Things happen. To everybody. All the careful planning in the world can’t tell you the outcome of a family member’s sudden severe illness, a plant closing or a bad car accident. The responsibilities keep coming, but support doesn’t cover all the problems. When the dust begins to clear, some basic needs may be in definite jeopardy. And the assault of emergency demands has done severe damage to your credit, leaving you with a record of bad credit and nothing to draw on.
If one of the basic needs put at risk by an emergency is your access to affordable electricity rates, there are solutions available even before your credit can be repaired. Charitable programs may not be able to forestall shutoff, but the reestablishment of reliable power calls for the assistance of your current electricity provider or another local energy supplier might. Many electricity companies offer programs that let you maintain access to electricity while getting back on your feet. Call and ask for information about no deposit electricity programs and prepaid electricity plans.
Applying For Electric Service Without Paying a Deposit
Families with low incomes, poor credit or emergency situations can apply for electric service without paying the usual advance deposit. Service can be started as soon as proof of residency is established, and consumers can pay month to month for the amount of service they need. In addition to waiving an advance deposit, most electricity companies offering no-deposit month-to-month energy plans also waive termination fees. Be sure to ask, however, when you set up your plan.
Paying for electric service becomes one more chore that can be managed over a smart-phone; in fact, paying for electric service then works very much like keeping a prepaid phone in operation. These plans are designed to provide power to people in credit crisis, but also to people with a variety of living situations that make adhering to an electricity contract difficult. People whose work dictates that they move frequently, those on military assignment or work-related temporary residence, families and individuals relocated from their homes by natural disaster or family crisis, students who live in the area for only the academic year and other people whose living situations may change during a year, find month-to-month prepayment a good way to keep service steady while dealing with more fluid circumstances.
Concerns About Getting a Prepaid Electricity Plan
Two concerns must be taken into consideration when you embark on a prepaid electricity plan. Like phone service, electric service must be paid for before it is used. Customers are responsible for keeping track of their accounts and keeping payments up to date. In exchange for the convenience of making several small payments a month or a large one when funds are available, consumers must forfeit receipt of a regular monthly electric bill, whether on paper or by text. A number of electricity companies will send a brief notice when funds are running low and power is in danger of cut-off, but you should ask when service starts whether you can expect notification or you must keep track of your account balance entirely on your own.
Leveling mechanisms are almost completely absent in no deposit no credit check electricity plans, and customers must prepare for fluctuations in rates, which will cause variations in charges for service. Monthly balances, if provided, will vary with market rates. Like fixed-rate plans, however, prepaid payment plans can be set up for specific terms, ranging from 1 to 18 months. Since some plans come with customer incentives, be sure to ask in detail if you can obtain a plan with special discounts or rebates.
Especially if you are dealing with a crisis, you may feel that obtaining electricity via a no deposit no credit check electricity plan puts you in a poor-customer category, energy companies know that these flexible plans appeal to customers in a wide variety of living situations and are an important part of their community customer base. Paperless billing, market fluctuation and bare-bones administration let electricity providers offer less-expensive access to customers who for many reasons may welcome a bargain.
Bad Credit Electricity is Not Synonym of Poor Service
Remember, also, that providing bad credit electricity to budget-stretching customers does not let electricity providers get away with bad account management, poor service or deceptive business practices of any kind. When you look for a company that will work with you in a financially-difficult time, expect the best in courtesy, information and service. You are likely to find a number of companies offering the services you need in your location; electric service is a highly competitive field, and providers know that today’s penny-pinchers may be only a few steps away from lives that use and demand a high level of service and supply.
