKEOVER.
The Old Lineman

glovenlove13kva
03-13-2008, 04:18 PM
We are only allowed to turn cust on not shut them off. We only do shut-offs if it's for the fire dept for a house fire or gas leak.

loadbreak55
04-26-2008, 07:52 PM
We used to collect in the field,hell we even had certain customer's that
would wait for us to show up to give us the money,just to save the postage!
I've found envelopes taped to the meters with the money inside,taped to
the door,stuck on the outside of their mailbox,you name it!We don't do field
collections anymore,but we do average 150-300 disconnects a week!97%
of which are the same "deadbeats"time after time!And the thing that get's
me is,everytime you show up, they try out the same excuse they used last time!But the ones I love to turn off is the $300,000 house,with the "Hummer"
in the driveway,snowmobiles beside the garage,and the fourwheelers in
the garage!I'm there to turn off their power because they can't afford
a $200.00 power bill!

IN THE SHADOWS
04-27-2008, 07:56 AM
Was working a re-conductor job on a utility construction crew and in the process of pulling out some old wire we accidently kicked the feeder. Took about an hour to get things in the clear and the feeder hot again. Sure nuff, here comes the local manager driving up to our jobsite. Gets out of his car and instead of issuing us our expected ass eatin:mad:....he thanked the crew cuz about 9 or 10 of his delinquit customers came in and paid their bills during the outage thinking they had been cut.....again.:D

co lineman
04-27-2008, 07:39 PM
I am a serviceman at the utility I work for...We have to do credit cuts but we have some guidelines that the PSC we have to go by..Credit have to be done by noon..We have to give the people ample warning that they haven't paid their bill...I think there is a couple mailing a phone call and then the week before we do it we have to to their house and put a door hanger on their door..very time consuming..So needless to say when we show to turn them off we doorhang them again to tell them who they need to call turn their power off and we are gone...

Pootnaigle
04-15-2009, 06:05 PM
I usta hafta do them Damn cutoffs for non pay also and I hated em. Some of required a Lot of work due to dogs or locked fences. I have heard every excuse imaginable ......... but since it wasnt my idea to cut em off in the first place none were good enough.I once had an order to cut on off at the pole because he had cut himself back on at the meter. As I walked to the pole in the alley he met me with a hand in his jacket pocket and said IF YOU CUT MY POWER OFF I HAVE SUMPIN FOR YA.......... I very politely walked back to the truck called dispatch n had em send a cop. The cop knocked on the door n when the guy answered he had an outstanding warrent, so away he went leaving me to do my deed. In all truth I did enjoy cuttin off some of them folks with the mega bux homes and tons of toys in the driveway but couldnt pay a 200 dollar bill. One guy was so regular and he had bad dogs we would put a ladder on the house n cut him at the weatherhead.. He complained that we damaged his roof so next trip out I installed 2 cutouts on his service and opened em from the adjacent yard.He was at a definate disadvantage from that point on.

T-Man
04-16-2009, 11:40 AM
We have some dudes running around that own or rent a Bucket truck that when they find out we cut somebody off at the pole for non payment they offer the custormer a turn on service of $50 and boom up and just push the insulinks together without crimping them! They rob the poor SOB and when we see they are back in service we go back and remove the service totally if it gets bad enough, till they pay the bill.
We live in a crazy world nowadays!
We get good paying customers out of power because the guy down the street had his meter removed for non payment so he just sauntered up the block snatched a meter from the good guy and plugged it in at his place. . . . .This happens all the time. AMR meters help a bit because they should be off but show a read then we investigate. And now with the cost of copper going up when the local junkman sees a service mising. . .well that means nobodys home so he throws a chain around the mast and hooks up to his pick up and yanks all the pipe and wire right off the house!
Beautiful. . .

freshjive
04-24-2009, 04:29 PM
where i work the meter dept handles all of that..before i did linework i did non-payments for 2 years and you hear every friggen excuse in the book....Just go to the meter and pull it and run lol....I used to hate confronting people,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Lizzy Bordon
04-26-2009, 09:16 PM
In NJ is they put in a customer owned underground and coiled the wire around the pole it usually got cut off and stolen. You basically had to tie a pit bull to the pole until the power company showed up. Can not get the inspection without the wire in and poor customer has to wait for the power company to get the cut in card.

glover
04-28-2009, 03:02 PM
We used to do non pay cuts at the weather head, usually by a two man service crew. What we would do is cut out the linkets and install new ones squeze them on the customer side and put tape on the service side, stick them back together with tape and it looked like everything was hooked up. When we went back after the cust paid his or her bill we would take off the tape squeze the line side, cust back in service, saved us a lot of climbs on nasty poles. And it drove the customer nuts, because it looked like everything was hooked up. We didn't even mess with the meter. :D

Chazz2771
04-29-2009, 09:09 PM
We used to do non pay cuts at the weather head, usually by a two man service crew. What we would do is cut out the linkets and install new ones squeze them on the customer side and put tape on the service side, stick them back together with tape and it looked like everything was hooked up. When we went back after the cust paid his or her bill we would take off the tape squeze the line side, cust back in service, saved us a lot of climbs on nasty poles. And it drove the customer nuts, because it looked like everything was hooked up. We didn't even mess with the meter. :D

