they are trying to break us...i'm sure of it....

**sabrelvssammy** · 01-21-2009, 02:58 PM

well i just got off the phone with the electric company and they told me that a 13% price increase for electricity goes into effect next month.... just great !

--i already sit in the dark......
--i have unplugged everything i own (coz so-called 'vampire-usage' was using it all.... I CERTAINLY WASN'T....
--i don't use anything 'unneccesary' or 'frivilous'.....
--have a brand new gas furnace-not electric...
--i rarely use a/c in the summer..only when hubby comes home and says don't you think 90 degrees is a just a little TOO warm ??
--i use the microwave as much as possible instead of oven....
--plus a million other 'little' things that i can't even think of right now

and STILL i have a electric bill that hovers dangerously at the $100 mark..... and we just completely remodeled every square inch of this house with new appliances and all....so they are not hogging it.....

where does this #$@& go ???????

that brings me to another point.... i have a cabin that we use in the summer... usually in the winter we shut the place down except for the fridge runs (on low) and an apt-size deep freeze, 2 ceiling fans to keep air moving....that's it...all thats running.... i get an $80.00 electric bill.... oh really ? so i call the company....the rep tells me there is nothing wrong with the meter...i must have used it...oh really ? how come the bill last year at this time was only $27.00....well the cost of utilities have gone up...that's why... oh really? well how come the amount of usage was the same?...well lady, there is nothing wrong with your meter coz i would know that coz the meter reader would tell us...oh really? well READ IT AGAIN! (this was not an estimated read either).... no- you must have just used that amount and not realized it....LADY--- I WAS NOT THERE...I DON'T LIVE THERE ~!!! read it again ! long story short.... guess who got a new electric bill for less than 1/2 of the original...and this was based on 45 days of usage coz now that's how much time has lapsed.... any explanation? none...NONE>>>>

**MommyBliss** · 01-21-2009, 03:10 PM

Everything is just flying up, I don't know what we can do anymore.

**frugalbabe** · 01-21-2009, 03:31 PM

Hee Hee Hee umm sorry for your hassle but yeah they are trying to break us and quite honestly I think they're winning... if I called my company (I have) it would involve a few hours of wading through a pre-recorded phone tree and then when I finally got to talk to someone live I would be lucky to get someone with an I.Q. above 70. I do not have a short temper, I do not swear, violence is just not a part of my temperment. Let me tell you after 5 seconds trying to reason with an electric company employee I can almost see what drives sociopaths. I feel your pain!

**StaceyS** · 01-21-2009, 04:04 PM

I have the same problem with my gas bill. Only things on it are water heater (which I have on "vacation" except for 3 showers a week for 15 minutes max) and furnace. I sit in cold rooms with lots of blankets. Use a space heater to heat up the bathroom for showers. Still my last bill was $68, also, I spend at least 3 days a week at my boyfriend's house (so NO usage at least 12 days of the month).

**JanieD** · 01-21-2009, 04:10 PM

Oh, the electric company is on my list too! I feel our company is charging a lot more than the others here. The costs are way up! I just can't see how people will continue to afford their monthly bill.

We are really trying to cut our usage, but can't seem to win. We had OK weather last month & were able to hang out a lot of laundry. We actually cut our usage, but still had a high bill. Only $30 less than the month before. Now, this month has been very cold (having to dry almost all laundry). I'm tracking of our usage & it's scary! I keep adjusting the heat setting a little, the fridge setting, etc... but can't get the daily numbers down. I even have DH unplugging the TV & the gadgets. The numbers are even higher! I keep thinking I should have our heat pump checked, but I'd have to take off from work. Could something be wrong with the meter? Wishful thinking! Honestly, I'm tired of being cold & paying a fortune for the little we need. I hate to see our next bill... it's going to be Very BAD & I'm still COLD!

**Momto2Boyz** · 01-21-2009, 04:15 PM

Ours has gone up, but not too badly. We have a small house and I think that helps alot.

