hydro "police" only care about illegal hook ups and bypasses. they could care less about screwing over the customer

I called Rogers, in the afternoon for service, and the rep asked why I wasn't in school. I am almost 50, and a woman my voice sounds youthful but I do speak in a very articulate manner. I think there is some bias for how she was treated. This woman needs to be taken more seriously because I agree it is BC's fault. I hope an attorney is watching this news piece and willing to represent her.

@@user-ro7ps1rr3p Not sure where she lives: but in many places you are required to have utilities hooked up to reside in a dwelling.

@@user-ro7ps1rr3p From Alberta Minimum Housing and Health Standards: "Housing Regulations and the Minimum Housing and Health Standards are also different from building and other construction codes in that the latter are enforced primarily through a system of permits which are granted after plans and specifications have been submitted and evaluated and at which time the construction would be subject to inspection. The appropriate government and accredited agencies maintain control through their power to issue and withhold the required permits. Housing Regulations and the Minimum Housing and Health Standards, however, are enforced by inspections of housing premises by Public Health Inspectors/Executive Officers of Regional Health Authorities on a systematic or complaint basis."

@@user-ro7ps1rr3phindsight is 20/20… In reality virtually no electrician would have ever seen this problem before and more than likely, would tell her to contact BC hydro. And the odds that she’s talked to multiple people and trades about the issue is also high. Much of our intelligence comes from pattern recognition/repetition-whereas this is falls into the one off category-making it incomprehensible, hence being blocked every time she tried to tackle the problem. However, in your version, by taking matters into your own hands and cutting the power would have instantly solved the problem. Even if they just shut it off for five minutes while the neighbours were home-could have cracked the case!

Sorry BC hydro has better lawyers.

​@Atite_Lometen yeee but they also don't mind paying out to keep her mouth shut 20k is peanuts for a company like that

@@mrpotatorocks Exactly why she's on the news, same with banks, the more publicity you get the faster the companies settle, no publicity and the companies do nothing.

@@Atite_Lometen Lawyers don't matter. The law does. BC Hydro breached contract and overcharged her. Bring it to court, and she'll get her money back, and BC Hydro would get a reaming from a judge for not resolving this case outside of the courtroom.

Just let them try to bill you then contact your banks security department for fraud. No matter how big they always quiver in the face of those of actually control the world. It’s how I got amazon to finally stop dragging their feet after I got scammed by a third party seller before.

For every person like this though there is a massive onslaught of people who claim things without realizing they lets say are running appliances that have massive phantom drain. First if you suspect a problem you should compare what the meter read vs what is displayed on your bill. In this case it would read drastically different, unless if the electrician cross the wires in the walls at which point it also becomes how would Hydro know the wiring internally was done wrong. If it was drastically different as well, then you would easily be able to see that the meter right next to it was reading the numbers near your bill. So at that point you take that issue to hydro. The other thing being, you turn off your main breaker, look at your hydro meter, wait an hour or two and check again. You should have used no energy, but if you did you know that the lines have been switched.

She should contact the ombudsman

There is a clause in Canada where an apology does not constitute an admission of guilt. That said they're extremely guilty.

Say it’s people like you is why you companies don’t apologize because you immediately say they admitted guilt, which is why they can’t apologize. They indicated they paid her the overage. Punitive damages would be a court issue if she wants to sue.

@@neilkurzman4907 yes, it's people like me, posting a comment on YT that is the problem in this story...

@@user-eo1vz9lt8g Sorry my comment was targeted those in the United States. In the United States companies cannot apologize since that would basically mean they lose in court even if they were innocent yet many Americans demand apologies that they know they can’t get.

The owe her 5k plus interest for 12 years that's 6k at most.

So if you work for BC hydro billing or maintenance, you are a SHILL, go away. If you don't work for them and don't have a 2nd magical connection to her metrr, you know absolutely nothing! Why should she trust THEIR incompetence when it comes to calculating her loss? Court would settle it more independently, and perhaps impose punative measures as well. ​@TentaclePentacle

@@TentaclePentacle Plus adjusted for inflation.