Now that's pretty clever......have to stash that one in the noggin for future use

loadbreak55
05-17-2009, 11:05 AM
We average around 125-150 per week.sometimes,depending on the cycle,there can be over 200 of these dead-beats!This,of course,prompts a few to re-connect themselves.The majority of them have no clue as to the danger they are putting themselves in by doing this,not to mention the fines and hassle they face getting reconnected.We started using a tamper resistant lock,called the "JIFF LOCK",and this cut the tampers down to "almost"zero overnight.Of course there is always one or two that will go to the extreme to reconnect themselves,but they have to destroy their own meterbase to do it now! Life is good when that happens.Does anyone else use these out there?How do you like them?:confused:

shaun
05-17-2009, 03:29 PM
We started using a tamper resistant lock,called the "JIFF LOCK",and this cut the tampers down to "almost"zero overnight.

What is it?

loadbreak55
05-17-2009, 06:21 PM
Go to www.inner-tite.com/jiffylock.They also have a locking ring that goes around the meter for the ones that plug in from the outside.Great Stuff!!!:)

wstxpwr
06-23-2009, 04:56 PM
Loadbreak we use them they work pretty good. But like you said were there is a will there is a way. I've had em try to hack saw em off only to give up. They usually beat em off. And then like you said they tear up thier meter can. Which cost them an expensive visit from thier electrician. Had one guy who was so bad we put two jiffy locks on his can and he beat em both off. The only thing is they don't fit some of the older cans.

CPOPE
06-24-2009, 04:32 AM
Standard Tuesday June 23, 2009, 10:59 PM
Shut-off season is here.
After six months of cold weather, during which National Grid held off terminating service at that vast majority of households with unpaid bills, technicians hit the road in droves last month to shut off gas and electric service for nonpaying customers.
http://blog.syracuse.com/news/2009/06/0623NationalGridShutoffs.jpg
The utility pulled the plug on 9,915 residences during May, according to the latest report filed with the state Public Service Commission.

That's not a record, but it's a lot.

The utility had to shift workers from other jobs and hire a temporary work force to accomplish more than 600 shut-offs per day in May, a month in which they had only 16 days to work. State law restricts service terminations to 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, holidays excluded.

But it could have been worse.

Last fall, National Grid revamped its collections procedures in ways that have decreased the number of customers with unpaid bills, said Tracey McCarthy, vice president for customer financial services.

The company amped up efforts to contact late-paying customers, to steer eligible customers toward public assistance programs, and to get customers with overdue bills into repayment agreements, she said.

It worked. National Grid had 102,047 delinquent customers in repayment agreements in May, up more than 2,300 from the year before.

McCarthy said National Grid modeled its new collections procedures after state-of-the-art techniques developed by banks.

"I believe without these activities, we would be in a very different situation," she said. "The number of customers with arrears would have likely been up."

Many experts had feared this might be a year of unprecedented problems with unpaid utility bills.

Last September, alarmed at the rising numbers of shut-offs, the high level of energy prices and the deepening economic recession, the state Public Service Commission called an extraordinary summit of the major utility companies. The PSC asked the utilities to make special efforts to keep struggling customers from losing service during the winter.

The utilities followed through, limiting winter service terminations to a relative few.

They had some help from the federal government, which provided roughly $400 million to help New York state residents pay heating bills through the Home Energy Assistance Program. That was up from $273 million the previous winter.

Energy prices also dropped during the winter, in part because of the lagging economy, which helped keep bills lower than some forecasters had predicted. By April, National Grid's price for natural gas had fallen to 74 cents per therm, compared with $1.07 in April 2008.

Although National Grid has succeeded in keeping the number of service terminations lower than last year, the utility faces an ongoing challenge to collect from customers.

As of May, the number of households with bills more than 60 days overdue was down 5 percent from last year, but the amount of money they owed -- $233 million -- was up 13 percent, utility officials said.

National Grid mailed 94,554 final termination notices in May -- written warnings that the accounts could be shut off -- up 60 percent from May 2008. Although many customers will respond to the notices with payments, a high number of shut-offs is likely to continue through summer and fall.

That raises safety concerns. Every household left in the dark raises the potential for candle fires and other tragedies, said Gerald Norlander, executive director of Public Utility Law Project, a nonprofit consumer group.

"It's just probabilities," he said. "Utility energy is generally the safest form of household energy."

Phil Prehn, an organizer at Syracuse United Neighbors, said the long-term solution to utility shut-offs is to increase government programs to weatherize the homes of low-income customers.

"There's just no way people can keep up with the prices," Prehn said.

CPOPE
06-26-2010, 07:48 AM
The Boston Globe
Power is cut, a woman dies, and furor follows
Her oxygen pump stopped. Now, N.H. officials press utility for an explanation
The home of Kay and Stephen Phaneuf at 18 Charles St. in Salem, N.H. National Grid shut off power to the home. The home of Kay and Stephen Phaneuf at 18 Charles St. in Salem, N.H. National Grid shut off power to the home.
By Brian R. Ballou
Globe Staff / June 26, 2010
SALEM, N.H.— The National Grid worker showed up at Kay Phaneuf’s beige, Cape-style home on Charles Street at 9 a.m. Monday with an order in hand to shut off her electricity. He saw no car in the driveway. He knocked on the door and rang the doorbell, just inches away from a red sign stating “No smoking, oxygen in use.’’ When he got no answer, he cut the power and left.

