Your utility bills are are the monthly expenses you can't escape and when a Haltom City woman's bills didn't match her meter, she called NBC 5 Responds.
Rita Moehlman monitors her meters, diligently checking every meter every month.
"It's advice I got from my mom when she was still alive," she said.
Her mom's advice paid off in August when her Atmos Energy gas bill was $341.50.
"I'm like, 'Oh my goodness! This can't possibly be right,'" she recalled.
Moehlman checked her meter and then called Atmos.
"I said, 'I need this re-read because my reading is different than yours,'" she recounted.
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Moehlman said she had to call three times and when a technician read her meter, he discovered her bill was actually $24.49. Moehlman had been overcharged more than $317.
"I was livid," she said.
In an email, a company spokesman said no one read Moelman's meter that month. The usage was "was estimated."
"I said, 'How can that be legal?'" Moehlman said.
In Texas, it is legal. The state utility commission said utility companies can estimate your bills no "more than three consecutive billing cycles." An atmos official said the company's practice is "not to estimate more than two consecutive months ... ensuring a customer never pays for more energy than actually used" because corrections are made when the meter is read.
But in January, Moehlman's bill raised another red flag.
"I looked at that and I go, 'There's no way it can be $141,'" Moehlman remembers.
She took this picture, and contacted Atmos asking the company to read the meter again. But she says no one came. So she contacted NBC 5 Responds.
An Atmos official apologized, telling NBC 5 Responds that this time the bill was not an estimate, it was an accident - an incident in which the meter reader accidentally punched one wrong number.
"Ms Moehlman's August bill was both highly unusual and an isolated mistake," an official responded by email.
Moehlman actually owes about $77.
"That's a big difference from $141," said Moehlman.
She believes everyone should take her mom's advice.
"Keep an eye on your meter," she said. "Read it every month."
The Atmos official went on to say that any estimated bill is clearly marked and if customers prefer prefer to have their meters read, just call 888-286-6700.
NBC 5 Responds has the following advice:
- If you have any questions about your bill, read your meter yourself. Your gas meter will have dials. Texas Gas Service and Atmos Energy have instructions on how to read your meter.
- Take a picture of your meter to dispute charges.
- If you have an issue you can't resolve, file a complaint with the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
