🚀 go-pugleaf

hello, it appears that you were in town when they replaced the meter, so if
Hydro made a mistake while replacing it, they can't claim that you were not
available and they had to act without your knowledge. If i were you , i
would look into the possibility that Hydro failed to ensure that you can
make your own final reading on the old meter. The reading of the meter, as
far as i know, is the client's right and responsibility unless the client
instructs the supplier to read it. Filing a complaint won't get you
anything, but if you can provide evidence to a small claims court (minimal
expense but long wait) that Hydro neglected to ensure that you can verify
the final reading by removing and not keeping the old meter, you will likely
win your case. I don't think that you can win your case by arguing past
consumption patterns.


"Bernard" <bhc2000@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3a61afee.0203150718.5ae27c01@posting.google.com...
> Hello, I was trying to find the appropriate NGs to post this
> so please excuse me if the cross posting is inappropriate.
>
> I am attaching a letter  we sent to Hydro One (by e-mail
> and postal mail) regarding a dispute we have
> with the electricity usage from December to February.
>
> They put in a new meter on Feb. 8 and took out
> the old meter. They said they would try and find
> the old meter but cannot be sure.
>
> To make a long story short, do people know if there is a
> regulating commission or authority where we can file a complaint
> in case the dispute cannot be resolved? We moved to Canada a few
> years ago and are still not familiar with things around here
> so thank you in advance for any suggestions and help.
>
> Cheers,
> Bernard
>
> -------
> March 14, 2002
>
> Hydro One
> P.O. Box 5700
> Station Industrial Park
> Markham, ON L3R 9Z9
>
> Dear Sirs and Madams:
>
> We received our Hydro One bill (account number xxxxx-xxxxx)
> dated March 8, 2002 yesterday. We want to register a dispute
> on the accuracy of the meter reading (meter number yyyyyyy)
> done on February 8, 2002.
>
> Your record shows that we had used 2440 kilowatt-hours
> between December 6, 2001 and February 8, 2002.
> We looked back on the bills from the same period last year
> and they showed that we used 2200 kilowatt-hours between
> December 18, 2000 and March 12, 2001. It is apparent that
> a large discrepancy exists between the 784.5 kilowatt-hours
> per month (prorated to be monthly basis) from last year
> and the 1182.5 kilowatt-hours per month (prorated to be
> monthly basis) from this year.
>
> Furthermore, we were out of town for one whole month
> during this period as well. We left Kingston on December 7, 2001
> in the afternoon and returned on January 9, 2002 in the morning.
> We turned the baseboard heaters to "0" and turned off all the
> appliances except the refrigerator, water heater and the
> answering machine.
>
> We talked to Kaseeb from your customer service center yesterday
> and he explained that the baseboard heaters have internal thermostats
> and are not completely off unless we turn them off at the circuit box.
>
> We are not sure if this is indeed true regarding the baseboard
> heaters we have. Even if it is, that does not explain why
> more electricity was used this winter than last winter as
> the same baseboard heaters are in place. Also, it would not be
> logical that the baseboard heaters are using more electricity
> when they are set to "0" (when we were away) than when they are
> set to "15" (when we are at home).
>
> Also, since we were not using any hot water, or doing any laundry,
> or opening the refrigerator when we were away, less electricity
> should be used as well. In addition, we have installed plastic film
> over the air conditioning units this season and that should not hurt
> the efficiency of the baseboard heaters.
>
> Your reading of the new meter (zzzzzzz) indicated that we had used
> 960 kilowatt-hours between February 8 and March 8, 2002. By all accounts,
> this past month is just as cold as, if not colder than, the previous
> two months and the electricity usage between February 8 and March 8, 2002
> should be indicative of that between December 6, 2001 and February 8,
2002.
> Keep in mind that we were out of town for one whole month during this
period.
>
> We would appreciate if you could advise us of the options we have
> regarding the dispute. Also, we would be grateful if you could launch an
> investigation and let us know what would cause such a discrepancy,
> including the possibility that the old meter (yyyyyyy) could have been
> malfunctioning or was misread.
>
> Please feel free to contact us should you require any additional
information.
> Thank you for your time and kind assistance.
>
> Sincerely,
> (signed)