BY KEITH LACEY
Union Gas will not be on Fran Seguin?s Christmas card list any time soon.
One month after going public over her frustration at receiving a natural gas bill for over $1,500 for one month, Union Gas has finally explained how a series of its own errors led to the Sudbury homeowner getting such a huge bill.
?There was a mistake reading her meter and this resulted in Ms. Seguin being underbilled for several consecutive months,? said Elizabeth Havelock, director of communications for Union Gas.
?There was human error involved and we?re really sorry for it?She was being charged for very low readings when in reality she was using much more gas. That?s the reason for the high bill recently.?
Because Union Gas made the error in reading the metre and not charging the proper amount, the company is willing to give Seguin four months?or more if needed?to pay off her existing account.
Her existing bill has now reached in excess of $2,600 as Seguin has refused to pay her Union Gas bill until ?this entire mess is straightened out.?
For four months between September and December, Seguin?s monthly Union Gas bill was less than $60.
Because she was removed from equal billing, and this was one of the coldest winters in the past 20 years, her monthly bills should have been between $300 and $500.
Because of the human error involved, and no one from Union Gas explaining the low bills, Seguin was shocked when the $1,500 bill came in the mail for the period between late January and late February.
Now that the situation has been fully explained. Seguin says she?s going to pay off her account and then switch gas companies.
?Union Gas has admitted they made all these mistakes, yet I still have this huge bill I have to pay,? she said. ?Between you and me, I want this nightmare over and I?m going to take the four months and pay these guys off and then I?m not dealing with this company any more.
?If you realized how much stress this has caused me and how many phone calls I?ve had to make and how much sleep I?ve lost you wouldn?t believe it.
?This isn?t a question of money, but a matter of principle. It?s not my fault the company misread my meter and didn?t bill me the proper amount all those months.?
If she used the amount of natural gas Union Gas insists she did, then she will pay her bill in full, she said.
However, she?s upset a company could make so many mistakes over so many months, send her one giant bill and then threaten her to pay immediately or face the threat of having her gas supply disconnected.
?You just don?t expect things like getting a gas bill for $1,500 for one month,? she said. ?I don?t like what?s happened, but I finally realize where the mistakes have been made and I?m going to pay what I owe. But I have a hard time understanding how the same company could make so many mistakes with one customer.?
Havelock said human errors in reading meters ?is not a regular occurrence? but they do happen and she again apologized for Seguin for all of the inconvenience.
If Seguin can?t handle paying the $2,600 she owes within the next four months, Havelock said the company would be willing to give her an extension.
?If she wants to give me a call, I will walk her through what has happened,? she said. ?We would
welcome her call if there?s any more concerns.?