But Phaneuf, who relied on an oxygen machine because she suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, was inside. By the time her husband, Stephen, arrived home an hour later, she was unconscious. The machine, a plug-in, had stopped working. Stephen Phaneuf called 911. Two days later, his 54-year-old wife was dead.

As a result of her death, the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission, the regulatory body for utility companies in the state, has launched an investigation and Governor John Lynch yesterday called on the commission to conduct a broad review of the shut-off policies of all utility companies operating in the state.

In a letter sent yesterday to commission chairman Thomas Getz, Lynch said, “I am terribly saddened and troubled by the tragic situation of Kay Phaneuf, a woman from Salem who depended on an oxygen machine and whose death may be connected to a decision by National Grid to terminate her power for nonpayment.’’

Lynch ordered the results of the investigation, and any recommended policy changes, to arrive at his desk by the end of July. State law currently prohibits shutoffs in cases where power is needed for medical reasons.

Salem Police Captain Shawn Patten said Kay Phaneuf had no pulse when police and firefighters arrived. They performed CPR on her several times before she was resuscitated and rushed to Caritas Holy Family Hospital in Methuen, he said.

“It’s fairly obvious that she needed to be hooked up to a machine to live, and the oxygen device that she required to live was no longer operable because there was no electricity,’’ Patten said.

He said the machine had a backup battery but it had not been activated and he did not know whether it was working properly.

David Graves, a spokesman for National Grid, said in a phone interview that the meter worker “had no record to indicate there was a medical note on the account.’’

“We follow the state regulations to protect the customer and to protect the company as well,’’ he said. “The last thing that we want to do is cut off a person’s service.’’

The account had included a medical notification, Graves said, but it had expired on May 15.

“We sent them a letter on April 30 advising them of the expiration, but there was no response,’’ Graves said. “We sent out a letter on June 1 advising them that service would be shut off no earlier than June 15, but they didn’t respond to that either. In our review of this event, we found nothing to indicate that we didn’t follow proper procedure. And there is nothing so far to indicate that the shutoff of electricity had anything to do with her medical emergency.’’

He said the company goes beyond the state’s 60-day medical notification requirement and gives 90 days.

Pat Jones, a Boston-based attorney who was hired by the family to investigate the incident, declined to comment other than to say, “the family is grieving and currently preparing funeral services.’’ Jones requested that the family’s privacy be respected.

Debra Howland, the commission’s executive director, declined to comment on the case, saying the commission did not have all the facts yet.

She said, however, that the company has rules regarding disconnecting service and their purpose “is to provide extra protection for people who rely on electricity for medical purposes, above from other customers.’’

“I’m not aware of any situation in at least the past 15 years where a disconnection has resulted in the hospitalization or fatality of a customer,’’ she said.

Howland said she sent a letter Thursday to National Grid requesting a detailed two-year history of all contacts the company had with the Phaneuf family.

Graves said National Grid replied to Howland yesterday, but he declined to discuss their responses.

Janet Deloge, who had been married to Phaneuf’s former husband, said in a telephone interview yesterday that Phaneuf grew up in Methuen, had two adult daughters, and a grandchild, and was a cancer survivor.

“She has been on oxygen a couple of years because of the COPD, and she uses a portable tank as a backup and for when she goes out,’’ she said.’’ She sleeps with an oxygen tent around her bed.’’

It was not clear yesterday the exact type of apparatus Phaneuf used or whether it had an alarm or battery backup.

Two years ago, Fernando Vargas, an East Boston teen who relied on a ventilator died during a two-hour power outage. An investigation revealed that the backup battery power malfunctioned.

On Charles Street yesterday, neighbors said Phaneuf and her family attended St. Joseph parish in Salem.

“She was just a great lady, funny as hell,’’ said Tracy Frenette. “They’re [the neighbors] all very tight-knit, very protective, and they’re all horrified.’’

T-Man
06-28-2010, 08:42 AM
What I don't understand, is if I get sick with a life threatening illness and need a machine that requires electrical power to operate and a back up battery that kicks in when the power goes off for whatever reason, How am I not responsible to make sure the battery works properly and let the power company know I have a need to stay in power so it's on my account I shouldn't be turned off or atleast be restored first. . . .In any event if my power does go off I also should have a back up plan to go where I can get help.

Is the power Company suppose to have crystal balls that tell which customers have these conditions and what to do about them? I would expect the power company to simply ask the customer if there is a medical need for power and provide evidence of that without violating HEPA laws.So the account could be noted.

Didn't the medical provider relay any information to this customer and their care givers on how this machine worked and what to do in case of a power failure?

In the case above the customer was so ill they couldn't make a phone call to the Utility to say I need power?. . or if they were too sick to do that, how do they get left home alone?

I'm sure this customer recieved mail explaining in advance their power would be shut off if arrangments for payment were not made by such and such a date.

Just make the deep pockets responsible no matter who's at fault?. . .

