Hi all,
So, Connecticut Light and Power. They're greeeat. You know, not a monopoly at all. So, when I got a cold call from a company offering to reduce my bill, I thought it was a great idea. I signed up. Then CL&P stopped sending me bills, the new company never sent me their first bill, and CL&P cut off my power. WTF? Because of their lack of communication, I lose my power? It coincided with a thunderstorm, so I figured that was the problem. It took me a couple hours to realize that it was that the company cut my power!
So, in an effort to save 30% on my electric bill (approximately $35) a month, I ended up paying $35 to reconnect my service, and I have $250 in escrow until I pay my bill on time for a year. How freaking embarrassing. Especially since I didn't do anything wrong; it was the middleman electric company who didn't pay my bill!
The best part is that I sent a $100 payment to CL&P when they contacted me. Want to know what they shut off my service for? The $3 balance. They would have needed $103.19 to make the payment and keep my service on, and my $100 just wouldn't cut it. You've gotta love big corporations and their degree of empathy.
I'm thinking I need to go to the better business bureau to get some of my money back. By my calculation, I am owed a day of electric service, an hour and a half of cell phone minutes, the money in escrow, and the $35 reconnect fee. So, $5, $10, my $250 back, and $35 is about $300.
What do you all think? Can I fight the big electric company?
~Mark
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Being positive despite some dumb poopenschticken
Hi all,
So, Karma's a bitch, as they say. But it's also nice to you if you pay into it. I frequently fix peoples' computers, bikes and other stuff for free, and give stuff away because I just don't need it anymore. I like to think that this means good things for me. Now, it doesn't mean I get ipads or samsung tablets falling out of the sky for me, but I did win a kindle fire last year :)
So, I've decided that when my one man, sucking at guitar band goes viral this year, the title will be "Smiling at Strangers." because it works. I just wrote a letter of recommendation for a coworker, and one of the most positive things I said was as follows: "She makes those around her happier just by smiling at them every day, for no particular reason other than that she is happy to see them." Now, she's not exactly a stranger, and full on beaming at random folks tends to freak them out. However, a gentle, contented smile tends to win people over and improve their day.
Now, what does this have to do with technology, you say? Well, not much. But I don't have another blog for karma (yet).
Have a good day, and recycle your old electronics. Maybe a samsung will fall out of the sky for you :)
~Mark
So, Karma's a bitch, as they say. But it's also nice to you if you pay into it. I frequently fix peoples' computers, bikes and other stuff for free, and give stuff away because I just don't need it anymore. I like to think that this means good things for me. Now, it doesn't mean I get ipads or samsung tablets falling out of the sky for me, but I did win a kindle fire last year :)
So, I've decided that when my one man, sucking at guitar band goes viral this year, the title will be "Smiling at Strangers." because it works. I just wrote a letter of recommendation for a coworker, and one of the most positive things I said was as follows: "She makes those around her happier just by smiling at them every day, for no particular reason other than that she is happy to see them." Now, she's not exactly a stranger, and full on beaming at random folks tends to freak them out. However, a gentle, contented smile tends to win people over and improve their day.
Now, what does this have to do with technology, you say? Well, not much. But I don't have another blog for karma (yet).
Have a good day, and recycle your old electronics. Maybe a samsung will fall out of the sky for you :)
~Mark
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