Utilities

I'm not sure what people outside of Texas experience, and even people inside of Texas experience different companies, so this may fall on deaf ears. But absolutely, without a doubt, one of the worst companies in Texas is Monarch Utilities. Since they bought out a certain local water company (rural), they have indiscriminately disconnected people who've paid (late or otherwise), charged disconnect fees whether the service was disconnected or not, and given people little or no warning about being disconnected when they actually have a credit on their accounts, are less than one month (as in 10 days or less) behind, or have late fees/disconnect charges due that they're unaware of (even though the actual bill's been paid).

I've lived all over and have never seen a utilities company disconnect a good customer for being late in one month or disconnected not for the bill but for the late fees. Most companies tack a late charge onto the next month's bill and let you know you're delinquent or must have forgotten or (benefit of the doubt) may not have received the bill. Monarch Utilities disconnects you quickly and quietly (sometimes without notice) even if you have a credit on your account from the previous month(s) if that credit doesn't meet the full amount due (or overdue) for the next month. So you have a credit and are disconnected??!!!???

One month, they charged me for something like 20,000 gallons of water, and I spent three months arguing, getting shut off, getting that credited, getting shut off again anyway, and arguing some more. My basic fee is for 2000 gallons, and I rarely go over it. I live alone, and my usage for the three previous months and for the same months for the previous year, were all 2000 gallons, or actually less (whether I use it or not, that's the minimum charge). Although the meter reader changed his numbers after being sent back out out to double check, I couldn't get an exact figure for what I owed, and the company refused to changed their due date, so I sent in what a customer service agent said was the basic amount due. I got cut off anyway because the amount owed was more. Rather than work with me and recognize that I paid the bill (and that they had made the initial mistake), this company screwed me and, apparently, uses every excuse to screw all of their other customers out here in the Boonies too.

Because they are a monopoly, Monarch Utilities can get away with this shit. I'm about to start proceedings to have them investigated. I hope most people don't have to deal with this crap. But we all know about Enron instigating the rolling brownouts and blackouts in California and about the current scrabbles going on with TXU that affects many Texans. So my shitty water company is not alone; it's just not as big as Enron or TXU, and neither is their customer base.

Legislatures and politicians and representatives in this country need to start remembering what they're about. Not kissing up to lobbyists and courting monopolies/corporations and earning big bucks, but representing and protecting the people. We normal people have forgotten this little tidbit too, or we'd oust more of these gold (actually, dirt) diggers. Frankly, we've become lackadaisical and apathetic and have just decided there's nothing we can do. More friends than I can count say they don't bother voting or complaining or fighting or speaking up because it doesn't matter anyway. I disagree, but I can see why they think that way. I've fought with these assholes for more than a year, and it is beyond frustrating and time consuming, but maybe one of these days, I'll win.

Start standing up for yourselves again. It's time.

Sunny