Electric bill fraud ??? - Page 2

fthunt · ‎12-24-2010

Back again - another thought

You state - how can YOU prove............?

Nope - it's THEIR job to prove your bill is correct. Just a change of attitude will put you in the driver's seat.

Compare your past bills - kilowatts vs then and now.

Good Luck

icezeus · ‎10-30-2010

I would give your electric company a call and tell them that you disagree with the bill. I had a similar problem years ago, with a water bill. I called them and they advised me to look at the meter and let them know what it read. The next day, I took a picture of the meter reading and called them to tell them the numbers that I was seeing, they did not even make me send them the pictures. Once I read them the numbers they adjusted my bill and issued me a credit.

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

This happened to us twice now.

The electric company was not reading our meter and just sending estimate bills. When they finally read the meter, they were under billing us.

The second time, they had just installed a new meter that could be read from the street without actually looking at the meter. It malfunctioned and a few people in our neighborhood owed a big bill. We had to pay about $90 to get our bill up to date, but some neighbors owed hundreds of dollars. They were allowed to make payments.

If the bill is high, ask for anexplanation or have someone reread the meter.

Desertdi · ‎03-13-2010

I once had a neighbor who would plug his lawnmower into MY house......

♥Surface of the Sun♥

chrystaltree · ‎05-10-2010

I doubt that it's fraud. It's probably a meter problem. Call them and ask them to come out and do meter check. My parents had a problem with their bill, it was many times higher than they knew it should be. Turned out that the meter was ancient. It had never been replaced and it was malfunctioning.

Eileen in Virginia · ‎08-25-2010

Definitely have them check your meter. Years ago, DH worked with a guy who rented a small house in DC with a friend. One month they got a water bill for several thousand dollars. When they checked into it, it turned out that they got the National Zoo's water bill! Accidents happen. . . .

skatting44 · ‎07-26-2019

Heard of this happening in Baltimore where a person I knew rented an apartment in an old renovated home - it was a mess and my friend had to hire an attorney . Not sure who rigged up the wires to tap into her electric box .

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

We were having issues about 5 years ago with abnormally high electric bills. Our usage was way up from what it had been previously and we were doing nothing different. Turns out our meter was bad. The electric company changed it.

Everything was good until last year when I rec'd a nearly $300.00 electric bill over the summer. I am not a budget so there was no catching up and it was an actual reading, not an estimate. I contacted the electric company and after going round and round with them, they had me do my own reading while I was on the phone. Turns out my meter was misread and I ended up with a credit for a couple of months.

The same thing happened this year in the same month. My bill was $280.00. I called them, did a reading over the phone, they rebilled me and my bill was under $75.00.

I don't know if they do this on purpose or if their gun just misreads. I know they told me they shoot a laser gun at the meter to get the reading and sometimes they do it from the neighbors yard.

CelticCrafter · ‎03-09-2010

Lots of people in my town were complaining about their high electric bills. When they did their research it was because of months and months of estimated bills due to the meters not being read due to the pandemic.

Were previous bills way low and now it's catch up time?

RespectLife · ‎02-27-2012

@fthunt wrote:
Back again - another thought

You state - how can YOU prove............?
Nope - it's THEIR job to prove your bill is correct. Just a change of attitude will put you in the driver's seat.
Compare your past bills - kilowatts vs then and now.

Good Luck

I don't know if I agree with that statement really. They don't have to prove anything until we request it.

It is OUR job to fight the incorrect billing. Meaning, we have to be the one to insist they invesitage a possible error. Calling to request a re-read, meter check etc.

When all the checking and investigating is done, if they stand by their bill...it is due. You then would have to take it higher up in NY as a prev. poster gave the link.

If you do not pay it, they will eventually just cut you off.

I wouldn't call this fraud. It is possibly an error that can be corrected.