A Wolcott woman thought she was paying her electric bill on time, right up until the point she received a collection notice in the mail.
Jennifer Bonevento says she thought her monthly payment plan with Eversource was set in stone, until she got that notice in the mail. A company representative said she missed a payment and when she couldn’t rectify it with Eversource, NBC Connecticut Responds stepped in.
If you ask Bonevento about the cost to heat her home, she will tell you it’s pretty steep.
“In the winter, it can be between $400 and $800 a month,” she said.
She relies on electric to warm her 1700-square-foot townhouse.
To ease the financial burden, Bonevento set up a $405 monthly payment plan in January with Eversource.
“I mean the rates kept rising and rising and rising,” said Bonevento.
Bonevento checked her receipt to verify the payment plan. The problem was, the payment plan wasn’t showing up on online and Eversource told her they never received her first payment.
“It was the end of January and we had received the mail and it said that they were going to shut off my electricity,” Bonevento said.
Frantic, Bonevento called Eversource.
“I was like, well, this is crazy. I pay my bill every single month…what is going on?” said Bonevento.
Since Eversource said they hadn’t receive her payment, a representative told Bonevento she had to pay even more money in addition to her current utility bill to keep the power on.
“I was like I have documentation. I have the emails. I have print outs. They still couldn’t find it,” said Bonevento.
After attempting to resolve the issue with Eversource with no luck, she turned to NBC Connecticut Responds for help.
“I was just so frustrated,” said Bonevento.
After we reached out, an Eversource spokesperson told us:
“The issue was immediately addressed with the customer and resolved it to her satisfaction.”
The solution brought Jennifer’s Eversource account to a zero balance on her next bill.
“I was so grateful to you guys that, that you guys helped. I mean that was the greatest,” said Bonevento.