The way she is demanding things I hope she takes them to court; as she will quickly realize that she is owed a whole lot less. The boxes were switched [which could still be the fault of the electrician who did the initial install] so they have the bill difference. The difference is what they offered her. While I do think they should pay her back with interest the amount she is asking for is essentially the full install cost [and she just recently installed solar which she includes in the cost]. Overall it was $5k over 12 years when hydro compared [and that assumes BC hydro didn't already factor in interest]. That's $416 a year difference, and the earlier times it is most likely less because there wasn't he solar. She is asking for over $20k, her settlement offer is just an insult

Statutes of limitation vary province to province, but there's no way to go back 12 years in any province. Not even 10. In Ontario it's 2.

Exactly. If they had listened to her from the beginning they wouldn’t be in this situation. They ignored her, they made her pay for someone else’s bills. Disgusting 🤮 behaviour from this company. She deserves compensation.

@@kerrynicholls6683 They did offer her compensation. She wants compensation which would effectively amount to having solar installed and the heating installed. We don't even know the extent of what the issue was as it could have been wiring inside the house that caused the general issue as it looks like it's a duplex. This could easily be resolved by herself as well. If the meters ID's were switch, which would be BC Hydros fault, then when she thought there was an issue she could have easily just looked at the meter reading and looked at her bill. From there she could have just told BC Hydro that the bill meter reading doesn't match her statement. If it is the case where the wiring got crisscrossed which would be the original installer not Hydros fault, then they wouldn't really have known even if they went and checked her house.

is that how much it cost back in 2011?

I know our contractor only got a 10% discount from retail cost. He cannot get wholesale pricing because he doesn't have the volume required to access wholesale pricing. Our contractor paid $6588.43 USD for our heat pump. Our install was less than $1,000 and took a team of 3 about half a day to install. With taxes it cost a little under $9k. I got a rebate of $5k from the government so, my final cost was around $4k. I did all site prep myself to save time and money on the install.

The bigger rip off is you math :) Let's apply your logic if you will 8000 (minimum cost) - 3000 (maximum HP price) = 5000. Divided by 12 hours of labor = 416 dollars/hour. Or the other way round: 10K - 2K / 12 hours = 667 dollars/hour. I don't know about you, but either wage point is not really acceptable to me. Or are there more items you need to account for?

She must've replaced the entire system for that much (excluding duct work). Outdoor unit, indoor coil, indoor unit, thermostat, wiring, etc. And on top of that, it wasn't installed properly because it absolutely does not have the proper clearances and most likely doesn't breathe well.

$15k that's all. I was getting quotes for $45k.

Where do you find one of them? I can’t, I tried. I got thrown around to three different places and got no help, or a lawyer.

Except she sues them and the judge would give her...dun dun dun...the amount they offered her. She is demanding almost the cost of her expenses for the heat pump and solar. Yes she was overcharged but BC Hydro offered her the difference [and maybe more] in regards to what she lost out on

What is she going to sue them for. Does she think they didn’t give her the full amount back. They’re not paying for a heating system. That’s not what they do.

New meters do not spin.

@@hotpuppy1 Ok, fine, if the digital numbers are increasing.

She is greedy she wants 24k. She is owed 6k at most with penalties.

It would depend on their policy. If they only give credit for overcharging then that is what it is and going into court would be a dangerous precedent to set for all business. Where I have a problem with is that she notified them of the problem with their equipment and they did nothing, they sent nobody to check on it. Now if she makes changes to her property to save money on her bills that isn't Hydro's responsibility to pay for that, that is considered an investment on your own property. But it highlighted that equipment of Hydro's wasn't working and from the day she made them aware until present day that is what she is afforded. Hydro can argue how are they to know the meter was or was not working properly before that day she notified them?

@@barcelonachair6487 The issue is the meters were either switched, or rather the internal wiring might switch it. Especially if the wiring in the wall was where it switched then Hydro wouldn't realistically be able to easily know that even if they came out. Sure the person complained, but I'm sure hydro gets lots of complaints like this where the energy savings someone is expecting doesn't manifest itself. It's easy enough for the home owner themselves to verify anyways, the homeowner would switch off the main breaker. After that look at the meter to see the power usage [which should read zero]. Then turn on the heatpump and check the reading. If in that case you don't see it hit zero and then a large load, you know that the wires were switch [which while still "Hydro's issue" it also is one that wouldn't be detectable by hydro]. If it did match up, then she should have been able to easily say "my meter reading doesn't match my bills reading"...at which point Hydro would investigate. I suspect the amount offered by hydro is one where it also includes the interest payments as well.

