How difficult is this PSE&G SNAFU going to be to fix? UPDATE: Issue Resolved
I'd log onto your bank account now and issue a stop payment. Then I'd harass PSEG to credit you that amount ($25 or so, I'd guess).
Better to deal with tens of dollars owed than hundreds of dollars owed.
daveturnley said:
I'd log onto your bank account now and issue a stop payment. Then I'd harass PSEG to credit you that amount ($25 or so, I'd guess).
Better to deal with tens of dollars owed than hundreds of dollars owed.
agree totally
On the bright side, you didn't pay it in cash... and I assume your name and address is on the check.
In attempting to protect the privacy of the person who's account was behind, I left out the detail that I know them. I only mention this now because after taking to them they said they will also call PSE&G and help fix this, and worse case scenario will pay me directly. Having known them for quite awhile I feel confident in trusting them about this so while I will still try to have PSE&G fix the billing I won't stop payment on the check as that would be a waste of money.
And looking on the bright side, at least this is just a temporary mix up of money that will be fixed. My power WASN'T shut off by accident which even for one night would have been a huge diasterwith three small boys in the house and a fridge full of perishable food. In other words, things could have been a lot worse.
ETA: speaking with this person helped calm my nerves considerably, which is a huge relief. But boy what a clusterf*ck!
Utilities have to issue a written disconnect notice and you can verify with the utility the date it was issued. They will never shut you off for being a couple weeks late.
What does it cost to stop payment, and how much of your time and attention will it take to straighten this out any other way? And much as you may like the person whose account you paid, if they're that far behind on their bill, they might not be the best people to have money connections with.
I definitely agree with those who've said stop payment. You could wait till you talk w/PSE&G in the morning, on the off chance that they just say Oh, we'll return your check. But otoh by the time you reach them the check may already have cleared.
What an unlikely series of events! You can't make this stuff up, right?
@mjc I'm inclined to agree... Especially if you really are talking about a lot of money. You don't want to find yourself in an awkward position later of having to hound them for money, and unless you have this in writing you really have no leg to stand on if they don't pay...
marylago said:
Utilities have to issue a written disconnect notice and you can verify with the utility the date it was issued. They will never shut you off for being a couple weeks late.
With the mail being what it is in my part of town I had no issue with thinking that I just didn't receive it.
I won't go into detail (again, privacy concerns) but I will say I've known this person decades and if PSE&G can't straighten it out I am fully confident that I will be reimbursed. I know plenty of people who I wouldn't trust to pay me back a dime, but this person is not one of them. They will do it because it is the right thing, not because of threat of collections or anything like that. It might take a bit, but I know it will be paid.
Had I not been so shocked by the realization that I had paid someone else's account and barely avoided a (wrongful) cutoff and had the double whammy of discovering this the moment PSE&G's customer service lines closed for the night, I would have remembered the integrity of person whose account I accidentally paid and wouldnot been anywhere near as upset. In the heat of the moment I was still reeling from this discovery compounded by numerous unrelated and very unfortunate events that happened to various friends and family today (today was just filled with bad news all around) it was just the icing on the cake and I most definitely overreacted.
I will call PSE&G in the AM but if they can't fix it I will no longer panic. Though a hot fudge ice cream right about now still wouldn't hurt.
Thanks for reminding me to pay my PSE&G bill. It's the one bill I don't have auto-debited because, despite having the "Equal Payment Plan" in place, we still occasionally get crazy swings where one month they'll bill us $2200 and then next month they'll credit us back $1800. I haven't invested the time and mental energy yet to find out why this is, but I don't want to open my bank account to that kind of abuse
marcsiry said:
Thanks for reminding me to pay my PSE&G bill. It's the one bill I don't have auto-debited because, despite having the "Equal Payment Plan" in place, we still occasionally get crazy swings where one month they'll bill us $2200 and then next month they'll credit us back $1800. I haven't invested the time and mental energy yet to find out why this is, but I don't want to open my bank account to that kind of abuse
We had a somewhat similar situation where they were estimating our bill based on the previous owners usage. They hadn't actually read our meter in well over a year after we moved in because of our work scheduel. We wound up underpaying by a couple grand over that period. The CSR got them to put in the remote read meter (that they had been telling us was on back order) after that. No issues since.
I just got off the phone with PSE&G. The man who took my call understood the issue after I explained what happened, he talked to a supervisor to try to help, but without proof that it is my check (my scanner isn't working right now) they can't just transfer the funds based on my say so, which I understand. I was told to go to a service center. Thankfully my husband is off today so he will watch the older two while I take the baby with me to West Orange.
Of course I'll have to take ten tons of paperwork with me since the account is still in my maiden name while the check is in my married name. Guess while I'm there I might as well have them change that over to my married name also.
The check has left the building so the "easy" fix of them just giving it back to me is no longer possible. I now have to wait until the check clears and then come back with a bank statement proving the money was deducted from my bank account and then they can credit my PSE&G account
conandrob240 said:
Stop payment on the check and the hassle ends
YES, YES, YES! Whatever the cost is, it is well worth your peace of mind and keeping that amount of money in YOUR bank account. That will end the problem, so please do it! 
mumstheword said:
conandrob240 said:YES, YES, YES! Whatever the cost is, it is well worth your peace of mind and keeping that amount of money in YOUR bank account. That will end the problem, so please do it!