T

CPOPE
12-11-2010, 06:32 AM
by NICK ROSEN on DECEMBER 11, 2010 - 0 Comments in EVENTS
Share

Unsavoury face of Utility industry
Shamed Utility company National Grid is to be sued by the family of the New Hampshire woman it killed when the Utility shut off her power earlier this year.
Kay Phaneuf, 53,died after her respirator stopped functioning due to the power cut-off. Her account had a medical protection notice intended to prevent such a shutoff in the past, but it had lapsed.
National Grid, whose Executives are being investigated after they filed expense claims including wine and international travel, was cleared of misconduct in the Phaneuf case by the New Hampshire regulator. This may have been the result of an intensive lobbying and PR operation by the Utility.
But the disgraced company had little to celebrate yesterday when Patrick Jones, an attorney representing Phaneuf’s family, said he expects to file a complaint against the utility soon. He declined to comment further.
National Grid announced separately it is to sell its New Hampshire energy business in a deal that could mark the start of more disposals in the US.
National Grid, whose revenues dropped 10.5% in the latest financial year, became a little less national after selling its Granite State Electric and EnergyNorth businesses in New Hampshire to Liberty Energy, part of Canada’s Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.
Broker Killik & Co said the New Hampshire business had made poor returns and the price was reasonable.
Killik said Grid was awaiting more regulatory rulings from other US states and was limiting spending to maintenance.
The broker said: “Given the poor regulatory climate, we believe there is a reasonable chance the whole US business will be sold in time.”
The Utility Commission report said: The death of Ms. Phaneuf was tragic. However, the facts revealed during the investigations by the Salem Police Department, the Rockingham County Attorney, and commission staff do not indicate that National Grid acted in violation of applicable regulations.”
The commission concluded there was no reason for it to take any action against the utility.

topgroove
12-11-2010, 09:51 AM
We've just sold New Hampsire Gas and Electric for 283 million. Grid should have never bought that under preforming dog. We aquired it a few years ago but it never did well. To say Grid killed this women is rediculous. How many phone calls and letters have to be sent before service is shut off? Shouldn't this womens family take responsibility?

Trbl639
12-11-2010, 12:05 PM
We've just sold New Hampsire Gas and Electric for 283 million. Grid should have never bought that under preforming dog. We aquired it a few years ago but it never did well. To say Grid killed this women is rediculous. How many phone calls and letters have to be sent before service is shut off? Shouldn't this womens family take responsibility?

I hear ya Top......some people are just wanting a 'hand-out' if ya know what I mean!!

Divemaster
12-11-2010, 12:49 PM
In my opinion a 'Medical Note' is only to notify us of a customers important electrical needs. In case there is an outage that effects them we try to make them a priority if at all possible. As for their responsiblity, I think they need to have a reliable backup and make sure it operates. Most of all "Pay Your Bill!" If they need electricity to keep them alive, they need to make that bill a priority.
As for this Phaneuf family, I'm curious as to their payment history. We had a gal on our system that was in a situation where her husband needed O2 and we had an order to disconnect. She tried to throw a 'Medical Note' in our guy's faces but in the end we shut her off. She'd been a frequent flier on the disconnect list for several years before the husband needed O2, and she was only allowed to pay in hard cash because of all of the bad checks she had tried to give us. One nice outcome, she's been keeping up with her bill since then.

wtdoor67
12-11-2010, 05:38 PM
Had a disconnect guy tell a funny one once. He had a delinquent customer once that he was scheduled to cut off. They had jumped thru all the hoops, the notices by mail, the door knockers etc. I think this was an O2 type person. Anyway he related he went and did the disconnect and drove away. After just a few blocks away he heard sirens and saw an ambulance drive up near the location. After a little while he found out it was someone who had suffered a heart attack and lived next door to the O2 guy. He was a little scared for a moment.

topgroove
12-11-2010, 06:47 PM
"The death of Ms. Phaneuf was tragic," the commission report said. "However, the facts revealed during the investigations by the Salem Police Department, the Rockingham County Attorney, and commission staff do not indicate that National Grid acted in violation of applicable regulations."
The commission concluded there was no reason for it to take any action against the utility.
Patrick Jones, an attorney representing Phaneuf's family, said he expects to file a complaint against the utility soon. He declined to comment further. A message left for National Grid was not returned Thursday afternoon.
Gov. John Lynch said while it appears that existing regulations were followed, it is clear utilities must do more to prevent future incidents. He said the commission is developing uniform rules on the length of time utilities recognize medical emergency certificates and on handling certificates that have lapsed.
"These are important policy changes that can help prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future," he siad.
Phaneuf relied on the oxygen machine as part of her treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The commission noted that the emergency certification on her account had lapsed, that National Grid tried to notify her about it, and that she had not provided an updated certification. The commission also noted that National Grid followed its regulations in taking steps to disconnect the service.
In September, James Reams, the county attorney, said National Grid went above and beyond regulations and bears no criminal responsibility for what happened.
Customers who require electricity for medical equipment can prevent National Grid from shutting off service by sending a letter from their doctor. Under state regulations, customers need to renew such information every 60 days; National Grid has said it gives customers 90 days to renew.


Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/12/09/2508870/nh-utility-not-to-blame-in-power.html#ixzz17qkFY6ZG

Looks like the Phaneuf family will waste even more money pursuing a lenghtly legal fight in which they will certainly lose. Too bad they didn't pay attention when mom was living.

