Anyone have dealings with Vectren?

[mstang67chic]

It's the gas company in this area and I'm not sure if they are national or not.

We have some friend's whose gas was shut off today for nonpayment. While they were behind about $80, it was only past due just over a month. That just seems pretty drastic for that short of time. Has anyone else dealt with this before?

 

[GoingNorth]

I live in North Central WI and our utility co is WPS which handles parts of the North Central Midwest. They handle both gas and electric and the bill comes as one.

If you are late, they will send one warning notice within fifteen days. If you do not clear your bill or make alternate arrangements within that period--they will shut you off within the billing period.

Bit of a surprise when I first moved up here and was really scraping. I'd come up from Chicago where Peoples' Gas gave you a month before they started in on you and it took about three months for them to actually shut you off.

Unfortunately, beyond laws preventing them shutting off gas service during winter months, there is nothing you can do: the utility cos can pretty much call the shots.

 

[donna723]

I'm not familiar with that particular company but I know a lot of the local utility companies are like that.

I'm on the city utilities in our small town. I get one bill a month that includes water, sewer, gas and garbage pickup (but I only use gas in the winter months for heat). The due date on the bill is the 15th of the month. The bill gives the amount of the late fee that applies if it's paid after the due date, but nobody has ever gotten that far because if it's not paid before they close on the 15th, they will have your utilities turned off before the sun comes up on the 16th! There is NO grace period whatsoever! Thankfully, I've never had to do it, but they may make arrangements if you talk to them before the due date.

That can't be fun. I hope your friends can get it straightened out quickly. Maybe if they call them, they can make some kind of payment arrangements.