Alternatives to JCPL

[vmastro87 0]

Im getting a divorce and im keeping my house (+1 for me wooOo), i called to switch the electric into my name and they want a $270 deposit!!!! WTF!?!?!? Does anyone use someone different? I dont care if the other company requires a deposit its more about principal, the nasty girl on the phone was talking to me like I was some A hole and really pissed me off.

[mark_anthony_78 0]

A deposit just to change the account holder's name?

 

It's not like they are doing a service connect/disconnect here...    Can you just change your account info online?

[DSD1026 48]

well..........  it may be that vmastro doesnt have the credit rating/history that the ex wife does/did..  (and vmastro, i do not know your situation, this just a "maybe" thought i had)...   that said, i use JCP&L, so i'm of no real help to you... 

[vmastro87 0]

well..........  it may be that vmastro doesnt have the credit rating/history that the ex wife does/did..  (and vmastro, i do not know your situation, this just a "maybe" thought i had)...   that said, i use JCP&L, so i'm of no real help to you... 

lol i have no perfect score that is for sure but a "two bill" deposit for a 700 score seems a little heavy considering all there doing is typing in a name. plus there was no reason at all to treat me like a criminal on the phone.

[vmastro87 0]

A deposit just to change the account holder's name?

 

It's not like they are doing a service connect/disconnect here...    Can you just change your account info online?

tried u cant, there ridiculous.

[AverageJoe 95]

Ask to speak to a manager/supervisor, ask if this is normal process, etc...get the 411 behind it.

[10X 3,306]

What actually happens to the money? 'Deposit' implies you get it back at some point, which is a little less annoying. I agree, if it's really a fee they are charging, it sucks.

 

Could you leave it in her name but set it up for online bill pay (to make sure you always see the bills?). JCPL won't care who actually makes the payment, as long as they get paid. Downside is those payments, if made on time , will help her credit rating, not yours.

[vmastro87 0]

What actually happens to the money? 'Deposit' implies you get it back at some point, which is a little less annoying. I agree, if it's really a fee they are charging, it sucks.

 

Could you leave it in her name but set it up for online bill pay (to make sure you always see the bills?). JCPL won't care who actually makes the payment, as long as they get paid. Downside is those payments, if made on time , will help her credit rating, not yours.

shes being civil, but not that civil lol, i will get it back in 12 months but im a little tapped right now from this divorce and they refuse to let u split up the 270, she told it "must be payed in one shot or you wont get it back".

[Pizza Bob 1,488]

Definitely ask to speak to a manager or supervisor and tell them how you were treated and ask the reason for the deposit behind just an account holder name-change, since no actual work is being done.

 

That said, I don't know of any areas where you have your choice of actual electrical suppliers. The solicitations you get in the mail are just brokers looking to sell you electricity that they buy in "blocks" from the actual supplier for your area. It is like commodities trading. They buy at a good rate and resell it to you. Hopefully, when you are billed it is higher than what they paid, but less than current market value - they make money and you have a savings. Unfortunately, just like a commodity, it can go the other way too. My mother (92 YO) signed something official looking and inadvertently changed to one of these brokers. This past winter (it is over, isn't it?) due to the extreme cold, the broker obviously under bought and had to buy more at a premium price - which of course gets passed on to the consumer. She got an $800 bill for one month. When I called the electric company (not the broker - the electric company does all the billing, repairs etc) and they told me that the rate from the broker was $.12 / kW hr while their current rate was $.05 / kW hr. Fortunately switching back took just a phone call and one billing cycle.

 

Something definitely doesn't sound kosher with your situation. Good luck.

 

Adios,

 

Pizza Bob

[Nac 3]

Yes Jcpl requires a deposit every time i have a tenant move out of my house they make me give them a deposit and then mail back to me a couple months later

 

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

 

 

[AverageJoe 95]

Heres a lil factoid...Dave Ramsey, well known financial adviser...millionaire went bankrupt turn back to millionaire...has a credit score of 0, yes ZERO...his cable provider made him pay a 500 deposit for his service...even tho hes a millionaire...in the end these various service providers are CTA's to make sure they get their $....also another thing to think of...companies are getting away from subsidizing their new customers fees...for instance it costs a cell phone provider approx $600-700 to bring on a new post pay customer...it then takes approx 4 months to recoup that and start making $ off that customer. Now with JCPL,they have their reasons/policies for the 270...ask to speak to a manager right away and ask them to explain the policy.