Highplains Drifter
12-11-2010, 08:10 PM
Sometimes it is best to have the Black and Whites escort you for disconnects, they can get ugly. I remember one that the meter was in the basement and they where raising dogs in the basement and had never clean any of their wastes. The smell was so vial you gasped for air, we always figured that they where manufacturing drugs and the urine smell over ride what drug sniffing dogs where suppose to pick up.

electriklady
12-11-2010, 08:47 PM
My best friend is the collector for Penelec,,,,,she tells me some stories........sometimes the police are involved.......meter dept does the reconnects for the terminations for non payment, but when I show up they are more than happy to treat me like a queen.

I get them laughing....I always say my friend is the evil witch but I am the good witch....lots of times if I am working in an area, and people see me...they get nervous that I am there for non payment terminations......I quickly tell them I only shut off the ones that people request to be turned off, then they relax:)

Bear
12-11-2010, 10:00 PM
To say Grid killed this women is rediculous. How many phone calls and letters have to be sent before service is shut off? Shouldn't this womens family take responsibility?

Unless she lived alone and was too proud to tell her family that she was struggling to pay the bills. Although, if she was on a ventilator then surely someone was looking after her?

Sounds like it might have been a blessed release from an unpleasant life anyway.

old lineman
12-12-2010, 12:47 PM
I remember years ago that the power company cut the power off to a home and some months later a woman slipped coming down the stairs carrying a candle for light.
The investigation found lots of wax drippings all over the stairway and declared that to be a cause inpart to her demise.
After that it became illegal to cut power completely so a company invented a limiter. I forget which company.
It's a device that sits between the meter and the meter base. It has 15 amp breaker that will allow lights but not much else.
Where is this device in your area?
It seems to me that this would prevent a death such as is being discussed.
The power company didn't really cut the power as there would still be power in the house yet their loses are minimized by the restricted consumption.
Seems to me to be a better solution than an outright cutoff.
The Old Lineman

CPOPE
12-12-2010, 01:03 PM
We've just sold New Hampsire Gas and Electric for 283 million. Grid should have never bought that under preforming dog. We aquired it a few years ago but it never did well. To say Grid killed this women is rediculous.

The former New-England Electric System (Granite State/Narragansett/Massachusetts and Nantucket} was purchased by National Grid a foreign owned English Company

It was after those mergers that National Greed purchased Niagara MoHawk
I think you got your time line wrong Buffalo?

Keep in Mind that National Grid sold off NH to a Canadian Company. Why to we let foreign owned companies own our infrastructure?

It's socialism at it's best, You shut someone off for non-payment and the worst happens the deep pocket gets sued, There was a time when you would check with the customer. There were moratoriums on on shut offs in the winter and medical customers were checked and double checked prior to shut off. An honest accident, the deep pocket shareholders will pay.....

"National Grid agreed to sell its gas and electric operations in New Hampshire this week to a Canadian company for $285 million after regulators there failed to allow the British utility to take home more profits.
But the company is assuring customers that it doesn't have any plans to make a similar decision in New York, where it is battling regulators over a $361 million electric rate hike request."

Laugh out Loud, don't believe them, they are going to sell off the distribution companies in pieces, NY and/or RI next, They will focus on the Gas and Transmission and let the distribution systems wither on the vine, fall apart and run into the ground because rate hike requests are not going their way.

wtdoor67
12-12-2010, 02:58 PM
They will focus on the Gas and Transmission and let the distribution systems wither on the vine, fall apart and run into the ground because rate hike requests are not going their way.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

If most power co's had their way they would not deal in distribution. Most view distribution as a necessary evil.

A 1000 miles of transmission line takes perhaps one crew to maintain it. The initial cost of building etc. is done by contractors. Afterwards in place it can be easily maintained by one crew of perhaps 4 to 6 people. Storms? It takes a pretty vigorous storm to wreck larger transm. lines. Anwer. Call in the contractors.

Consider a small town of perhaps 10 to 15 thousand. Probably needs at least one crew to do the const. and maintenance and perhaps a troubleman to keep the lights on with assistance of the crew. Also meter readers, meter people etc.

A journeyman on transm. maint will have the same pay and benefits of a distrib. hand.

When I worked on transm. maint. we could get any tool we desired. Not quite so easy on distb. It's all economics I guess.

The ideal situation for most power co's would be to own all transmission and generation, and let others own the distribution.

wtdoor67
12-12-2010, 03:00 PM
They will focus on the Gas and Transmission and let the distribution systems wither on the vine, fall apart and run into the ground because rate hike requests are not going their way.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

If most power co's had their way they would not deal in distribution. Most view distribution as a necessary evil.

A 1000 miles of transmission line takes perhaps one crew to maintain it. The initial cost of building etc. is done by contractors. Afterwards in place it can be easily maintained by one crew of perhaps 4 to 6 people. Storms? It takes a pretty vigorous storm to wreck larger transm. lines. Anwer. Call in the contractors.

Consider a small town of perhaps 10 to 15 thousand. Probably needs at least one crew to do the const. and maintenance and perhaps a troubleman to keep the lights on with assistance of the crew. Also meter readers, meter people etc.

A journeyman on transm. maint will have the same pay and benefits of a distrib. hand.

When I worked on transm. maint. we could get any tool we desired. Not quite so easy on distb. It's all economics I guess.

