Dec. 23, 2009
Just when I think I can’t possibly be more outraged by the insufferable antics of PG&E — Blam! They do it again.
Now, they’ve started charging “deposits” to people who are late paying their bills.
These aren’t deposits for reconnection. PG&E “volunteered” (after consumer groups last week demanded the California Public Utilities Commission require it) to stop charging reconnection deposits until March 2011 as a nod to this little economic meltdown we’re in.
On a related note, they’ve promised not to shut anyone off between now and Jan. 4 (the PUC had asked for a moratorium until Jan. 21). Their yuletide spirit knows no bounds.
The deposits I’m talking about are for people who are only late, not cut off. PG&E is getting its money, just not fast enough.
So, to recap: With one hand, they’re forgiving deposits for people who’ve been shut off, as they use the other hand to shove more people to the brink of shut-off through absurdly high (twice the average monthly bill) late payment deposits.
Wha...?
Aside from the pure crappiness of it, that just doesn’t make good business sense to me.
Why would anyone pay the stupid late payment deposit if they can just let their power lapse and restart it without incurring any extra fees?
And considering these customers ARE paying, even late, I’d think PG&E would do whatever it could to ensure they keep paying.
But then, I’m no biz whiz — the likes of which soaked Californians for overpriced power for decades then had us bail them out of bankruptcy when they couldn’t pay their own bills. Ugh. Just UGH!
PG&E defended the late payment deposits in a variety of ways, saying late payers put an extra burden on the system that is borne by timely paying customers.
And: “We’re not like a credit card company. We can’t charge late fees,” PG&E spokesperson Nicole Liebelt told me.
Uhhhh....deposit/late fee, potato/potahto.
She said the deposit is only incurred after a customer has three 48-hour shut-off notices in a 12-month period. The deposit can be spread out over time and you can get it back “with full interest” after 12 consecutive months of on-time payments.
Before getting to the 48-hour notice, customers are noticed at 15 days and then again before the final notice. With all that lead time, she said, customers really need to contact the utility to work something out.
I have to agree with that advice, even though PG&E’s customer service track record is pretty abysmal.
I asked how long PG&E has been charging this late payment deposit and got a muddled answer about it not being a “state mandate,” but that the utility was “operating within state regulations to request the deposit.” Translation: they’re doing it because they can.
Funny word, “request.”
It implies a person can refuse, when, in fact, the two Bakersfield families that brought this to my attention were told to pay the late deposit or be shut off. And yes, that threat included Christmas Day.
Mindy Spatt, spokesperson for consumer advocacy group TURN, said they’ve been inundated recently with complaints about these late payment deposits.
At last week’s hearing, she said numerous 20- and 30-year customers testified to never having been late on payments until recent job losses made it impossible to keep up.
“Their (PG&E’s) response was to offer this temporary disconnection moratorium, which is totally inadequate,” Spatt said. “The right thing to do when people are late is to call and offer energy assistance or bill-paying options. There is no justification for these huge deposit charges.”
The Division of Ratepayer Advocates, within the PUC, came out with a report last month showing, among other things, that PG&E has a hair trigger these days when shutting people off.
Disconnection rates for PG&E customers, particularly low-income ratepayers, have increased more than other California utilities, most likely because of their ability to shut people off remotely through SmartMeters.
The report also showed that people paid and reconnected within hours or days of disconnection causing DRA to question “whether some disconnections are preventable.”
Yes, they are.
But only with a company that actually values its customers and strives to work with them instead of finding new ways to pound out another nickel just because they can.
Opinions expressed in this column are those of Lois Henry, not The Bakersfield Californian. Her column appears Wednesdays and Sundays. Comment at people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/noholdsbarred, call her at 395-7373 or e-mail lhenry@bakersfield.com
What to do
If you get a notice from PG&E that you’re in danger of incurring a late payment deposit, do NOT ignore it. Follow this advice from consumer advocate group TURN.
1. Contact PG&E immediately to try to negotiate.2. Point out all the ways you’ve been a good customer — history of payments on time, length of time a PG&E customer, etc.
3. Check to see if you are eligible for any special rates for low-income families, large families and others. http://www.turn.org/article...
4. Request energy efficiency assistance. The best way for PG&E to insure that you pay your bill is to help you to lower it. Ask them to do so.
5. Argue for either no deposit or a much smaller one.
6. Ask for payment arrangements for any outstanding balances and make sure they are reasonable for you. It’s better to spread payments over time than to agree to payments you can’t really afford.
7. Read more on negotiating: http://turn.org/article.php...
8. Contact TURN at (415) 929-8876 or turn@turn.org
Get more information from their website at www.turn.org
Tell the PUC how you feel by calling (415) 703-2782 or (800) 848-5580 or go online and file a complaint at https://ia.cpuc.ca.gov/cimsapp/
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