I came home from work the other day and began to cook dinner when I realized my gas stove was not working. When I went down stairs and checked the pilot lights on the furnace and the water heater were off also.
Hmm? Well my gas was off, that was odd. I remembered paying my latest bill, using their website, the week prior and it was not due till the end of the month. I then proceeded to call Columbia Gas to figure out what was going on. Unfortunately for me it was 7:05pm which means even though they are a major utility company they have no service after 7:00pm. I did however get to bounce around an automated phone system for 45 minutes trying to find an answer to why they shut off my service. Alas an answer I could not find. However I did discover that I still owed them this month?s bill. That was strange but maybe that was why the shut off the gas line. So I paid the balance using their automated system getting a three dollar surcharge in the process. There was nothing else I could do so I called it an night.
The next morning after a particularly invigorating 30 degree shower, as I had no hot water, I went outside and looked at the gas meter. Lo and behold the main line to my place was not only shut off, but locked as well. I then went inside and gathered up my courage to again brave their automated phone system. After entering my account number no less than five times and bouncing around seemingly at random for over 15 minutes I was finally connected to another human being.
A polite young lady introduced herself and asked how she could assist me. I then explained the situation, that my line was off and I would like to know why. She then checked her computer for a moment before informing me that there should be no reason it was shut off and her system showed that it was not off. I then explained the story again noting that the main valve was not only off but locked. After some more typing she reassured me that it was not off as the system showed everything was fine. It was then my turn to reassure her, that it was indeed off and ask if she could dispatch someone to turn it on. At this point she told me that they did not make service call, which was odd because the valve did not lock itself. After explaining this line of logic to the young lady she became rather flustered. She then asked me to hold so she could transfer me to someone else. Before I could utter a syllable I was transferred not to another person, but to the same incomprehensible automated system I had started at.
This particular turn of events lead to a rather creative bout of cursing on my part, the contents which I shall not repeat here. After fighting through the labyrinthine maze of a phone system for a third time I was again connected to a polite gentleman. Learning my lesson from the last time I asked to speak to a supervisor and surprisingly my request was granted. I then described my situation to this new higher power. After explaining to him a third time that yes the outside valve was shut and locked and I know the system says it?s not, he then agreed to send someone out right away to take a look.
After two hours said person arrived and was polite
enough to take half an hour to inspect all the gas lines in my house. His expert assessment? ?Yep, they shut it off.?
Never once did I receive an apology or explanation as to why this happened. As for the first payment I made using THEIR website, apparently it takes up to a week to process. Where as paying directly from MY bank goes through the next day. And for the second payment no they could not stop it, no they could not even refund the surcharge, but if I asked nicely they could apply it to future bills.
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