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NEWS & LETTERS,
August-September 2002
Gas bill muggings
Chicago--Don’t rejoice when you hear corporations like
Enron and Arthur Anderson going down for corruption. You may be paying for it. Peoples Energy, the virtual monopoly in the natural gas
industry in Chicago, is showing its gratitude to those who went on strike and
protested price increases by firing employees and cutting off those delinquent
with their gas bills at a speedier rate. To get service restored, the consumer has to pay the
full bill plus a deposit--no exceptions. In addition, the company has enforced a
“two strike, you’re out” payment plan within a year. During off winter
season, the consumer must front 25% of the bill. During the winter season,
consumers must pay 10% within seven days, so a $1000 bill must have $100 as a
down payment. If you miss this payment you have only one other time
during the year to have an opportunity to not have your gas shut off. Consumers
used to go months or years without getting their gas shut off on delinquent
bills, but amidst corporate scandal, corporations are fighting back in more
blatant ways. It’s as if the consumer is at fault for high prices and
downsizing. Now, when payment arrangements are not fulfilled and
bills are overdue, you will receive a “friendly” phone call reminder. The
nature of customer service is now based on “the corporation is always right.” One employee who handled billing complaints was fired
for signing over customer’s checks to her personal bank account. Instead of
informing the customers, they were cut off faster. Employees are intimidated
from future strike activities by increased firings. Corporate abuse has long been ignored by the mainstream,
and now that some examples of it have come to light, it is also time to expose
how everyday social relations are poisoned within the corporate structure. Now,
amidst retribution, it will be harder for consumers and workers to organize
around this societal abuse. --Akili |
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