TXU blackmailed me.

[CowboyWay]

Tell me what you think of this. I feel like I was blackmailed.

I own a rental home, and the tennant moved out. He told me that he was turning off the utilities on the 12th, so on the 11th, I called the utility companies, and TXU told me that to have the electricity transfered into my name WITHOUT INTERRUPTED SERVICE, would cost me a $90 fee.

OR........ I could wait till they "get to it" which they told me would take 2-3 days, and the fee would be $18. Since I don't live in the rental house, I wasn't going to pay the $100 fee.

So on the 12th, I was at the rent house, and I see the TXU truck out the window. I thought "great, they are probably just checking the meter to figure out what it reads to close the old account and start mine". Then the lights went out, and I walked outside, and he was gone. They turned off the electricity.

Now they will have to come back out in 2-3 days to put a new meter in, when all they had to do in the first place was change the name on the account from the rentors to mine back at the main TXU office.

I feel like this is flat out blackmailing someone. If you're already out there to turn off the electric, you can turn it on right then and there.

Thoughts?

 

[TheKey]

Tell me what you think of this. I feel like I was blackmailed.

I own a rental home, and the tennant moved out. He told me that he was turning off the utilities on the 12th, so on the 11th, I called the utility companies, and TXU told me that to have the electricity transfered into my name WITHOUT INTERRUPTED SERVICE, would cost me a $90 fee.

OR........ I could wait till they "get to it" which they told me would take 2-3 days, and the fee would be $18. Since I don't live in the rental house, I wasn't going to pay the $100 fee.

So on the 12th, I was at the rent house, and I see the TXU truck out the window. I thought "great, they are probably just checking the meter to figure out what it reads to close the old account and start mine". Then the lights went out, and I walked outside, and he was gone. They turned off the electricity.

Now they will have to come back out in 2-3 days to put a new meter in, when all they had to do in the first place was change the name on the account from the rentors to mine back at the main TXU office.

I feel like this is flat out blackmailing someone. If you're already out there to turn off the electric, you can turn it on right then and there.

Thoughts?

Well...according to the definition of blackmailing, that is not it. It sounds to me like you are unhappy with their policy and you want it to be done your way. Is it a stupid rule? Yes. Do they have the right to do whatever the heck they want to? Yes. Does it suck that energy companies are monopolies? Yes.

 

[theogt]

My thought is if you didn't want interruption in service you should have paid the $90.

 

[CowboyWay]

Well...according to the definition of blackmailing, that is not it. .

Perhaps. I should have said they "hamstrung" me.

 

[silverbear]

Perhaps. I should have said they "hamstrung" me.

Naw, that's not the word you're lookin' for either...

I think for semantic precision, the word you want is "screwed"...

 

[big dog cowboy]

the word you want is "screwed"...

:signmast:

It's the way they do business.

Does it makes sense? No.

Does this policy make them the most money? Yes.

 

[Warick]

That sucks Cowboyway.

It will be great for homeowners when solar is priced low enough to where most people can afford to have it installed in their homes, and don't have to put up with electric companies, and their bs policies. It's not quite there yet, but getting close.

 

[CF74]

Threaten to use a competitor:

http://www.reliant.com/en_US/Page/Generic/Public/welcome_page.jsp

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=tarrant+county+energy&fp=5PoBrypUNj0

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=tarr...&oq=tarrant+county+electricity&fp=5PoBrypUNj0