There are no breaks with NSP. Period! After battling a rediculously high power bill for years, and always chasing our overdue bill, we finally got it paid down, and what does NSP do? They suddenly decide to charge us a damage deposit of $800!!!! Are you kidding me? I finally get my payments up to date and I’m back in the minus!!! -$1200 or something with my new bill added!!! So I call and ask if I do, somehow, come up with this “damage deposit” when will I get it back?? Oh, after 2 years of PERFECT payment history, or until you no longer need our service…….sooooo that would be never!!!!!???????????????????????????????????
—Nova Scotia Power-hater!
This article appears in Dec 3-9, 2009.
um… pay your bills on time and maybe this wouldn’t be an issue?
use candles on the tree like in the old days. The use the insurance money from the fire to pay the power bill.
LMAO @ Miles.
So why would you never get the money back? Do you plan on not paying NSP every month? Sounds to me like NSP did the right thing in getting $800 up front.
And another thing: If you finally got caught up, and NSP dings you with the $800 charge, how does that add up to -$1200. I know I am not the best with number, but that does not add up to me.
I agree, pay your bills like every other financially responsible person.
Deadbeat.
Wow I thought the $150 deposit plus $24 connection charge I recently had to pay was bad enough! Aren’t monopolies wonderful!
1200-800=400 So…400$ for one two-month bill?
Maybe you should cut back on the arc-welding a little.
Maybe the OP is trying to emulate CERN with a little Hadron Collider action in their basement??
This only happens if your a terrible payer or if your disconnected for non-payment.
Its a service provided to you. Don’t take it for granted.
cell phone companies are the same way… you get behind and then catch up…. you then need to prove to them you won’t do it again so they ask for the deposit.
200 a month though in power… you must keep it like hawaii in your electrically heated house..
or maybe you’re about to sell your crop and should have the cash in a couple weeks…..
Wow, the amount of “pay up and shut” comments here are surprising.
Anyone ever do research on the profit NSP is making off of the wage slaves (majoritively) in Nova Scotia?
Anyone consider the monopoly NSP holds and the dangers in having such a death grip on a vital utility?
My sympathies OP, hopefull you will not miss one payment in two years, NSpower.
Don’t bet on getting that deposit back after 2 years, either, OP. Unless you’re prepared to hound them for it — I paid a $200 deposit in 2005 because I had never had an account before, and I’m *still* waiting for it back. And yes, I’ve been prompt with all my payments, so it’s not like they used it to apply to overdue charges.
$200/month is a bit high, but maybe OP meant $200/bill, which is 2 months, is it not?
Depending on the type of heat/home they have that’s not completely unreasonable. Mine’s hovering at $150/bill cycle and I live in an apartment (though I will say it *is* the size of a small bungalow, however, my heat is paid for, so it’s just straight power usage).
Give OP a break, guys. They’re obviously struggling to make ends meet!
Sell the hydroponic set up… Problem solved…
HAHA run a generator on diesel for that crop man!! Agree with posters – how the hell do you end up 1000″s behind payment catching up – what hell you running besides a grow show in that house . But yea on the other side of the coin – they do charge 200 deposit with people with either bad or no service record with them . I do believe they can only hold that deposit for 1 year and pay it at end of said 12 months with interest. MAybe an indepth investigation of the utilities regulations and rules muight uncovevr sometning else – but i thiink thats how it goes . Even so – it’s easyier to get into a nun then get your deposit back regardless of payment history .
Your own fault.
Turn the computer/TV/lights off when you’re not using them, OP. Messages over MSN or mIRC aren’t that important!
Hey! Stop bullying Bon!
Come on, Bon. Tell PK that you’re not going to tolerate her bullying any longer and take a stand!
Any deposit requested by a legislated monopoly is irresponsible. I can see cell phone providers requesting one, simply because they’re not a required service (unlike power) and there’s competition. It is unfair, especially considering that the way to get it back is to have two years of perfect payments, by every due date, and no issues with lost payments (this happens more often than you might think).
a word of advice…get the power shut off when you are leaving a business, don’t rely on the meter reading either i have been dealing with them for 3 months and there is still no place i can go speak to a human or an animal
Maybe you should pay on time?
Give the OP the benefit of the doubt. Would this sort of thing happen if they fell behind only one month? That does seem to be excessive if they were behind by only one month and spent a year working to catch up.
I’ve never missed a power bill payment but I have fallen behind on my credit card payments before. It’s not that hard to do.
OP DID say they were attempting to catch up. It’s not always possible to pay your bills on time! Sometimes things happen! Give the poor OP a break! At least they DID get caught up and didn’t have their balance sent to collections (NSP does do that you know!).
Anyone ever see the ad where the woman in the kitchen has to choose between food or electricity? There are far too many people living in this province like that. Give someone the benefit of the doubt!
I understand the OP. The gov’t has taken it upon themselves to manage this “essential service” so how so many people having the same issues from one month to the next in making ends meet is considered “good” management is a real head-turner. I think it’s time our gov’t show a leadership position in green energy. Take it the extra step and endeavor to get Canadians to stop sucking on gov’t tits. I’m nearly positive we originally thought gov’t was key to creating a sustainable future for ALL Canadians so regulating and legislating electric power may be a part of that but making INDEPENDENT Canadians should ALWAYS have been the objective.
All technologies go through a cycle of centralization (when it’s novel) then decentralization when the “fad” becomes a “trend”… another period of centralization so all the best new features of the technology are available to the masses and then again to a period of decentralization as the technology is perfected and made cheaper, faster, etc. The ONLY reason this sort of technological growth does not happen in the land of energy creation and distribution is BECAUSE of gov’t-cared-for BUSINESSES like NSP.
OP, $800 seems excessive and likely exclusive to you, you “lucky” sap. Call your MP. You’re no different than any other citizen out there. Even with your payment history such a demand seems discriminatory To withhold an essential service for such an exorbitant deposit requirement might even be illegal. This is exactly what an MP is for.
And just quick a note to all the fucking bitches on this board… If the OP were financing a grow-up with NSP this bitch wouldn’t exist since the FIRST thing such a criminal would do is pay the power bill to ensure the operation continues to produce R-E-V-E-N-U-E. Smarten’ up, bitches!
If you hate NSP, try Maritime Electric in PEI. They charge literally double, and the power goes out for no reason, ALL THE TIME. NSP never went out in 4 years I lived there, but in a year and a half here the power’s gone out at least twice every month, and only once the entire time was there any good reason for it.
good reasons like salt and raccoons?