The ideal situation for most power co's would be to own all transmission and generation, and let others own the distribution.

topgroove
12-12-2010, 03:05 PM
Whats the deal with the Grid bashing? the Husband of Mrs. Phaneuf should be charged with murder. You've got to be kidding me what the hell did he do with all the late notifications? We're talking countless letters, phone calls and door knockers. The guy waits for over an hour to call 911, making sure his wifes oxegen has run out. Ever hear of a back-up generator or even battery backup? either way it would've been way cheaper than the lawyer fees the family is shelling out. The family will lose this case big time. As far as selling off assets, hell yeah... we're an investor owned utility that tries for a decent return on investment and deliver a reasonable and safe product to our consumers. We strive for zero injuries. If we have a utility thats under preforming and loosing money your damn right we're gonna get rid of it. Not sure what your problem is CPOPE but if you wanna bash a company why not start with Pike. I notice you didn't say a word when they went on their apprentice killing spree awhile back.

CPOPE
12-13-2010, 10:38 PM
The deal is people in glass houses should not throw stones. Don't take things so personally. You stated that the NH operation was a dog. Granite State Electric was a good operation about as good as NiMo. The rate case didn't go well so it was sold off. The NY rate case isn't going much better.

http://blog.timesunion.com/business/national-grid-boss-is-hugely-annoyed-by-rate-case-problems/21171/

No problem here. Lawyers pick these cases up on contingency and Grid will likely pay out to settle because that will be cheaper than the bad press and drawn out court case,

As far as Pike Goes, I don;t know where you are coming from. Not on topic and my posts are what they are. Will call a spade a spade as needed....

Slight problem here in the fact that we have sold off our T&D to foreign owned companies. Just don't seem like a good move to me because the rate cases are not going their way and they are yard selling off peices.

Sorry to have offended ya

yager024
12-13-2010, 11:13 PM
Sorry to have offended ya


CPOPE I admire you for handling that the way you did. we need more people in this world and FORUM like you. +1

topgroove
12-14-2010, 05:55 AM
The deal is people in glass houses should not throw stones.

really.... what stones have I thrown:confused:. And whats wrong with a company selling a losing assett? Is it any wonder Verizon left New Hampshire. I hope New Hampshire is happy with the new owners:D

CPOPE
12-15-2010, 12:12 AM
really.... what stones have I thrown:confused:. And whats wrong with a company selling a losing assett? Is it any wonder Verizon left New Hampshire. I hope New Hampshire is happy with the new owners:D

Nothing wrong with a company selling a loosing asset. Again sorry if your offended but the NY rate case will make the former NiMo a loosing asset...Worst deal New Granite State and the other former England Electric companies ever did was to hook up with National Grid and buy NiMo....It's likely the NY operation is going to be sold off to somebody like the the United Arab Eremites....LOL

People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
You should not criticize other people for having the same faults that you yourself have.

I'm not saying you threw a stone dude. It's called an idiom.
an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements, as kick the bucket or hang one's head,

Get over it and enjoy your Christmas

CPOPE
12-22-2010, 05:36 AM
She stood in a dark and freezing Detroit home, wearing layers of clothes, topped by a white terry-cloth robe.

"What am I going to do now?" cried Tammy Hatley. "I don't want to leave the house to get vandalized."

But her electricity -- illegally drawn through frayed, duct-taped and simple household extension cords hooked up to an outdoor outlet on the garage of the vacant house next door -- had just been unplugged.http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20101222&Category=NEWS06&ArtNo=12220333&Ref=V2&MaxW=600&MaxW=800&q=50

"Not only is it illegal, it's really unsafe," DTE Energy worker Keith Gross told Hatley and her family as he gathered the dozen or so cords that linked the house to the garage.

The hookup was a fatal fire waiting to happen at Hatley's west-side home, said Mark Johnson, director of DTE's energy theft unit. The house has not had authorized service since at least mid-2008. Hatley is not facing charges.

Theft of electricity and gas for heat is a growing problem in metro Detroit.

It costs the utility about $100 million a year, which gets passed on to the 2.7 million paying customers of DTE and its natural gas subsidiary, MichCon.

"But this is a really tough dynamic on this one," Johnson said, acknowledging that it is never easy to pull the plug on a family -- especially during the holidays. "But I can't in good conscience leave this home with extension cords running throughout the house."
DTE cuts down on illegal power hookups

On a snowy, frigid December afternoon, DTE Energy workers Jeff Grybel and Keith Gross began another routine workday: climbing utility poles, clipping wires and locking electric meters.

It's a challenging and sometimes dangerous job they and 100 other DTE workers do -- finding and unplugging thousands of people and businesses stealing electricity or natural gas from the utility.

They investigate 2,000 cases of energy theft weekly and are on track this year to disconnect 65,000 homes and businesses.

"This shows us they've been locked out for theft before," said Mark Johnson, director of the energy theft unit at DTE Energy, pointing to the hole and red tag where an electric meter once was at an apartment building on Atkinson.http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20101222&Category=NEWS06&ArtNo=12220333&Ref=H3&MaxW=600&MaxW=800&q=50

One of the units had draped a wire from a nearby gas station, over the top of a building, across an alley and into wires that led to the apartments.

"If a truck came down this alley, it would clip the wire and then you've got a live wire down," Johnson said.

