Perhaps we should chalk it up as a sign of the times; more and more homes behind on their bills and more customers seeing their utilities get shut off. How bad is the current situation? Last year according to published reports at wsws.org, 221,000 DTE homes were shut off, and that's up from 142,000 the year 2008. The bottom line is that a lot of customers are not paying their bills, and therefore are getting shut off notices in their mailboxes. One of our viewers, who wished to remain anonymous, was out of the country when her heat was cut off due to a break down in communication. Luckily this viewer's house sitter discovered the situation before the pipes froze. In this case, the worst case scenario would have been a costly repair. She wondered what if this had been a senior citizen in frigid temperatures left in house with no heat? She questioned what a utility company has to do before they shut off the heat? Do they have to call? Talk to someone? How much warning do you get?
I thought those were all good questions, so I contacted DTE to get some answers. Here is what you need to know.
If you have a past due amount, it will appear on each and every bill until it's paid. Now that is pretty serious, but here is something you really need to look for. DTE tells me if you do nothing to make good on the past due amount, they will print a warning in red on your statement saying they are going to terminate your service. That red ink is your first serious warning that its time to act.
Your second warning, as required by the Michigan Public Service Commission will most likely come in the form of a phone call. DTE says they make at least two attempts to contact the customer by phone. They are required to call, but not required to actually talk to someone at the address in question. If no one picks up, the third required warning goes out in the form of a final letter saying that service will be terminated if a payment isn't made.
That's all that is required by the MPSC in an attempt to try and avoid tragedies where someone might freeze to death not knowing the heat wasn't paid. No one has to actually come to the house or even physically talk to the customer. To DTE's credit, they do more than is required by law.
So what kind of time frame are we talking about? According to DTE, without any communication between the customer and the company, past due to shut off can take on average 45 to 60 days.
The bottom line according to the MPSC and DTE is that as customers we should take those past due notices and shut off warnings seriously, because they will. That is the bad news. The good news is that most utility companies have programs to help get customers back on track, and a little effort and even a partial payment can buy you some time. According to Len Singer with DTE, "we do make multiple attempts to reach a customer, and if we are successful, we attempt to make payment arrangements to allow the customer to retain service. For example, a partial payment, combined with a plan to pay any past-due balance, would stop any disconnection action. In summary, we really do make many attempts to work with customers to find a way for them to maintain service. In no case will we terminate service without prior notice to the customer."
If your concerned about the fact that the utility doesn't have to actually talk to or visit the shut off customer (for example senior citizens, or those with special needs) DTE lets you sign up for what they call double notice protection. It is a plan where a duplicate shut-off notice is sent to a consenting friend, relative or agency. The designated friend, relative or agency is not responsible for paying the overdue bill; the duplicate notice simply alerts them to take some action on your behalf.
So what do you think? Should a utility have to make actual contact with a customer before shutting off service or is the current system fair and reasonable? Leave a comment with your thoughts below.