Stop payment on the check and the hassle ends
Totally agree!! This is a lot of aggravation to save $25, plus you're giving PSE&G a very large interest-free loan for a while. And that's still assuming that they actually credit your account, which I'd be wary of personally.
Stop the check. Don't count on PSEG transferring the payment to your account.
What I don't understand is in your opening post you said you guestimated the amount and mailed a check which may have been too low. Then you gave the guy a check when he showed up to possibly stop your service. But you also said you have account access and looked at the account to see how much you actually owed.
It would have been easier if you simply looked at your account before mailing your guestimate. Also, when you're against the wall with a possible shutoff, its best to pay immediately online which gives immediate credit in the shortest possible time and gives you an immediate receipt.
I try not to use mail for critical bills. Neither do I depend on a banks bill payment system. Some of the bank bill payment systems generate a paper check which they then mail to the payee. I prefer going to the payee web site to do the payment - instant credit and receipt. Even my taxes are done that way, EFTPS for Fed taxes and the NJ Tax site for NJ taxes.
I guesstimated rather than going online because with school out and three small kids in the home I am currently overwhelmed with rambunctiousness. I'm not certain, but I think a few kids may have managed to sneak in while I wasn't looking because there is no way this amount of chaos could have been caused solely by three boys, there have to be another 2 or 3 hiding out somewhere and coming out when I'm not looking to jump on the sofa and throw Legos on the floor.
As far as my account being late, it turns out I was only 7 days past due and had no notices on my account. When the guy showed up at my door I even questioned him because my mental accounting didn't add up to what he was saying. It just didn't occur to me that he was at the wrong address. I really thought that it was somehow possible that due to brain fog I had accidentally allowed the bills to lapse further than I actually had. With all the things I am juggling right now it didn't seem outside the realm of possible.
Resolved. And I just checked my account online and I now have a balance of -$798 so I won't have to worry about paying them for awhile, though with the heat we've had these past few days I'll probably run through that balance in a week.
Also, for anyone who might ever need to go to the PSE&G walk in customer service center I highly recommend going to the West Orange office at 8am when they open. I've heard horror stories about 2+ hour waits, but both times I was in and out quickly.
That's amazing! I'm very pleasantly surprised- and pleased for you!
spontaneous said:
I guesstimated rather than going online because with school out and three small kids in the home I am currently overwhelmed with rambunctiousness. I'm not certain, but I think a few kids may have managed to sneak in while I wasn't looking because there is no way this amount of chaos could have been caused solely by three boys, there have to be another 2 or 3 hiding out somewhere and coming out when I'm not looking to jump on the sofa and throw Legos on the floor.
I can understand how nuttiness at home can drive one to distraction. Its happened to me often enough. Glad to read you resolved the check problem.
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PSE&G came to my house today to shut off my power. I knew I was a little behind but I didn't think I was that far behind and said as much to the man. He told me how much was behind and what the whole bill was. I was very surprised because the amount I had just sent out (really) was well below that, but I hadn't seen the most recent bill (normal USPS bs and I hadn't checked online) and had sent out a guesstimate. He said he couldn't stop the cut off based on "it's in the mail" and I don't fault him for that. About the large amount due I figured that because of AC usage I had probably underestimated by a large amount (more than double) what was due, and I was outside talking to him while my three kids were alone in the house, so I decided to just pay the guy the whole bill. As far as the bill that is in the mail I figured I'd just let that pay a bit ahead and not have to worry about next month. When writing out the check I said I didn't have my account number in front of me and he helpfully gave it to me. He (thank God) prints out a receipt for my records.
Stupidly, I didn't actually look at the receipt until 8pm (and guess what time PSE&G customer service closes). It wasn't MY account, it was a different address. The PSE&G guy came to the wrong house to cut off service and because I wasn't paying attention and was worried about my kids alone in the house I didn't listen to my gut (like I said to him, I knew I was behind but not THAT far behind) I have now inadvertently paid someone else's bill, and it is a LOT of money. Oh, and when I looked up my account online my guesstimate payment was only off by $24 and my account is not on a shut off notice. So now I have this large check out there paying someone else's account.
When I call PSE&G tomorrow are they going to just take my word that money credited to someone else's account should really go to my account, will this take an in-person visit to fix, or will I have to go to BofA to get a stop payment order put on that check? What makes it worse is that the incorrect account number is actually written on the check. If I do have to do a stop payment (providing that PSE&G still deposits checks the old fashioned way and not electronically) how much will that cost me?
I'm not pissed at the guy, he was really nice and I know it was just a mistake. But at the same time he almost cut off my power when my house number is clearly marked, both on my house AND on my front lawn. I'm just worried that this is a mistake that is going to end up hurting me more than anyone else. I am so frazzled right now (partly because I am helpless to fix this until morning) that I can barely think straight.