Utility workers need to do their jobs

I bought my home back last December. Now that being said, I have three dogs, all of which are on chains. One of my dogs is tied up out in the front yard in front of the front door, but far enough away that he can’t reach anyone. The other two dogs (the big dogs) are on heavy duty chains out in the back yard. And they are all tied to trees. Well my little dog out front is a Min Pin. Every month my gas meter reader walks across the front walk past my little yappy dog. My electric meter is around the back of the garage on the opposite side of the house. Well little did I know that for the first four months that I lived here, they weren’t reading my electric meter. The meter reader saw my little dog out in the front yard, and labeled him a vicious dog. My little dog will yap but he runs from anyone he doesn’t know. And as I said, they don’t have to go anywhere near where he is tied up to read the electric meter.

So anyways, they didn’t read my meter for four months. Then suddenly I get a bill for over $1000. As a single mother, there is NO WAY that I can come up with that kind of money on short notice. So of course they cut my power off. I contacted the local agencies for assistance. It seemed like I was getting one big run around after another. Finally the power company after a week said that if I could come up with $279 they would turn my power back on. And in order to remain on the Shut off Protection Program, I have to pay $339 a month.  I have two small children at home, a 20 yr old criminal record; and unable to get a job. I can’t get child support on my son because the State of Michigan doesn’t want to make his father pay support because he claims to be homeless, while employed.

It seems like every direction I turn, I can’t catch a break to save my life. I paid my light bill every month when it came in. It’s not my fault that the meter wasn’t being read. So why am I being punished for the meter reader failing to do his job? And now I owe Consumers Energy over $2400. Not my idea of a good deal at all. And I can almost bet that the meter reader isn’t getting reprimanded for failure to do his job. So of course all of this falls on me.