Power-company customer pinched for a penny

[Luba]

from MSNBC:

Abuse of power or what? A Michigan utility cut off electricity to Jacqueline Williams home after whe was delinquent in her bill -- by one cent.

Her bill was $1662.08 and paid all of it except for a penny. Consumers Energy blacked her out for seven hours last week. The CMS Energy Corp., subsidiary told her the power would not be turned on until the penny was received. "I went down there, paid my penny and got a receipt," she told the Flint journal. Shortly after, the electricity was turned back on.

She went to the state Department of Human Services for help in April and was told the agency would pay most of the bill, but was still short more than $500. She received $430.67 from the Salvation Army, and Consumers agreed to match $430.66 toward the bill. She was still one cent short.

Terry DeDoes, A Consumers Energy spokesman said "This was the first one I've heard about." He said the company has many program to help people who behind on their bills.

Sounds like they also need a management program in common sense.

[Vautrin]

Could she not apply to pay the remainder of the debt in twelve whole terms? - Things like that do happen here too. One case was even worse: the total amount owed was exactly: 0 Euros, and 0 Eurocents. How are you going to repay that?

[Merika]

It's probably the way their computers are set up. She just got put on the cut-off list because the computer picked up the bill wasn't paid in full. In a normal world a real person would look at those before sending people out to shut utilities off. We don't live in a normal world anymore. We have people with jobs who are too stupid to tie their own shoes. They can't get a burger order right....much less anything else.