When bills aren't showing up. This is twice in a row.

I swear to Christ that if they won't waive the $25 reconnection fee, I'm gonna check into digging a well. I'll spend a fair amount of money just on principle.

5/24/2011 12:22:57 PM

Water keeps getting turned off



Better drink my own piss

[Edited on May 24, 2011 at 12:24 PM. Reason : *]

5/24/2011 12:23:45 PM

what city are you in?

5/24/2011 12:24:18 PM

New bern

5/24/2011 12:27:11 PM

Are wells legal in New Bern? I have one here in my town in SC, but it is simply for landscape watering. I use city water in the house. I paid $2500 to have the well dug (170 ft), pump, one spicket, and for piping to connect it to my sprinkler system. I am going to seriously miss that well when I sell my house.

5/24/2011 12:31:00 PM

I too am having this same problem... I haven't received a bill at my place in 3 months that I've been here. Luckily their office is about 1/2 block from my office and I just roll in there once/month. Last month I put it on automatic draft so I don't have to worry about that junk any more.

5/24/2011 12:35:50 PM

Been waiting for this month's bill from Town of Cary. have not seen hide nor hair of it.


Used to have the same problem in Raleigh, too.

5/24/2011 12:49:12 PM

IDK i have set days in the month when i pay all my bills regardless of when they are due / sent.

Usually the first monday i'll see if anything is due soon / past due pay all that, then the last monday i'll do the same. The bills that i split with my roommates i just wait till one of them remembers that the ones that are in their name are due and when they ask me for my 1/4th i figure out all the differences

I'm AstralAdvent and i approved this message.

5/24/2011 12:51:36 PM

bank draft ftw

5/24/2011 12:53:04 PM

jump with the times of online bill pay idiot

5/24/2011 1:24:35 PM

isn't new bern right above a giant aquifer? do it.

5/24/2011 1:26:34 PM

Quote :

" Are wells legal in New Bern?"

I assume so. I'm not in the city limits. I think I can have it dug for a couple hundred bucks...not sure about permits, water tests, and connecting it to my house.


^,^^
I do that with constant bills like satellite tv, but not with anything like cell phone, elec, or water which can fluctuate or have overages.

[Edited on May 24, 2011 at 1:36 PM. Reason : ]

5/24/2011 1:35:43 PM

I pay all my bills on the first of the month or the first Monday if it falls on a weekend. Some of them are getting paid 2-3 weeks early, but the convenience of it makes it worthwhile because I have to split them and collect checks from my housemates. I have a bookmarks folder with links to the online bill pay for all of them (Progress Energy, PSNC, AT&T U-Verse, and Water). It's a 15 minute process usually.

5/24/2011 1:41:15 PM

If they want their fucking money badly enough, they can bill me in a regular, timely manner. I'll pay it when they bill me, but I have better shit to do than keep track of everyone's billing cycles. It's on them to do their job.

Hopefully they'll make it right, but I'm bullheaded enough to spend $500 or maybe $1000 to avoid giving them $25 and having to put up with their shit.

5/24/2011 1:46:16 PM

Does anyone know why Raleigh switched to monthly billing for 2011? Last year the bills only came every 2 months. And based on usage the fees have DEFINITELY gone up, wtf.

5/24/2011 1:48:22 PM

Quote :

"If they want their fucking money badly enough, they can bill me in a regular, timely manner. I'll pay it when they bill me, but I have better shit to do than keep track of everyone's billing cycles. It's on them to do their job."

This is how I feel, too. I'll go to the goddamned rack over stuff like this. Send me a bill if you want me to pay it. If you don't, don't come at me cutting my shit off like I won't proverbially rip your head off and be well within my legal rights to do so.


Companies take advantage of the fact that people will willingly just roll over. Other people can be bashful sheep if they want to be.

5/24/2011 1:49:29 PM

i have my utilities on auto-draft with the city of rocky mount. one month they didn't draft the payment. nothing was wrong w/ my account, no changes had been made. then they sent the next bill w/ the overdue amount, plus the new, & threatened to disconnect services. i called them up, they said they just hadn't drafted it yet, nothing's wrong, & they won't disconnect anything. yeah, i don't trust them.

5/24/2011 1:53:50 PM

I mean, mistakes happen, but you have to fix them.

I'll only be in this house for 2 more months, then I'm either selling it or putting it up for rent. I don't give a fuck, though. I'll go to pretty significant lengths when I feel I'm being wronged.

5/24/2011 1:58:12 PM

I love being on a well, except when the power goes out. I am considering putting in a small generator for the well pump and a few of the other essential appliances.

