Petition!!

I have never heard of this before. I've forgotten to pay a utility bill, and have NEVER gotten a notice that my utilities would be cut off. Ever. OR had to pay a fee like this. Is my area really so different?

The idea of cutting off utilities 5 days after the due date is beyond strange to me. This doesn't make sense.

I agree that something seems off. But I am noticing that the grace periods are getting shorter and shorter with many companies, including utilities. I'm just about all the time paying last months bill. We don't get late notices until the new bill cuts. Then, we have until the next bill is due to have the leftover from the previous months bill paid. So, in other words, we have 6 weeks total to pay from the day the bill cuts to the day it would be shut off. I wish I could say that I'm not in this boat every single month with almost ALL my utilities. But I am and have been for years, water included.

In many places it is the LAW that they send you a shut off notice. Call your states utilities commission and file a formal complaint.

This is a site with info about the rules of utility companies in your state:
http://psc.mo.gov/

This is the FCC website listing all states utility commission numbers: http://transition.fcc.gov/wcb/iatd/state_puc.html

This is a list of places you can call if you need help paying your utilities:
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/states/missouri/...

And this is the MO government site:
http://www.mo.gov/living-in-missouri/housing-utilities/#....

You should find all of the information that you need on at least one of them. Good luck, let us know happens.

I would write a letter to the editor of your paper. This effects so many people: elderly, parents, children, etc. They should have to provide a shut off notice. Perhaps you could cause a stir that way. Perhaps you can talk to a reporter and see if they will do a piece on this also. I hope you are able to get good results from your efforts for other people.

Did they really shut the water off after 2 days? Or were you behind? I have never heard of utilities being shut off after 2 days late. Usually you pay a deposit. If it really was only 2 days late, I'd be calling a supervisor to talk to. Otherwise, you knew you were behind and should have planned ahead to pay it on the Friday. Sorry.

After reading your other topic, you said that you talked to the mayor and it got you nowhere. How did you manage to already speak to the mayor and not speak to someone at the water company directly if it all happened today? If you were two days late, the due date was on a Saturday, and they shut you off, ask to speak to a supervisor. Always start with a supervisor. Ask why they only shut it off after two days. Ask why your deposit did not allow your water to stay on. Ask why they don't charge a late fee and keep the water on. Ask for a refund of the $65. Maybe it was a glitch in their system. If you never speak with anyone other than the person your husband spoke to, you'll never know. You'll need this type of information if you want to get anywhere with your petition. If people start asking you questions about your petition and you don't have any answers, you might as well throw in the towel. I know I don't sign any sort of petition unless I am fully aware of what the issue is, why it is the way it is now, and what the petitioner hopes to change.

I'm gonna play devils advocate for a minute... You've lived there 4 years, you know the bill is due on the 10th...? No need for a late notice. It probably is written in the 'fine print' when you started your service with them.
Now back to earth, EVERY service provider should provide a grace period before shutting off the service. Time gets away from us and things happen. Good Luck!

A 'petition'? For what? More notice before shut off? Never to be able to have water shut off? Notified in writing O. week before shut off?
What, exactly, are you trying to achieve? Start there.

After your SWH: I think you might be better off going to a town meeting about this that getting a petition. That's not the route I'd take at all.

Do you have Missouri American Water?

I don't mean this in a bad way because I have managed to get my water turned off four times in the 18 years I have lived here. It is an easy bill to forget. Thing is if you have Missouri American your husband was notified. They don't put the tag on your door anymore but you would have got three past dues and two disconnect notices.

I am only saying this because if your husband had notices and was just too embarrassed to say he dropped the ball you are going to look really silly with your petition.

Our water was shut off in 2002 - what a mess it was!!! We had things being paid electronically - the problem was on THEIR end...they transposed the numbers on the account.

The bad thing was - i was taking a shower when they shut it off...I had TWO kids - a 2 year old and an infant...it was a MESS!!!

We did not get a shut off notice either. I think you have a great idea to make a change!! YOU GO GIRL!!

The first thing you need to do is to check with the city and find the writen law regarding how the policy is worded. A petition usually starts off with something like "Pursuant to article 17 of the city water and sewage collection and shut off ......... We the undersigned recommend this be changed to ......"

After you obtain the written policy, then check with the city clerk as to the rules of for circulating petitions. Usually you have to obtain a certain percentage of registered voters.

You may also want to contact your city councelors or the mayor's office for assistance.

They are right, shut off notices are a waste of money and will only result in raising your water bill. People will wait until they receive their shut off notice before paying instead of paying on time. My guess is that your water bill was due on the first of the month and that they gave you 10 extra days to pay it and still didn't turn you off until today giving you two extra days on top of that. If you would have called them last week and said that you'd pay today, then they would have waited for you to pay instead of turning you off. There is a reconnect fee so if you want to avoid paying that fee and going without water with a baby in the house, call them and make arrangements. They will work with you!!

I have been several weeks late, been almost a month behind on my water bill, and I have NEVER been shut off. Never, ever, ever, in my 15 years of paying bills on my own. And yes, I received shut off warnings.

The reason people are skeptical is because there seems to be a piece missing in your story. Companies cannot just shut you off without notice, and normally it's several notices, with some phone calls thrown in there. If your DH messed up, he may be too embarrassed to admit it, since it could you guys money. I just find it hard to believe that they would shut you off that soon, and with zero notice.

So, please don't be upset when people aren't on board with your idea. It will only work if your claims are 100% fact. Right now, you can't prove that. No one wants you to make a fool of yourself because of something that you were unaware of.

What I didn't see anywhere in your post is where you ask the water company why you were shut off for being 2 days late, and why you received no notice. That right there makes me feel like you haven't done your research & are not being thorough enough.

Also, see if your state has a utilities commission. It could be this was done in error?

Just saw your other post. I meant this to help you as the Utilities commission is set up to make sure utility companies follow the rules. Even if it was an error, if they do this often because of bad procidures the commission can still advocate for you and get faster results.

I'd request to be added to the city council's next meeting agenda, and prepare and present my case for a change in procedure. I would want a grace period and a notice to be sent.

Check your water bill itself some companies print the on the bill the time frame of when they will shut off water if you are later a set # of days. Mine does but I also have a 10 day window before they shut it off. Of course if I have to pay late(during that 10 day window) I incur a late fee. In my case the bill is due no later than the 15th of each month. On the 25th if water isn't paid the water is shut off. Notices aren't sent out because it is already printed on the water bill itself.

Wow, I've been late before too. And I'm sure you're not the only one. Do they run around shutting off everybody's water? I know that around here you get a notice but I think you have to be more than a month late.

It seems to me that this is a waste of city resources -- for water department employees to go around shutting off water. It's not just the flip of a switch. It has to be done manually.

If I were you I'd contact a city council member to see what the official city policy is, and as them to work to change it. A petition isn't a bad idea, but if I were you I'd want answers about how often this is done every month, and how much that costs the city. Try to work WITH someone instead of against everybody. The whole thing seems fishy to me.

Maybe, if you get the local TV news station to publicize or air this?
Faster than getting a petition.
Meanwhile, your water is still shut off.
Unless you pay the $65 fee to turn it back on.
Document everything.

And even if you get a petition... who/where do you send it?
And, by the time someone actually reads it... days could go by. Or weeks.
And then, it would have to be mulled over, if they even do that. Or they might just stick in the trash can.

You might want to ask the City/State, what are the laws, per giving shut-off notices or not? And the fee to turn the water back on?
Maybe they are following procedures?
Or is this, capricious in intent and action, on their part?