Pissy Utility Companies...

Most of our utilities bills are due around mid month in my area, with the exception the gas bill.  That particular bill is due whenever Little Bunny  Fu-Fu moons the billing department manager at the gas company.  Fu-Fu likes to do his mooning usually between the 8th to the 13th of the month, sometimes as late as the 15th.  But not this month, no Fu-Fu, decided to be a real pain.  He mooned & the bill was due on the 6th.  

Lets take a look at this:

1. Our checks arrive between the 1st & the 3rd
2. The 3rd was Saturday of Labor Day weekend, mail & banks mostly worked a half day at best.
3. The 4th & 5th were the Sunday & Monday of Labor Day weekend, therefore no mail.
4. Tuesday the 6th, the gas bill's due date is the first chance to actually mail the bill after getting in checks.
5. The mail or the electronic option at the bill-pay places in my area would've taken at least 2 days to clear. The bill would have been 2 - 3 days delinquent.
6. The due date cost us 2 days, the holiday costs 2 + days.

Luckily when we were planning our week on Saturday, we noticed the very early due date on the bill & called in the payment.  That was another $4.    The gas company was trying to catch people off guard & get them to screw up their averaging plans, if they were on them.  Many people might not have noticed & kept paying their low late summer gas bills & never known they were no longer averaged until the first big winter bill kicked in & surprised them.

I wold say I was being paranoid, but this isn't the first time the gas company has pulled this crap with us.  A little over a year ago, we posted a bill & cleared one day late.  We weren't notified or issued a late charge.  Instead the next month were issued a bill for $0 & having a slight credit.  They had knocked us off the average plan & never informed us.  My roomie called them & they informed her that we were no longer averaged & if we wished to be back on the plan we'd have to pay the money we would've actually owed them for the month.  We got back on averaging & up til this month we've stayed on top of the gas bill & it's ever changing due date.

This may sound like a little thing, but to have to constantly worry about this bill is frustrating.  I know we could use direct billing.  However, if the due date is before our checks arrive, we'd be out the overdraft money.   I hate my gas  company for this stupid bill date issue of theirs. AOG representatives aren't that easy to deal with either.  When you go to pay a bill via phone, they'll charge you extra just to talk to a person instead of a computer.

Oh well, it's paid.

Cya