For those of you not from Calgary, Enmax is a private corporation owned by the city of Calgary. They provide the electricity, water, sewer, garbage collection and recycling services for residents, except for those who have switched to another electricity 'provider'.My first bone of contention with Enmax happened years ago, when they offered a $50 rebate to people who switched to low-flow toilets in their home, because of course, this saves water and is good for the environment. But there's a catch. You can only apply for the rebate if you're on metered water, not flat rate water service. This is because the city needs to 'prove' that you're actually using less water to fully qualify for the rebate. I argued that I was pretty sure water savings would be self-evident by switching to low-flow toilets in my home, unless I flushed 3 times per use, but this argument was lost on them. No rebate for me.
Last fall, I decided to take the plunge and switch to metered water. They came and installed a meter in September and I was rubbing my hands together in anticipation of the savings I would enjoy, because with just Darlene and I in the house, our water usage will be much less than the $50 per month we were being charged as flat rate water users. [Hands still rubbing]
It is now March. It’s been half a year. I'm still getting charged for flat rate water. My water meter spins in quiet isolation, unable to announce its meagre reading to the utility company because (as the Enmax CSR said on the phone) “we're really backlogged getting people switched over”. No shit, I add. I wonder what Enmax will do when thousands of homes rush to get switched over to metered water in 2014 when the Calgary law mandates that everyone must be on a meter. Can people look forward to years of delay before their account catches up?
Without going into details, Enmax have also royally screwed up my account billing over the last 3 months as well. They keep refunding and re-assessing me for electricity without being able to tell me the 'why' or the 'for how long I can expect this nonsense to continue'.
So considering that my Enmax bill itemizes not only the resources they deliver and the delivery costs and the service and admin fees associated with those resources, I have a mind to withhold the service fees when I pay the next few bills. I mean, why should I pay for service if I'm not actually getting any?
3 comments:
I hate to point the following: ENMAX only does the billing for water/sewer, garbage, recycling on behalf of others. So, in a sense, they may be the middlemen stuck in between your bill and the erratic refund/re-assessment - though they could be the cause too.
That $50 rebate? It's the city that gave it to you, not ENMAX (the latter is still a separate entity that's not in bed with the city beyond ownership board of directors). The billing is contracted out, if you will.
Finally, re: witholding service fees, you know you'd be the loser at the end of the day. Messing with the credit history is no fun, my friend ...
Yeah I know.
My newest ENMAX bill reads: "Due now: $500.51"
Apparently ENMAX has THE most terrible database system here. They're charging me for the stuff that I've already paid and I don't have the slightest clue as to what I should do about it. I mean, I could just not pay the bill and switch to "another" provider (as if we have that luxury in Calgary :\) but is there really no other way?
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