During these times of difficulties, companies must work with their clients, not against them.
I am a disabled senior citizen with a very limited income. I endeavor to pay my bills, all of them, each month. However, when your income is less than your basic needs, you do the best you can for ALL of your responsibilities. Every service that you have is controlled by your electricity. Even if you have gas heat, which I do, electricity controls the furnace. Electricity controls food storage, and every connected appliance, my health equipment, and even the telephone.
It is therefore confusing to me why Dominion VA Power would think that an elderly person would skip paying their bill or that they are irresponsible. During these difficult times, you pay your electricity bill before you buy food, if you have to choose. You are not able to pay your medicines because you MUST pay your electricity bill.
Every month I have paid my bill Online, even though it may be a day later than the due date. I pay Online because of difficulty in travel. Online payments for that day require additional fees. I usually click "next available date". Even though the payment has been made, the company considers it late. People on fixed incomes, do not have discretionary funds that you can pay their bills on a company's schedule. You receive money once a month, for the whole month, not every two weeks as when you were working.
Five years ago, when I moved into a new apartment, I paid the deposit to have my electricity transferred from my former residence. I have tried to pay the entire amount. Even though I have not paid the full amount, I paid most of it. I am now being required to pay it again.
Recently, I applied for fuel assistance, because I could not pay my bill. Once you apply for assistance, you have to wait to be approved and you must have a disconnect notice in order to qualify for assistance. Imagine my surprise when the company wrote me that they are requiring an additional $226 because my payments were not made on time. They stated that my payments must be received on or before the due date shown on the bill or it may be necessary to discontinue my service. They also stated that my deposit plus interest will be refunded automatically after one year of paying my monthly bill in a timely manner, or at the time of my closing bill. My fixed income makes timely payments impossible.
Disconnected electricity is not an inconvenience, electricity is a necessity! I have not been months behind in my payments, but maybe a day or week in arrears. I am having challenges paying what I pay, and certainly cannot add additional payments to what I do not have.
I am told by the company that they demand deposits for those who do not pay their bills. This is done to ensure that the customer will not skip town without paying. I have been a customer for 26 years. This is not a bill that you can avoid, you must pay it. You do not, however, need to be required to pay what you do not have. Utility companies, especially when you don't have others to choose from, MUST operate business in a more compassionate way. During these difficult times and winter months, vulnerable customers should not be without heat or lights because of their inability to pay on the date you decide.
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