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Post by dawn on Jan 30, 2018 11:07:52 GMT
It came early, which I thought was strange.
I opened it slowly, at the corner; in a reverse Charlie fashion, as if he did not want to find the golden ticket.
I was flabbergasted. Stunned. Shocked. Outraged. No way can this be possible!!
I open it fully, so I can investigate the breakdown before I have a breakdown.
My recent payment had not been applied. Numerous late charges appeared due to lack of payment.
But I did pay on time and have the receipt.
As I scroll my eyes down to the bottom of the bill I see the true and actual current charges.
I get it. They sent the billing out early and somehow overlapped with payments received creating a sticker shock when you first look at it.
I was so relieved to find out I didn't owe *that much*.
My bill is almost 4 times higher than it was in September but at least it's not that shocking figure.
They manipulated me into being happy that I owe 3.5x the regular bill. Very clever.
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Post by prim on Jan 30, 2018 11:13:31 GMT
I don't think they are that clever but if you are not running for the hills to live off the grid after getting the bill, that is a plus.
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Post by figlet on Jan 30, 2018 11:21:30 GMT
They 'estimate;' electricity bills here.. e.g. every second bill.. (saves them paying a person to come out and read the meter every month/3 months)... I've had some shockers with their estimations..heart attack material.. Could phone and read out the actual meter readings if it was too far out and they'd adjust it.
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Post by dawn on Jan 30, 2018 12:11:09 GMT
They do estimates on some homes, but I have a state of the art meter. It's done with a computer, now and satellites I suspect. The meter and my bill always match.
One year I got an outrageous bill and confronted them about the old decrepit meter. They insisted they were right and borderline mean to me.
After I paid my bill they sent out a new meter and a check for being a good customer.
They are clever! No apology but a refund?
I pay the bill in person, always tell them they are doing a great job, tell them I'd be lost without them...
They are all nice, but they never would admit that the bill was wrong. That was geeeze so long ago, 2008. I've spent 10 years OCDing about the electricity.
They now have a 24:7 kiosk for paying your bill. I would love to try it. It would make paying the bill more convenient. But my inner voice says don't do it, they'll lose the payment... it will all go wrong.
And people tell me I'm optimistic. Ha!
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Post by dawn on Jan 30, 2018 12:20:29 GMT
And here's a bit of a life whine lol...
I missed that week of work from the snow
No money coming in that week
Because I was at home the entire time I ran the heater more often than normal
More money going out that week
Life is like that sometimes, ugh.
I'm walking slowly for the hills.
I have a love/hate relationship with my location. But even with the worst of whatever has happened or will happen (like the well water not working for months that one year), I still would pick this.
The nice thing about complaining to you folks is that you're not like my family/friends that scream "move away from there" if I tell them how I really "am" when they ask.
They just don't get it. Country life isn't for everyone. I don't tell them they need to move.... grrr
Okay end rant lololololol
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Post by pennybanger on Jan 30, 2018 12:34:44 GMT
It's a vicious circle isn't it? Never mind remember what Mr Micawber said: "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen shillings and sixpence, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2018 19:51:31 GMT
dawn, can you go on average billing? we did that last year with electric and gas both,it has really stabilized our budget.
and feel free to whine, that's what friends are for sometimes. the good stuff too, of course, but it's nice to just rant and know you won't get called a whiner, lol!
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deb
Keating recalling Morrison passing around coal in QT calls him "ä fossil in a baseball cap""
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Post by deb on Jan 30, 2018 22:47:29 GMT
Dawn, when your Govt had that shutdown,, I was watching one of the US news programs ( can't remember which one) and a lady rang in saying that she was in the military and so was her husband... they hadn't been paid and she couldn't afford heating so was sitting there in the freezing cold... she said she had $7.12 in her bank account... what a sad state of affairs that is
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Post by dawn on Jan 31, 2018 10:15:00 GMT
I reworked my budget and it can be done.
I can relate to $7 in the bank... I have $10 right now so I'm better off than that 😂.
I have several friends that are on the average bill plan. They calculate what your last year total is and divide it by 12. I don't know why I don't say yes? I've gone with my gut because?
Whenever I whine too much I think about my dad saying:
I complained my shoes hurt until I met a man with no feet. My dad had an awesome way of getting me to look at the big picture.
So many times he said: don't count your chickens before they hatch.
So many times I have failed on that.
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Post by Carmella on Jan 31, 2018 10:26:37 GMT
This is not re power bill but a friend of ours recently got their water bill 900.00 she is elderly she rung me up and was quite upset about it.
she had rung the council only to be told her water meter was broken and they had estimated it, also told her that is what a good majority of what peoples water bills were and she should just pay it .
after some help from me she ended up just having to pay for raw water. which was 80.00
then they came to fix her water meter on monday and lucky for her she went outside and found out her air con wasn't getting any water . it turns out they had put the new meter on backwards.
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Post by figlet on Jan 31, 2018 11:25:04 GMT
My Dad used to say 'there is always someone worse off than you" (worse off than him).
Not sure thats very comforting though...especially for those worse off.....
Oh Carmella.. not many do their job properly these days.. that's appalling
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Post by pennybanger on Jan 31, 2018 14:46:08 GMT
"Cheer up", they told me, "things could be worse." So I cheered up and sure enough - they were.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2018 20:07:49 GMT
i fought going on average billing tooth and nail for many years, dawn. i had it in my head that i was better off with regular billing,and just saving up for the high winter gas bills, and then the high summer electric bills.
last year i started going to seminars at the senior center down the street, one of them was about budgeting. now, i've always thought i was quite good at that, lol! turns out i wasn't anywhere NEAR smart about several things money related, and the first session convinced me to go on the average billing, after seeing on paper how often i was paying late charges during the high bill months!
the second one was even better! for that one, we brought in our various insurance policies. turned out i was paying WAY too much for both car and house insurance,simply because i hadn't removed the additions that we had to have when we first bought the car, and the house. one phone call that took ten minutes, and we are now paying $800 LESS , while still having the insurance we actually NEED .
* it was kinda cool to find out that my rather odd methods for grocery shopping and saving money are spot on, though, lol! *
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Post by dawn on Feb 1, 2018 12:10:59 GMT
You didn't convince me Sin . 😂
I'm an excellent grocery shopper. I imagine I'd do well in a contest.
I can do a lot of price checking in my head on products I buy all the time.
Why is extra extra virgin olive oil so expensive?
I settle for the cheap slut olive oil that's been around the block.
Coconut oil is another expensive oil... I just don't get it.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2018 22:42:09 GMT
i use peanut oil, mostly, can't have coconut and i just like the taste of olive oil.
we should team up when the gameshow channel restarts the smart shopper show,lol!
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