"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
Chuck wrote:
Maybe I am in the wrong newsgroup to be discussing this. I would imagine
that most people in this newsgroup make damn good money and can afford
to
have a nice chunk of change in the bank.
Unfortunately, I am not in that situation.
Actually, it has little to do with how much you make, at least once
above a truly subsistence income level, which varies by locale. Someone
below this level, truly has no options, but running up credit cards
doesn't help. They need to seek help from a charitable agency, etc.
until they can restore sufficient income to live on.
snip
Remember, each situation is different...
As embarrassing as this is to say, but I will say that it wasn't our fault,
we had our electricity disconnected almost 2 years ago.
It is a long story, but my wife's best friend passed away suddenly and our
thoughts were with her family. We did receive a termination notice, but
again, we were with the family. We realized the notice and paid the bill *in
full* over the internet *before* the due date. We were still terminated
because they didn't *post* it before the termination date. They admitted it
was there but wasn't posted. They refused to re-instates service until we
paid over $800 that we didn't have (including a repayment of the bill that
we had just paid)(Thanks for the loan, Mom).
I am not saying this was 100% the utility companies fault, we never should
have let it get to a termination notice (but we didn't have the money for
the payment at the time), but I feel that they should have worked with us on
this, especially since they did admit their mistake. Also, it was a day that
was below freezing and we had a dog, a cat and a bird along with our young
son (which made no difference to them).
Anyway, they suggested that we call a help agency. OK, I am in a bind, so I
did call all 3 of the agencies they suggested. Not any of them would help
us. Said that we didn't qualify. I try my hardest not to be a prejudice
person, but at times like this, I wonder if I am just the wrong color...
(Sorry if I offended anyone)
So... help agencies aren't always the answer...
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