light bulbOccupy Connecticut Light and Power! The electric company of the Constitution State was charging an old Italian guy $220 a month for power in his condo. He knew the bills were wrong because he hardly used any electricity or gas at home. Meanwhile, his barbershop was tricked out with electric everything and plenty of A/C, and its bill only topped out at $150 a month.

He kept trying to tell the company that something was wrong. They kept saying the only thing wrong was he wasn’t sending checks fast enough. This went on for 10 years, before the guy’s son went in and straightened things out. (Why did that take 10 years, anyway?)

In the end, they finally had to cut him a check ... for guess how much?

Twelve grand! Twelve thousand dollars!

Basically, by overcharging him $100 a month, CL&P was forcing him to save money. Of course, he might have made more by putting it in a bank and letting it earn interest.

Bwahaha! Just kidding. He woulda lost it in a crash.

I like this idea! I think the utility company should overcharge me $10 a month. I spend at least $10 a month on two pairs of sunglasses that are also stars so the girls don’t fight over them. Then, when my kids go to college, they hand me a check! Voila! At least half their first semester’s worth of textbooks! 

Then, I think the water company should sneak into my bathroom and set my scale five pounds higher, so I’m more motivated to exercise and eat better. The phone company can randomly put calls through to my mom, so I accidentally call her more than once a week, and the cable company can pretend I only have PBS for six hours a week.

Oh! Oh! Here’s a good one: We pay an extra 20 cents per gallon of gas, and then spend it on building roads and schools. Oh wait -- that’s the fuel tax.

Okay, maybe the utilities companies shouldn’t take over our savings accounts. But you’ve got to admit, a $12,000 check would be pretty sweet right about now, wouldn’t it? I’m off to check my bills!

What would you do if a utility company wouldn’t believe they were overcharging you? 


Photo via Horia Varlan/Flickr