So I've stated that I'm writing this because of friends who nag me that I need to share my story. I'm not sure why. Personally I do not find it such an interesting story. Sure, I may have information to share but it isn't very relevant information for most people. I have often been told that I should write about my life, but I've found that I have lost my inability to find the humor in my life any more. Any time I try to write about my situation it comes out sounding depressing and whiny. I will try to imagine Joe Friday standing over my shoulder saying "just the fact ma'am" and try to keep some of my darker moodswings from showing through.
So what is this situation? *deep breath* This is my third winter without heat. It is true that it is amazing what a person can get used to. My situation didn't develop from just an inability to pay my utilities bill. It is hard to decide where to begin sharing my stoy as there have been many years of stupidity, gullibility, and questionable choices. I suppose that this leg of my story begins around 2001 when I bought my house.
My home used to be two apartments. The neighborhood was rezoned to contain only one family dwellings. The previous owner was in the process of tuning the house back into a single family dweling when his wife became ill and he decided that the house had become an albatross and he was better off selling it than trying to fix it up to code to rent it out.
My home had two gas meters and two electric meters. I received three separate bills from DTE. That math isn't hard to do is it? Four meters, three bills. Two gas bills and one electric bill. I called DTE as soon as I realized this error. Not only am I basically an honest person, but I just don't have the luck for this to not come back and bite me in the butt somehow.
I called DTE monthly, always getting a different customer service representative. I also always got different answers. They varied from "we'll look into it", to "our records show that you only have one electric meter at your address", to one arrogant male who told me "You are most likely being billed correctly but, like most women, you don't know how to read your bill". With every call I made sure to request an employee number so that I could fill out the survey to give them kudos for their excellent assistance. Yes, that was hard to say without laughing.
