New PWL customers will have credit checked

PRESCOTT – Prescott’s City Council approved an ordinance at its September meeting Monday night to run credit checks on new customers for utility services.

The panel passed an ordinance to run credit checks and set meter deposit fees accordingly, along with a resolution to enter into a contract with Online Information Services of North Carolina to run the credit checks.

This was done because of the number of people who come to Prescott, have utilities turned on, stay for a few months, run up a bill and leave without paying. The current deposit amount of $100 rarely covers the amount owed.

City Attorney Glenn Vasser said this will cost the city $30 a month for the subscription service and $2.85 per credit check. The contract is good for a year, but can be voided with a 30-day notice. It will automatically renew after a year if nothing is done otherwise. He told the panel the deposit amount will be based on the customer’s credit rating, with the deposit ranging from $100 to $300.

Vasser and Larry Jones, electrical operations manager, said the amounts are less than other utility companies in the area, which were checked prior to the ordinance being written. The ordinance is patterned after the one in Hope, though the connection fees are less with Prescott’s ordinance. It also includes a one-time fee for landlords who need utilities on to do cleaning and/or repairs to their properties after renters leave.

Jones told the council Prescott Water and Light had 211 accounts opened and closed in the last 12 months (from Sept. 2017 to Sept. 2018), and the department lost an average of $300 per account when people skipped on their bill. According to Jones, this type of ordinance is how most utility companies are doing business now to protect themselves.

Credit checks, Vasser said, will be color coded along the lines of traffic lights. Green is for good or excellent credit, yellow for average credit, and red for poor or bad credit. These credit checks, he said, will be covered by the privacy act so no one can else can find out.

Under the ordinance, those with good credit will pay a deposit of $100. Those with average credit will pay $150, while those with bad or poor credit will have to cough up $300 to have utilities turned on. The ordinance also contains a section for owners of commercial property. The deposit amounts range from $00-$600 depending on their credit rating.

However, the deposit amounts can be doubled if an applicant has failed to pay delinquent accounts on a timely basis twice in a year; has submitted insufficient fund checks for payment twice in a year; misrepresents their identity to get services; or has engaged in, unauthorized or fraudulent use to get services, or has tampered with wires, meters or other city equipment in connection with previous service.

The reconnection fee will be $25 if done during normal business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and $50 if connected after 5 o’clock.

Jones was asked about when the department pulled meters for non-payment. He said customers get a 10-day notice before they’re late, and another 10-days before the meter is pulled, but the department also takes weather conditions into account and doesn’t pull meters when it’s either extremely hot or cold. Normally, he said, people have 30 days to pay their bill before the meter is pulled, and another 30 days before the account is turned over to a collection agency.

Councilman Susie Meeks said people are having trouble paying their bills now and asked how they would be expected to pay double the connection fee.

Jones pointed out the ordinance will primarily affect new or returning customers, not existing customers. The PW&L, he said works with existing customers to make sure they pay their bills, and sets up payment plans to help with this.

This ordinance, he said, isn’t as strict or expensive as others, because the economic problems of the area were taken into consideration when it was drafted.