Hello Everyone,
Someone had suggested that I might want to cancel Hydro and Gas since it is good practice to notify them when an event such as this one occurs. I have had no problem dealing with Hydro, but Enbridge has not been so easy. After dealing with a number people at Enbridge and getting nowhere (they don’t seem to understand the concept of a fire), I have asked for Jennifer’s help. Enbridge was insisting that they needed to get a meter reading before closing my account, even though I had explained the site had been judged unsafe by the city and was inaccessible, and that they would continue to bill me (equal billing) until such time as they could get a reading. Additionally, they want to continue billing me approx. $16/month until I get back in the condo because they have pipes and a meter they need to maintain even though I do not use their service during that period. Jennifer was able to speak to someone over there and make them understand that special requirements needed to be met for them to to access the site and that they could do so next week.
I was thinking that you probably all have this same problem and that perhaps I could convince Enbridge to get a reading from all of the meters next week so that they don’t have to go in again for each of us. Unless there are any objections, I will attempt to do so. I also suggest you call Enbridge to have your account closed. As for the $16/month, this will be a battle for another day. I just want them to get the meter read for now and stop billing me for gas I am not consuming.
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From: Janine Dopson
ReplyDeleteHi all,
I actually called to cancel all our utilities (unit 237) last Tuesday. I wanted to ensure that all final readings were done if necessary and that the next bill we received was final billing with the last "in service" date on or around June 22nd. I also wanted to ensure that we would incur no cancellation fee or reconnection/new account administration fee upon reconnection when we reconnect in the future. It was quite the fight in most cases and oftentimes I had to ask for a supervisor or the supervisor's boss. Bottom line: be prepared to fight and don't take no for an answer. If you persevere you can win. Here's the outcome of what we got and you should insist on it too:
Rogers: no cancellation or future reconnection/admin fee and no charge for any of the destroyed Rogers hardware ie. Digital box, modems, router.
Enbridge and Hydro: same as above.
Water and Sewer: consumption level set to zero and only shut off one fire dept. notifies the city - I assume this has been done by now.
Property taxes: email Flo Williams from City of Ottawa for reduction - will be assessed by August and will be retroactive.
Lastly' our security monitoring company gave us the biggest fight. Wanted us to pay out the 18 months remaining on the contract. I had to speak with 2 people and finally the owner of the company. Finally got what we wanted; suspend the contract for the 8 - 12 months necessary to rebuild and then we agree to let them extend the contract for the number of months it was put on hold.
The point is the people you first get on the phone generally don't have a clue and are not empowered to make a decision that in a situation that fall outside the norm. Just keep asking for higher levels to talk to, record all names or agent id's and insist on confirmation numbers.
Janine
Janine Dopson
Hi Real,
ReplyDeleteIt's probably a good idea for Enbridge to do all the readings at once. Thanks for suggesting this.
Jon
Bonnie says:
ReplyDeleteAlong the same lines,
I opened my Rogers bill today and even though I had told them about the fire on the day it happened and they cancelled all of my services, the bill I received was for 1100 dollars because of unreturned equipment – phone modem, pvr, digital cable box and internet modem. I called them immediately and spoke to someone who was able to cancel all the charges on my bill completely. I am returning 3 out of the 4 pieces of hardware this week as we were able to salvage them, but the PVR was in the loft and was not removed. They cancelled all charges, and even if there is damage to the equipment I return, there will be no charge. They also put a note on my file that there would be no reinstallation fee when I get back into the house.
Also, I rent my hot water heater from Direct Energy and was told that I would have to pay 500 dollars if they couldn’t get it back. Someone from DE was going to go in the house today and take it out if it hasn’t been damaged. I will fight if I have to, but I’m hoping that they can just take it away.
Thanks for the information and let’s continue to keep in touch,
Bonnie
It seems my hot water heater is irrecoverable DE are charging me $695 for it. I will put that through my insurance. I`m still waiting to see what will happen with Rogers.
ReplyDeleteI finally got through someone with a brain at Enbridge and it seems they will be able to read my meter and close my account. I also asked that they read all of your meters. She put a note to the file…let’s hope.
Peter says:
ReplyDeleteHi Real,
I just spent 45 mins on the phone with Tina, a supervisor at Rogers. They did not charge us for either the destroyed cable modem or digital TV box, both of which we were renting.
At the beginning of the call, the representative and the supervisor were adamant that nothing could be done, but eventually the supervisor agreed to not charge me for the equipment on compassionate grounds.
Please feel free to ask them to look at the notes in our account (233 Lyon).
Good luck,
Peter
--
Peter Harrison
Janine says:
ReplyDeleteSad that there's no standard protocol for these situations and that its up to victims to fight and fight some more, with varying outcomes depending on how insistent one can be. It's been quite the learning experience to say the least.
Janine Dopson
Bonnie says:
ReplyDeleteI’m in the same position as Real for my Hot Water Heater – it was deemed damaged by Direct Energy and I will owe 500 dollars. However, the Hot Water Heater rental unit is listed in the standard unit definition of bylaw 3 that I sent out. So, my sense is that either the condo pays for it, or it comes out of upgrades, not contents. Not sure if that helps much.
Bonnie
Janine says:
ReplyDeleteAre you saying that if DE charges us, we can put it through the condo insurance? I'm not sure how or why our personal insurance companies would pay for it as a betterment given that it is part of the base unit.
Janine
Bonnie says:
ReplyDeleteHi everyone,
I just got my Enbridge bill and I received a charge for 103 dollars for a service call for someone to go over and check the status of the Hot Water Heater. When I called them last week to send someone over, no one ever told me that there was going to be a service charge. I called Direct Energy and they filed a dispute on my behalf. I was told not to pay the amount and that if the dispute is approved that a credit would be listed on the bill. I again asked about the hot water heater being charged, and yes, they will be charging us directly for the Hot Water Heater if we were renting it and that it should be covered under insurance. I’m still waiting for an answer from our condo insurance company on whether or not they are paying for the Hot Water Heaters since they are a part of the standard unit definition.
Bonnie
Just to add to this. Rogers had just billed me over $500 for unreturned equipment. After arguing (vehemently) that other owners of the same condo complex had been credited on compassionate grounds, I finally got a manager to credit my account. I took two phone calls, a lot of patience and sometimes raising my voice a little. It shows that you have to persevere.
ReplyDelete