@@barcelonachair6487 The meter wasn't broken, it looks like a duplex so on the exterior either the meters were swapped OR the interior had it wired up so it would be switched. In either case it would have been easy for her to prove something is wrong. You look at your bill and then look at the meter. I suspect she might have just called them up and said my bill is too high I think something is wrong.

Meter might have matched bill, but wiring in behind those meters was crossed. .....

What?! That’s even crazier. That’s the home builder

@@elizamay6402 You're telling me that Sharpie isn't infallable?

It’s entirely possible it went un-noticed. I like to think I’d notice something like that, but for most people who are 1) not aware of their consumption and 2) don’t care to scrutinize bills likely just would not notice. Also 12 years - that house could have easily had multiple tenants/owners in that time.

Think about what your response was here for a second Steve... "Damn bottom feeders" - jesus Steve... Let BC Hydro entirely off the hook for THEIR mistake that lasted over a decade, while ignoring the notifications from the person who was losing thousands of dollars, and now likely has to get a lawyer for any shot of making anything close to her money essentially jacked by BC Hydro and handed to whomever lived in this house during the entire stint. Somebody else pointed out for example, somebody could have moved out shorly after she installed the heat pump, you have no idea, and then everything would just seem pretty normal to them moving forward... Youre the type of guy to just complain about the homeless population, but then ALSO complain that you dont want the govt to spend a single penny of "your tax dollars" to help get "these bottom feeders" off the streets, and get a roof over their heads... Think about what you just said... 0:36 - This lady says she informed BC Hydro something was wrong MULTIPLE times, and they dismissed her concerns (clearly, since the issue went on for over a DECADE) Your response weirdly lays WAY too much fault on the consumer, not BC Hydro, who screwed up in the first place, and then screwed up in the second place, refused to check out the issue once, for once again I remind you, OVER A DECADE... Nvm screwing up a third time, and not IMMEDIATELY jumping on her settlement over that was thousands of dollars below what shes rightfullly owed... Not to mention this assumes completely they didnt also say something, and just like she says she was, these neighbors were ALSO ignored. On and on I could go, but I hope you see what you said here was very goofy indeed...

Only time I check my bills is when it goes over a certain amount. Most of the time, its just paid.

Here gonna bill the neighbors why fighting this poor lady for every last penny.

Damn now that I think about it, this has happened to me in Winnipeg. I've cut down use of hydro significantly over a period of a year but the hydro bill and water as well remained consistently high. Meanwhile, my neighbour would talk about how low his bill is every month.

Government agencies in B.C. are notorious for screwing over their customers!! You're lucky you are in Ontario!!

I think that’s how they came up with the 5k credit. She’s asking them to give her the cost of the heat pump and solar panels (but obviously the solar panels were JUST installed since they are what tipped them off that something was wrong when the power was being backfed into the wrong meter) - they haven’t had time yet to generate savings.

No electrician handles those meters...at least you better not be. Only a lineman or meter department employee does that.

Full reimbursement is 5k. But I think she should get a little extra for interest which should be 6k at most.

They shouldn’t go after the neighbour either as none of this was their fault either. This is ALL on BC Hydro.

@@DougWolfe I agree, but if they only wanna offer a 5k discount after 12 yrs, I guess that means they figure the neighbour saved 5 K after 12 years. Neighbour is good, she deserves more.

There's a real possibility that they will give the neighbour(s) the old bills to pay over the course of multiple years. Both past and present.

@@ivanvarela3215 exactly. nice that it got exposed tho.

The should go after the neighbour otherwise taxpayers subsidized their electricity bill. Imagine if a bank accidentally deposited a $1M in my bank account... is it free money? Just because the mistake was not my fault it doesn't give me any rights to the funds.

That means the water company pays you. Thank your contractors.