[effd27145 0]

PSE&G did the same thing to me a few years back when I first opened an account with them, they wanted a ridiculous deposit. I called them and they explained that if you link a bank account and let them automatically deduct the bill from your account there would be no required deposit.

[vmastro87 0]

Definitely ask to speak to a manager or supervisor and tell them how you were treated and ask the reason for the deposit behind just an account holder name-change, since no actual work is being done.

 

That said, I don't know of any areas where you have your choice of actual electrical suppliers. The solicitations you get in the mail are just brokers looking to sell you electricity that they buy in "blocks" from the actual supplier for your area. It is like commodities trading. They buy at a good rate and resell it to you. Hopefully, when you are billed it is higher than what they paid, but less than current market value - they make money and you have a savings. Unfortunately, just like a commodity, it can go the other way too. My mother (92 YO) signed something official looking and inadvertently changed to one of these brokers. This past winter (it is over, isn't it?) due to the extreme cold, the broker obviously under bought and had to buy more at a premium price - which of course gets passed on to the consumer. She got an $800 bill for one month. When I called the electric company (not the broker - the electric company does all the billing, repairs etc) and they told me that the rate from the broker was $.12 / kW hr while their current rate was $.05 / kW hr. Fortunately switching back took just a phone call and one billing cycle.

 

Something definitely doesn't sound kosher with your situation. Good luck.

 

Adios,

 

Pizza Bob

thats what i was wondering so nvm. Thanks for the good info guys ill give them a call.

[DSD1026 48]

i do not recall doing this as a new customer a decade ago when we moved into our house..  must be something fairly new (maybe since the crash?) 

[bry@n 195]

When my wife and I built out home, we moved the utilities from the builder to my name without a deposit.

 

I've been asked for deposits before. Usually they will credit the bills after a predetermined time.

[oneshot 45]

I hadn't had a utility in my name for quite some time. JCP&L did not ask me for a deposit for my house not only that but i had them move my service cables to a mid-span tie in. No charge. That was last April

[vmastro87 0]

Just called NJ natural Gas $15 to change my name, go figure!!!

[oneshot 45]

Just called NJ natural Gas $15 to change my name, go figure!!!

buy a natural gas generator . problem solved lol. i wonder what it would cost to power the average home that way

[HBecwithFn7 296]

I hadn't had a utility in my name for quite some time. JCP&L did not ask me for a deposit for my house not only that but i had them move my service cables to a mid-span tie in. No charge. That was last April

 

In some cases, if you'e moving from one location with one utility to another location with a different utility (i.e. PSEG<-->JCPL, etc.), you might be able to use the original utility as a "reference," therefore negating the need for a "deposit." I've done that on occasion. Might be worth checking out.

 

It will be fun when I finally leave NJ for Florida (sometime in the distant future).  I'll have to hope my NJ utility references can be honored.  .

[Luso 6]

I would not recommend going with a deregulated supplier, for many practical reasons. You don't push a volume worth even trying to game the market in a family home, or with enough incentive for a broker to squeeze on your price point. I was in the business for years and if you like I can explain further over a PM. That stuff is really only beneficial for industrial or large biz customers whose volumes command a broker or ESCO's respect. Presuming no catastrophic market shifts happen in your favor, (highly unlikely) it doesn't do anything. If those brokers had some unforeseen knowledge of said catastrophic market shifts, they would be buying/shorting like crazy and not wasting their time soliciting the miniscule KWH usage of a single family home.

 

Stick with JCPL. They are mandated by the BPU to only take a certain percentage of profit off of you, so your prices from them are always market rate plus a small heavily-regulated markup for them. If the futures plummet after they have already sourced your supply, they technically have to refund their ratepayers on a future invoice. It is very, very rare that you win going with an ESCO in a single family home---your load profile is unique, but very very small (in terms of volume of usage). To hedge their risk, they have to markup your price, but also likely include a broker fee. You would need the market to rise substantially to cover the broker rate, the ESCO markup, and then some for you to save anything off of what the utility might be experiencing at the current market rate and make it worth the hassle. Plus, electricity is cyclical by demand (high summer, low winter). It usually washes anyway with slight fluctuations year to year.

 

the deposit could just be a credit threshold they maintain due to your change of custody. They should reimburse it to you over time. stick with the utility for your own sanity