So Gross cut the wire at the pole. The workers left a brochure telling the occupants why they lost electricity and how they could get help.
Rising demand for help

Thousands of people face utility shutoffs every year for nonpayment -- in 2009, more than 360,000 households who get service from the state's largest utilities, DTE Energy and Consumers Energy, were unplugged.

So far this year, the Salvation Army has had a 25% increase in demand for help for everything, including heat and lights. In November, Wayne County's five service sites had about 250 requests each for utility assistance.

With donations and federal funding down, the Salvation Army can only deal with the most urgent cases, said Rebekah Johnson, spokeswoman for the Salvation Army.

In 2007, DTE disconnected 25,000 illegal hookups. This year, it's projected to be 65,000.

Jackson-based Consumers Energy has 7,000 to 10,000 cases of energy theft each year, said Doug Detterman, manager of revenue recovery.

While energy theft occurs in every community -- Gross and Grybel disconnected an illegal hookup at an 8,500-square-foot home in Milford earlier this month -- 90% of the cases occur in Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park. The abundance of abandoned homes in Detroit offer shelter for many squatters, Johnson said. Many illegal hookups are found in boarded-up buildings.

"Until we get rid of some of these abandoned homes, we're not going to be able to totally solve the issue," Johnson said.

Both shutoffs and illegal hookups can have dire consequences. A Bay City man froze to death in 2009 when his electricity was shut off for nonpayment. Three children died in a March fire in Detroit in a home where someone illegally hooked up power hours after DTE disconnected another illegal connection.
Theft becomes a felony

The state Legislature passed a law in July making it a felony to steal electricity or heat, punishable by up to a year in jail. Two Detroit men were sentenced last week on energy theft charges: One to 10 months in jail and two years' probation; the other to three years' probation.

DTE has pursued 140 people since the law passed, but only in three categories: landlords taking renters' money and not paying utility bills, businesses stealing energy or people hooking up unsuspecting residents for profit.

Marian Kramer of the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization says she thinks DTE should be criminally charged for disconnecting energy for people.

"Utilities are a human right. They shouldn't be shut off, period," she said this month as she protested outside DTE's Detroit headquarters.
Shelter opened

On Tuesday, DTE opened a family emergency shelter for people they've had to shut off. They teamed with United Way, Plymouth United Church of Christ and Franklin-Wright Settlements to convert an 8-unit apartment building in Detroit into a shelter that can temporarily house families.

"We felt we had to step up," said Joyce Hayes Giles, a vice president for DTE.

Tammy Hatley, whose illegal connection DTE unplugged Friday, and her family -- five adults and seven grandchildren ranging from 6 months to 8 years old -- decided to stay in their powerless home instead of the shelter Tuesday. With a grant of nearly $3,000 from the Heat And Warmth Fund, they hope to have their power restored for Christmas.

CPOPE
02-01-2011, 09:29 PM
February 1, 2011
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Angry residents have been attacking the utility workers sent to turn off their power when they get behind on payments, and it has happened often across Central Florida.

As a result, one lawmaker wrote a bill to give the workers better protection.

WFTV went along with Kissimmee Utility Authority (KUA) worker Jose Santiago Tuesday, who said he's been threatened at least four or five times. He said workers have also been threatened with guns, and it's all because they were doing their job and trying to shut off power to boxes.

"I had to call the cops just to make sure I was safe," Santiago told WFTV.

Santiago has been on the job for four years and has been confronted by angry customers just as many times in the last few months. He's part of the KUA disconnection crew. He said one customer got so upset recently that he came out with a shotgun to keep a crew from shutting off his power and water.

"Just with the presence of the gun in front of you, that definitely gets you scared," he said.

There were no confrontations when WFTV rode along with Santiago to shut off four customers' power Tuesday. However, Progress Energy and OUC acknowledged their employees are being assaulted, as well.

Representative Darren Soto is sponsoring a new bill that would stiffen the penalty for people accused of assaulting utility workers, instead of something such as probation. Anyone who assaults a worker would go to jail for a minimum of three or five years, depending on the charge; the change would put utility workers in the same category as law enforcement officers.

"It is unacceptable to be fighting, threatening, assaulting a utility worker who are just there to do there job," District 49 Representative Darren Soto told WFTV.

OUC and KUA disconnected more than 7,000 customers combined last month alone. With no sign of those numbers going down, Santiago feels the new bill could be the only thing that makes him feel safe on the job again.

"As soon as you shut off that power, I mean, something is going to happen. You just expect the worst," he said.

Employees are not allowed to carry weapons to protect themselves, but they are allowed to carry spray to ward off dangerous dogs, who WFTV was told are sometimes let out intentionally to attack them.

Lizzy Bordon
02-05-2011, 01:29 AM
Ha ha I shut off a dumb blonde. She opened the door in her tightie nightie did zip for me, except tick me off that she expected a guy to pull that over on. Was embarrassed said she just got up. Sure you always looks like you just ironed your lounge lizzard wear. A few hours later I heard them sending out the meter service WOMAN who also was greated in the jammies, she was also not impressed and the women still did not have any money and stayed off. She should have just went to the local bar made some money and paid her bill.

I did have a guy answer the door bathrobe nothing else.........he wanted to die, he expected men not a girl....pretty funny when the shoe is on the other foot.

