Some days you're the windshield....

....some days you're the bug.

For some reason me and the electric companies don't see eye-to-eye.  I think we're on two different wave lengths.  Remember last month I was locked in mortal combat with TXU Energy over what I felt was a gross overcharge?  Turns out I was right and they issued me a $123 credit.  Saturday I received my first bill from my new electric provider, Reliant Energy, and my bill was $85.49 including a $9.95 base charge, making for a bottom line of $.099 per kWh.

Hold on there Kemosabe!  I have it in writing I pay NO base charge and my per kWh price should be $.084.  Then I saw the fine print (literally) on my Terms of Service agreement that said, "$9.95 base rate if monthly consumption is less than 800 kWh."  My consumption was 798 kWh. 

Those extra 2 measly kWh would have cost me 17 cents, but instead I now have a base charge of nearly ten bucks.   Looks like my "luck" quotient is below zero this week.  I doubt I'll be wasting any money buying lottery tickets.  ;)

S

Me vs TXU Energy....Epilogue

To clarify, that would be me (metaphorically speaking) on the right, foreground.  ;)

You may remember a couple of weeks ago I posted a rant here against TXU Energy over the final bill they sent me saying that for just 12 days service I owed $153.34, nearly 3 1/2 times as much (average daily consumption) as I used the previous entire month.  NO WAY!  I called TXU's 800 Customer Service number and spoke with a guy whose training apparently consisted of little more than learning to say "NO" in several languages.  I kept demanding to go upstream and was finally told a higher-up would call me the next day.

In the meantime "Lauren", a TXU social media service rep (many large companies have such people who monitor Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, etc, looking for mentions of their company) commented that I could contact her and she would see if she could help.  I did, forwarding the facts and also photos of evidence of "meter room" door tampering, which raised yet another red flag in my mind.

The bottom line:  TXU requested a meter re-read from Oncor, the electric distribution company who actually owns and reads the meters, and guess what?....I was right!  They notified me yesterday my revised bill is $29.69.  BIG difference!

So what have I learned from this experience?  First, as the old saying goes, "Never accept 'NO' from someone not authorized to say 'YES'".  If you honestly feel you're right, and you have some logic / evidence on your side, KEEP PUSHING!  Principle matters.

Second, TXU Energy is firm, but fair.  They probably have hundreds (thousands?) of scams aimed at them every day, and their natural instinct seems to be to just say "NO", but if you're adamant, they will listen.  Thank you Lauren.  :)

S

And life goes on

If you stop and think about it, it's amazing how yesterday people were ducking for cover as tornados skipped all around the area, yet today the sun still rose, people dressed for work and ventured out, babies will be born, and the grass will still need mowing.  Nothing stops time.  Kinda puts in perspective how things really work.  Those who think they control their own destiny are just kidding themselves. 


Regarding those tornados....kudos to the authorities all across the area for their excellent early warning systems.  Despite the widespread damage there were no deaths and surprisingly few injuries.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Remember how last week I was berating IKEA for the problems I was having with one of their TV stands?  Here's how things finally worked out:  The parts packet was missing two vital parts, and one piece was not pre-drilled as the instructions promised it would be.  I took the defective piece back to IKEA where a customer service rep cheerfully replaced it with a new one.  She also went over to a wall of parts bins, went straight to the right one, and reached in and grabbed my two missing pieces. I asked her if this was a common occurrence and she just smiled and nodded.


I eventually assembled everything, but found it to be disappointing in fit.  The gaps between doors and drawers are inconsistent and the possible adjustments have been maxed out.  Being black hides the poor fit....I'm just glad I didn't buy this piece in white.  While the IKEA box prominently mentioned SWEDEN, down in the corner in tiny print it said "made in China".  No big surprise, and it explains a lot.  Frankly I'll think twice about buying anything else from IKEA that needs assembly.  Dishes, cutlery, rugs, no problem....but nothing needing assembly.  


Also, regarding my rant about my outrageous TXU Energy bill....I had a comment from "Lauren", a TXU rep who monitors social media comments regarding her employer.  I contacted her and they are reviewing things and promise to get back within 5 days with their findings.  I'm confident they'll find a simple error somewhere, but if they try to tell me otherwise, it's time for letters to state regulators, calls to the media, and *.  I'll keep you posted.


Hope you have a nice day.  :)


S