5/24/2011 2:04:16 PM

^^

HAHA. Clinton water department and the freaking water nazi's. The bill is due on the 12th (or the preceeding friday - NOT the following monday if it's on a weekend) and they will have your water cut off by the next morning.

My boss went the weekend without water due to this little glitch. If the 12th falls on a saturday your bill is due on the 11th (or whatever the friday is) but the cutoff people work 24/7. So his water was cut off at 9AM saturday morning, and he got to wait until monday morning to settle his bill + $25 late fee and $75 reconnect fee - and they accept cash only for late bills. No credit, no check.

They also don't have online billing or payment, and if you want to setup automatic anything you have to physically go to their office. Can't do it over phone, fax, secure web form, nothing. And don't download the paperwork from their website - when I did Norton said the PDF contained a Trojan Horse. Freaking winners. Good to know all my information is secure on their infected PC.


It also took me 3 hours and 3 different trips to my bank to setup automatic draft. When they put in my information they put a number on my account in wrong. But if it's their fault they charge me a $25 late fee. If I could prove it was my banks fault (even though it wasn't) they would refund me the $25. So I had my bank print off the checks that had the last 2 payments to them (that cleared) and a letter that said "Wachovia has been purchased by Wells Fargo. This change applies to all accounts including wwwebsurfers." and they gave me my $25.

[Edited on May 24, 2011 at 2:16 PM. Reason : moar]

5/24/2011 2:07:25 PM

Goddamn utility monopolies.

5/24/2011 2:10:19 PM

I have figured out an average of my water bills and pay three months ahead every three months.


The over/under cancels out over time.

5/24/2011 2:30:15 PM

Quote :

"I think I can have it dug for a couple hundred bucks...not sure about permits, water tests, and connecting it to my house"

Yeah maybe you can get a guy to dig you a hole that hits water for a couple hundred bucks, but what good does that do you? You'll need to run the pipe down into the well, buy and install the pump and expansion tank, run the electrical, install the filter, and then connect to your house line. You are not getting that done for a few hundred bucks even if you do the majority of the work yourself.

And yeah you'll need the permits up front of course which might run you $100 by itself. Maybe in New Bern you can hit water at 75 ft or something and that will defray some of the cost, but if you are serious about putting in a well, you need to get some estimates from people who know what they are doing.

5/24/2011 4:34:29 PM

^ this

Good news is that you are looking to move anyway. Just limit your search for a house to those that are already on a well. Converting to a well from city water is not only expensive, but not worth the headache.

5/24/2011 5:14:38 PM

Dude, drilling wells is NOT cheap. I'd bet it's gotta be at least 10 bucks a foot, and being located in the coastal plain like you are, I'm betting that a LOT of it's gonna have to be cased because of the nature of the sedimentary soils.

5/24/2011 6:48:40 PM

^ in other words, not worth the cost nor the headache

5/24/2011 6:56:36 PM

If you are in New Bern area, it may not be a good idea to drill a well. I know someone between New Bern-Havelock who tried 3 different times and failed in hitting water......I am no hydrologist.....!

5/24/2011 7:24:27 PM

moving this week, but still need to clean

told city of raleigh to cut water on 31st

water wasn't working yesterday, called them and they said they had an order to cut it the 23rd

i asked when that order was given and they couldn't tell me

they told me they'd reconnect it if i paid the reconnection fee, and wouldn't waive it because it was their own mistake

i told them to fuck off

5/24/2011 8:41:46 PM

how can they not waive a fee that is their own fucking mistake? yaaaay gubment

5/24/2011 8:43:24 PM

Quote :

"Converting to a well from city water is not only expensive, but not worth the headache."

totally worth it imo

5/24/2011 8:47:57 PM

Hmmm. the cheapest place I've found is about $1000, and I think that's just for the well and pump, not including permits and hooking it up to my home plumbing.

I'm bullheaded enough that I would pay a driller $500 or maybe a little more to avoid paying Craven County $25, even though I'll be moving in 2 months, but even I can't stomach $1500-2000+ just for the sake of principle and extending a middle finger to the man...at least not over $25.

I am tempted to pay them in pennies, though...or maybe 25 separate checks for $1 each. I guess they don't have to accept the latter, but I don't think they have any choice in the former, being legal tender and all.

