Florence Utilites ripoff Will not allow a customer to have their gas furnace pilot light turned off in the warms months when the heat is not needed Florence Alabama
Florence Utilites will not allow a customer to have their gas furnace pilot light turned off in the warms months when the heat is not needed.
1) If you want it turned off you must pay a fee to them of 45 dollars,and then pay again to turn iot back on, or keep it turned on all through the summer months,when it is not needed and pay them for something you are not using ( approximatly 10 dollars per month).
2) You can not even have a licensed plumber turn it off for you.. they say no oone is allowed to touch the little knob on the meter that turns the gas off.
#3) This is a clear case of extortion. You must pay for something even though you do not use it you pay them if you dont use it, or you pay if they shut it for you EXTORTION.
Jon
florence, Alabama
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Mike
Radford,Virginia,
U.S.A.
What you are paying for...
#2Consumer Suggestion
Sun, June 08, 2003
First, it is common sense that if you are going to not need the furnace for more than 4 1/2 months you're ahead to have them turn the gas off in the spring and back on in the fall. The $45.00 is to pay someone to come out and turn the valve and light the pilot, also to set up your name and address in their accounting computers.
There is always a knob either on or inside the furnace that will turn the pilot light off and keep it from using any gas during the summer. It's your furnace and you or someone you hire can turn it off and on at any time. Don't do anything with the furnace unless you know what you're doing. If you hire a furnace technician to show you how it works, they'll probably want to sell you a new furnace. The ones with pilot lights have been obsolete for quite a while, and it may make sense to eventually replace it.
So you get to where your furnace isn't using any gas in the summertime, but what will really frost you then is that you'll still get a bill for maybe $5 to $8 per month. Even though you're now using NO gas. This is to pay the guy who reads the meter (he doesn't need to be as qualified as the turn the valve and light the furnace guy, so it's less) and again have the (big, expensive) computer prepare and mail you a bill. These charges are all likely regulated by the state government, since the gas utility is a monopoly.