Michelle Stevens was shocked to open her mail and see People’s Gas bill for $27,933.55
utilities
WhiteFence.com’s Tainted Ties
By 10.23.06
A few weeks ago, we posted about WhiteFence.com, a site that lets you compare and contrast service providers, which could be especially good for when you’re moving.
WhiteFence: Slash All Your Bills, Compare and Contrast
By 10.6.06
UPDATE: WhiteFence is not an unbiased recommendation site. They form “partnerships” with certain providers, limiting consumer choice. Read more in this update.
A Cold Shower A Day Keeps The Gas Company Away
By 10.6.06
Erstwhile Consumerist guest blogger and Upgrade Travel editor Mark Ashley has been taking a lot of cold showers lately. Heck, his nipples protrude like fleshy awls. Yet unlike most men who take to basking themselves in an icy deluge, Mark is not trying to extend his life or cut down on his sex drive: the situation’s been thrust upon him by Chicago People’s Energy (as Communist a name for a gas company as I’ve ever heard).
Hardee’s Unfazed By Water Cut-Off
By 9.26.06
Bunnyspatial wrote to us about a local Hardee’s that was conducting business with its water turned off, and the fascinating implications that raises:
The News; Whiskered, Stone Ground Finish
By 7.12.06
• For a dollar under a hundred, you can get the trifecta of Comcast fuckover! [CT] “Comcast offers bundled service for $99 a month”
The News is Full of Sweet, Sweet, Bitter Ironies
By 6.29.06
• Sometimes it’s best to let headlines speak for themselves. [LAT] “Hooters’ Benefit for L.A. Animal Services Is a Bust”
Utility May Help Oust Coyotes
By 5.2.06
After her small dogs were attacked by coyotes, Illinois resident Julie Winters sought recourse from all manner of sources, from the local police to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Now she may have a surprise ally: the Commonwealth Edison utility company. Reports the Chicago Tribune:
Coned Robots Beg Payments by Phone Every Day, Starting One Day After Paper Bill Arrives
By 3.24.06
Dan Edelman IM’d with a disturbing tale of Coned employing android voice synths to hit you up. Coned graduated from needlessly annoying letters to needlessly nagging phone calls:
Water Water Everywhere, Five Dollars For a Drink
By 3.2.06
Estimated utility bills are a great way to get screwed over. Marjorie writes that the NYC Water Board overcharged her fivefold since 1997. After discovering the discrepancy, her lobbying for reimbursement only lead to a trickle of refunds and rebates.
Save Electricity This Winter
By 12.16.05
The reason I ask is that my roommates think it takes more electricity to turn the AC off and then turn it back on later.
The answer? Turning it off at night is fine, because “it definitely takes more energy to remove that heat constantly rather than removing it just once when you turn the AC back on later.”
