To protect the privacy of certain individuals the names and identifying details have been changed.
Juliet Salgado lives in northwest Alberta and was buying both electricity and natural gas through her retailer for three years. Juliet had set up automatic payment from her bank account; however, she noticed that the amount she was paying seemed to be quite small over the past three months. After reviewing her bill, Juliet discovered that she was no longer being billed for her natural gas.
Juliet called her retailer to ask why they had not billed her for natural gas for the previous three months. They told her that they were no longer billing her at her address. However, because the retailer does not have access to further information, she was advised to contact the Utilities Consumer Advocate (UCA) to get information from her distributor.
Juliet contacted the UCA and our team contacted the company that distributes the natural gas to her home. They told the UCA that they were advised of a change in retailer for Juliet’s address. However, it was for a different customer name. Juliet’s site had been “erroneously enrolled”.
This means that another utilities retailer had incorrectly signed up a customer using Juliet’s address. However, once the other customer noticed that their address was incorrect they contacted their retailer to change it. Juliet’s name and address were no longer associated with the other customer’s account and she was never re-enrolled.
The UCA mediation officer was able to explain all of this to Juliet. He told Juliet that she will still be billed for her natural gas usage for the missing three months. However, her bills for that period will come from the default rate retailer rather than her regular retailer.
Juliet took another look at her bills for the past three months and noticed a final bill indicator for her natural gas. Once Juliet called to re-enroll with her original retailer, the UCA was able to work with her retailer to ensure they waived any enrollment fees.
Tip:
Always read your bill each month – even if you have an automatic payment set up!
If you are not being billed for a service, it will eventually come to you, usually in a lump sum, as it takes awhile for retailers to process payments associated with a new site (e.g. personal residence, small business or farm). If your utility statement says anything about it being a final bill and you are not ending your services you need to call your retailer immediately to ensure your service remains active.