T-Man
02-05-2011, 07:04 AM
As a Trouble shooter I had a few collect or disconnects where females tried the nitie thing. . .one standing on top of the stair well in a duplex. Giving me the comon up here big boy. The guy training me (we called him the Rooster) tripped over himself trying to race up the stairs. At the top we walked into her living room and there on the couch sat a fat guy in skivies. Let's get this call done and get the helll out of here I said. LOL Just give me the money honey or the lights go out.(Rooster had a look of let down on his face)

One time I had a collect and she wanted to pay in coins, I didn't exactly like the idea but let's get this over with. The young (flower child) lady took me into the house and sat me on the couch where there was a coffee table with a pile of weed on top of it. . .she used her arm to gently move it to one side so she could dump out a jar of coinage and we counted out the bill. Now a days I'd be busted by a drug sniffin dog after that call with my luck. Hippies. . .what fun they were. . .

Highplains Drifter
02-05-2011, 01:12 PM
I've seen the opposite, they where raising dogs in the basement where the meter was. They did not clean any of it up and the smell was so disgusting you couldn't breathe. I think they did that on purpose so the urine smell would over ride anything the drug dogs would smell. I think it was a meth lab.

electriklady
02-05-2011, 01:52 PM
Our collectors(we have employees designated to only leave notices and terminate single phase services for non-payment, our dept. does the three phase self contained, and of course the line dept does the transformer rated)......anyway they are not allowed to take money....even if the customer comes out with full payment in hand while they are terminating service they are to continue and not take the payment.....they are not allowed to call ahead to warn the customer of the impending shut off so they can make a payment via phone.....I believe that this practice puts the collectors at a higher risk of an angry confrontation, either verbally or physically. I did the first collector pilot program for our company back in the 90s.....that is all I did.....deal with the termination process for 3 counties. I NEVER had a problem..........I called them in advance....they made a payment.....end of story.......if I did shut them off........they were less inclined to be nasty to a woman.........I built a working relationship with the "people I had to deal with" and thoroughly enjoyed doing it......I collected a huge amount of money and terminations were rare. Before that pilot program the meter readers were also collectors.....so we did both, read meters all day and did the collections when we were done(long hours back in the day).....we also did the reconnects......I disagree with not being able to take a payment if the customer offers it and I disagree with not being able to call to try to get them to do a pay by phone.....my philosophy was to get them to pay, leave them on(generating future revenue) vs shutting them off. Now it is a little different scenerio.........for some people you cant get blood from a stone.:(

I have to admit there have been instances where I have wanted to pay the bill for them......for the kids sake.....or in the case of an elderly person. Must be the socialist in me.

Highplains Drifter
02-05-2011, 06:30 PM
E.L., I believe the reason they don't want you to be carrying that much cash is so you don't get mugged. I hear you on the other, I always hate when the parents use the kids to answer the door and you know they are hiding behind it. I really feel so bad for those young ones.

T-Man
02-05-2011, 08:07 PM
Here is a trick when you knock on the door yell out "Gas Man" that'll get them to the door. Then when they show up say I thought I said Electric. . . . .. .

electriklady
02-06-2011, 02:00 PM
E.L., I believe the reason they don't want you to be carrying that much cash is so you don't get mugged. I hear you on the other, I always hate when the parents use the kids to answer the door and you know they are hiding behind it. I really feel so bad for those young ones.

Actually drifter I think I would rather take my chances carrying around customers checks than denying leaving his power on as he is attempting to pay me in full.

If the goal of this "practice" was to insure an employee's safety, I woudnt be so against it....but I suspect different based on comments I have heard as to why we dont accept payments in the field anymore, but I will not go into that, seems everything I say on here makes it back to the top and tends to get my little butt in hot water.

Just an opinion guys.....just an opinion!

Trbl639
02-07-2011, 06:15 PM
We were allowed to collect at one time....then one of the guys got mugged and just as he got back to the truck to call in, he passed out.......he recovered ok, but after that we no longer took money in the field!

a few times, I did take the money from and elderly customer when they had the money to pay, wanted to pay it, but didn't have transportation.......When I did, I called the clerk on the phone, told her what I was doing, went to the pay center and then took the receipt back to the customer...we bent the rules, but like EL said, you built a certain rapport with customers and you had some personal ground rules...do what you say and we're fine, cause I was bending the rules farther than they were meant to be, but if you let me down, NO MORe Bending the rules!!

I've been threatened more than once, and had to call and get the local PD to escort us back out to make the Disconnect or even the reconnect!!

My partner was threatened once, with his life, by a guy that had just gotten out of prison...for murder....Larry called the cops, they got the guy out, and held him while Larry did the cut-off, cops let the guy go, he went inside, the cops left and Larry realized he didn't get the t/off rdg, said he has never read a meter so fast in his life!!!

duckhunter
02-09-2011, 10:31 AM
We have had AMR for over 4 years. With that system we started using disconnect collars. If the member is home we install the collar and tell them they have an hour to take care of the bill, if they don't it is disconnected remotely. The reconnect is then done remotely too and the collar stays in place. Once the member has been current on their bill for a full year we reove the collar. We have also been installing meters with the disconnect module in them. We have installed them in aparment buildings or other areas that access to the meter has been a problem. Sometimes because of the way a place is constructed, the collar makes the meter stick out too far.

We do not take any payments in the field, we do not recconnect after 7:00 pm.