A really good friend of ours used to be a meter reader for the Electric company here. He told me that they used to skip huge parts of their routes, and just "estimate" them. Then they would all join up and have late lunches, naps in their trucks, just do whatever and still get paid for it. It worked for them until one of them estimated someones way too high and someone got an astranomical bill (I'm talking 4 figures).

So, after hearing those stories, I would never ever trust what they tell me. Especially if they tell me that the meter reader would tell them if it was broken...not likely!

**JerryG** · 01-21-2009, 06:48 PM

Originally Posted by StaceyS

I have the same problem with my gas bill. Only things on it are water heater (which I have on "vacation" except for 3 showers a week for 15 minutes max) and furnace. I sit in cold rooms with lots of blankets. Use a space heater to heat up the bathroom for showers. Still my last bill was $68, also, I spend at least 3 days a week at my boyfriend's house (so NO usage at least 12 days of the month).

DBF just got last month's gas bill on a home we own. Nobody lives there. The ONLY thing on is the stove pilot light. That's it. That's all. Nothing else is using gas. . . $80 bill. BS I said

**TigerGirl1226** · 01-21-2009, 06:52 PM

We pay on average $240 a month for natural gas and power. It is ridiculous. The rates here in Louisiana are just stupid and we pay a "fuel adjustment" that I just can't figure out.

**Starlight9803** · 01-21-2009, 09:17 PM

I feel your pain too. We've had multiple increases of at least 30% each time (one increase was 60%) over the past 2 years. I told DH just the other day that I was tired of sitting around in the cold all winter, hot all summer, and dark all the time, and while our usage has went down considerably, our bill is the same or more than it was before the increases. Makes me crazy!

**sabrelvssammy** · 01-21-2009, 10:11 PM

thanks everyone...now i am just even madder ! haha....

it burns me up like you all said...we sit in the cold, dark and still have to pay these stupid bills.... if i turn things down anymore the pipes will freeze and the freezer will thaw.... hey....that's the key.... turn off the heat...uplug the fridge and open the doors....the cold air will keep your food frozen....problem solved.....

**phoeny_moonstar** · 01-22-2009, 04:16 AM

Wow, I don't think that our bill is that high and we live in the house!! Must be where we live

**ladykemma2** · 01-22-2009, 07:00 AM

Originally Posted by JerryG

DBF just got last month's gas bill on a home we own. Nobody lives there. The ONLY thing on is the stove pilot light. That's it. That's all. Nothing else is using gas. . . $80 bill. BS I said

if nobody is there, turn the gas and water off at the main entrance to the house.

**sabrelvssammy** · 01-22-2009, 08:01 AM

we are one step ahead of ya... the water is shut off everytime we leave (even in summer) and it is set up where we just open one valve and we can drain all the lines.... being a landlord i know firsthand how pipes can burst, connections come apart, etc... no matter what time of the year it is and how much and how fast damage can occur to everything.....

we do not have gas at the property-everything is electric...we have 4 heaters built into the walls and these are all shut off at the breaker....we also shut the water heater off at breaker...in fact..other than the 2 ceiling fans (on low) and the frig -all breakers are OFF.... that's what i argued with the utility company with....how can you have power come thru breaker that is off ??? of course, their answer...you need to have the place checked out by a qualified electrician.... blah, blah, blah.... YOU NEED TO STOP TRYING TO RIP ME OFF ... COZ YOU GOT CAUGHT !!!!!

**LexTysMommy** · 01-22-2009, 08:20 AM

I have heat at 67 during day 65 at night. everything unplugged and do lots of things to lower bill, last month my gas and electric bill were $420! They raised prices a ton since last winter. Its ridiculous!

**Patty A** · 01-22-2009, 10:39 AM

I so agree with you all! We sit in the dark, cold, and turn everything off and the price just keeps going up. I could understand it a bit when the price of gas skyrocketed, but give me a break. Gas is down by a HUGE amount, useage is down by a huge amount and prices just keep going up. We are on a fixed income, our money doesn't increase at all and with prices on the rise still I just don't know what people are going to do. Its sad when you try everything you can to save, and they just keep raising the price of everything! And they wonder why people aren't spending money......good hell you can't pay the natural gas and electric and have anything left to spend!