Customer unable to pay electricity account by due date

Voula approached our staff at a Bring your Bills Day in Woy Woy. She wasn’t able to pay her outstanding account balance by the due date, despite having received a payment extension. She had been told verbally by her provider that she would be disconnected if her account was not paid by the due date.

Voula told us she could increase her regular payments to $25 per fortnight and that she would make an appointment with a community agency to request Energy Accounts Payment Assistance (EAPA) vouchers.

The outstanding bill was based on an actual meter reading that she considered to be too high and so she requested a billing review to ensure it was accurate.

After the event, we followed up with her provider, who advised there was no disconnection order and that it considered the billing to be correct. Voula had been removed from its affordability program earlier that year because she had not made the agreed payments.

Outcome: the provider agreed to consider putting Voula back on its affordability program and with a payment arrangement. They also offered a $100 customer service gesture. Voula accepted the offer and was referred to community agencies for an EAPA assessment and financial counselling.

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