5/25/2011 1:12:45 AM

you'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar

just saying

be as nice as possible and try to elicit some sympathy esp since this is the second time in a row. throw around talk about your military experience

"i've been on deployment and didn't even have problems with this but suddenly it seems lately the bill isn't making it to my address. what do you think is happening? i have a history of paying on time so i wonder what the issue could be"

encourage them to help you and be as darn nice and charming as possible

it will take <10min and save you $25

all the more effective if you can go in person. and if you dont get what you want just ask to speak to a supervisor and make your case. no rule is impossible to get an exception for, just make it easy on them

turn that bullheadedness into positive and be hardheaded about getting your fee waived by being NICE

5/25/2011 1:21:25 AM

Doesn't work for men.

5/25/2011 1:23:29 AM

maybe not for unattractive men or assholes

not calling you either one, just specifying

5/25/2011 1:28:05 AM

I had heard your base CO was sodomozing his Command Sergeant Major's woman. Any news on that front?

Oh and sorry to hear about your water troubles.

5/25/2011 1:28:51 AM

^^You'd change your opinion if you were a man.

[Edited on May 25, 2011 at 1:30 AM. Reason : .]

5/25/2011 1:30:17 AM

Yeah I agree with the vinegar/honey cliche. I never have a problem getting what I'm after from customer service reps. I had a whole wall of text typed, but it's nothing that hasn't been said before in a XX Company Sucks! thread.

The gist is that someone working minimum wage to listen to dozens upon dozens of assholes call up and complain about problems well out of their control is much more likely to help the one person that actually asked how their day was going.

/2c

5/25/2011 1:57:53 AM

^^^^^^ that's pretty much exactly the approach I tried, minus playing the military card, which I really don't like to do.

They pretty much told me "We mail the bills out. Anything that happens after that is either the postal service's fault or your fault. In either case, we don't waive the fee. Ever. The only exception is that if there's something that's clearly our fault, like if we enter the wrong address for your account. Plus, you should be having it on automatic draft or keeping track of when to expect the bill."

I was very nice to them and did go in person, twice (2nd time speaking to the supervisor). I did take issue with the part about keeping track of the bill, saying that's no way to do business and that it's not my job to keep track of their billing cycles, and that I did not like automatic draft on something like a water bill, and that I had no obligation to use it. I wasn't an ass about it, though...I said it even a little more diplomatically than that.

In the end when it became clear that they not only weren't going to deal, but they were also indifferent to my plight and flat-out didn't care if they were screwed up, since they view their job as ultimately my responsibility, I did get kinda pissed with them. I didn't yell or curse or anything, but I told them--calmly, but firmly and clearly irate--that they ran a screwed up operation and that I wouldn't pay the fee. They said "That's fine, but you won't get your water turned back on." I said "I know--I'll either dig a well or move out and live in a hotel for a month." (as the 2nd month before I move, I'll mostly be on leave and out of town, anyway). That's what's most irritating of all--the attitude of "We're the only game in town...we can do whatever we want, and you have to deal with us."


I'm stubborn enough and have enough money set aside that I no-shit legitimately planned to either dig a well or put the house up for sale/rent earlier than planned...but then the well ended up costing a LOT more than I was first told (my neighbor had looked into it some, for irrigation purposes)...and then it occurred to me that I can't sell or rent out the house without having the exterior power washed, and having the inside cleaned thoroughly--which will require water. Plus, if I sold it, I'd need a home inspection--which will require water.

If I was going to live here long-term, I'd spend $2k for a well without even thinking twice, and then go into the water office in person to cancel my account, and also to tell them to get fucked, in those exact terms. I just can't stomach it for 2 months, though. I don't really think there's much I can do on this one, though. Sucks...I couldn't give a damn less about the fee itself--it's just $25. It's a principle issue, though.

[Edited on May 25, 2011 at 2:08 AM. Reason : I was surprised. I also have found that you can almost always get things waived by playing it cool.]

[Edited on May 25, 2011 at 2:14 AM. Reason : ]

5/25/2011 2:07:07 AM

^I figured that post was coming.

It definitely sucks when you run into a company like that. I for one cannot stand it if I even suspect that someone thinks they got one over on me or has an upper hand.

Do they have to roll a truck for each disconnect/reconnect and are they legally obligated to provide you with service? At 25.00/pop you may be able to cost them money during your last month of residence by taking the $500 "principal fund" and filling out a new disconnect order every other day and have them come back each time to reconnect it.

5/25/2011 2:48:02 AM

Quote :

"Do they have to roll a truck for each disconnect/reconnect and are they legally obligated to provide you with service? At 25.00/pop you may be able to cost them money during your last month of residence by taking the $500 "principal fund" and filling out a new disconnect order every other day and have them come back each time to reconnect it. "

THIS.

5/25/2011 7:14:12 AM