Roger's Story

Today I want to tell you "Roger's" story.   It is a story that I am sure many of have faced when seeing red.  

 

Roger sorts through his bills for the month. He notices the envelope of the electric bill isn’t as thick as it normally is, and there is a familiar bit of red paper peering through the clear portion of the window envelope. Roger knows right away that it’s a disconnection notice.  He’s been down this road before.

He opens the bill to discover that the electric company is once again threatening to disconnect his electric service in 14 days. He was unable to pay the electric bill last month because he had to pay the mortgage, gas bill and his son needed eye glasses. Being a “broke enthusiast, Roger knows all of the stalling tactics. He immediately contacts the electric company to request a 7 day extension. Now he has three weeks to come-up with the money. Therefore, he can pay the car note, which is two weeks late with this week’s pay check and the electric bill with the next paycheck.  Unfortunately, this payment method has been a way of life for Roger since he lost his high-paying job a year ago. He was forced to take a lower paying job which makes it more difficult for him to make ends meet.   

When you are broke disconnection notices can be a frequent visitor to your mailbox.  Many utility companies have budget billing plans are payment arrangements to help you stay on course with your bills.   However, when you find yourself out of work for longer than expected or forced to skip a bill to handle emergency situations, you sometimes are unable to live up to the payment agreements.  This breech will normally result in the utility company kicking you out of the payment arrangement program and demanding full payment in a matter days.  This amount could equate to upwards of $700 or more depending on how much you were delinquent.   What do you then?  We'll there is a way to get help in this extreme situation.  I will cover that in my next blog.  Stay tuned...