- Target:
- The Parliament and Government of The Bahamas
- Region:
- Bahamas
- Website:
- www.bahamas issues.com
THE SUFFERING OF THE BAHAMIAN PEOPLE!
PETITION AND POSSIBLE CLASS ACTION SUIT AGAINST THE BAHAMAS ELECTRICITY CORPORATION (BEC)
BEC A TOTAL RIP OFF!
Please Sign The BEC Petition
As too many of our people have been and are being oppressed and suppressed by the governmental public corporation and monopolistic electrical energy supplier, the Bahamas Electricity Corporation, AKA Buy Extra Candles (BEC).
Too many of our people are being oppressed and suppressed by the Government of The Bahamas, who have allowed BEC (for years to date), to do as they wish to the detriment of the Bahamian people, to the detriment of many businesses:
Approximately six thousand (6,000) plus BEC consumers electricity have been disconnected by BEC. Something must be wrong! As BEC claims such disconnections are due to non-payment or delinquent accounts, BUT we all know that this simply is not true.
THE PEOPLE OF NEW PROVIDENCE, GRAND BAHAMA & OTHERS!
Yes, our brothers and sisters in Grand Bahama, and our other Family Islands too, have suffered for far too long, and immediate help is also needed for those, whose lights are still off.
Where is the help and hope for the people?
This is unacceptable!
As we, the people have suffered for far too long.
There is absolutely no transparency, and no accountability at BEC.
Please note the many problems and conflicts at BEC:
i) BEC continues to overcharge and guestimate its customers’ monthly consumption rates, which is an illegal practice, as BEC is charging too much and not able to explain and/or justify how our monthly billings are determined.
ii) I have never seen any BEC representative come around to read my meter. The only time a BEC representative is seen is when it is time to shut off my electricity.
iii) There are very serious problems with BEC’s method of billing its customers. We, the people apparently are being ripped off as these extremely high monthly billings cannot be justified, even by the widest stretch of the imagination.
iv) Serious inconsistency pursuant to balances shown on; some BEC payment receipts, BEC’s printed billing (shown on blue forms), history of accounts, and the BEC online billing information.
BEC does not have a set amount of days, for billing its customers, yet at the end of any billings period, BEC does a comparison of charges for the present period and the period of the previous year showing differing amount of days, i.e comparing 20 days period for this year (2012) compared to 30 days of the same period of the previous year (2011). How could BEC compare such varied periods? This is ridiculous!
When this is done, there is no transparency.
How could this be a true comparison, as the dates in comparison are not equal, are not the same?
There have been instances, when leaving the island (for more than a week), we would shut down our breakers, and our utility switch box outside, BUT only to get a bill from BEC for that particular service/billing period to our shock, with charges the highest we have ever paid. How could this be? Something is indeed wrong with how BEC determines our monthly charges!
Further, when there is a black out or brown out, or when the power has been shut down by BEC (for whatever reason), perhaps when ones electricity has been disconnected due to non payments, BEC cannot and does not show its customers on their billings
(or elsewhere), when such disconnections or black outs would have taken place, even with BEC’s constant outages due to load shedding, especially during the hot summer periods. What makes matters even worse is the fact that there are absolutely no deductions from ones monthly BEC billings.
Ask BEC to show you, they can’t! This cannot be, as it just doesn’t make sense. This shows that there are very serious problems with BEC and this practice cannot continue this must be immediately investigated and remedied forthwith as too many of us are being oppressed and suppressed by BEC.
We all know BEC’s method of operation… to unlawfully and excessively charge its consumers whatever it wishes, and just wait for the consumer to come in and pay it. Simply put, BEC has engaged in such practices for years to date because it holds the monopoly:
BEC just waits to see when (not if, but when) John Doe or Jane Doe comes in to pay such obviously erroneous billings. I mean, John and Jane Doe have to pay it because BEC still holds such aforesaid monopoly to date. It is not like John and Jane Doe can go elsewhere for a supply of electricity to their home or business. It is like BEC has its own MINT. BEC is printing its own money so to speak. Guess what else, BEC will not take anyone to court for delinquent accounts as demanded by law. Why should they, when they can just sit back and wait on the poor man to come in and pay whatever BEC demands? Besides, the fact of the matter is that BEC cannot prove the legitimacy of its billings in any court of law, despite having a very messed up court system.
I know of cases where BEC had obviously overbilled (by thousands of dollars) and disconnected the supply of electricity of a family member, with BEC still having charged my relative for electricity consumption in the amount of hundreds of dollars per month, even after BEC had disconnected his supply. Yes, a family of six (6), and where, because of such stress and strain on the family, my family member and his wife, with much reluctance, and sadness had to ship two of their children off, to a family member, on the family island:
This matter presently lies before The Bahamas Supreme Court, where in this historic case, BEC, is going on trial for Fraud, Conspiracy and erroneous over billings, among other things.
Ridiculously Exorbitant Illegal Fuel Surcharges Being Charged By BEC
In my many attempts to get satisfactory answers from BEC, even as it relates to how the monthly fuel surcharges are determined, I could not, as I have been turned around and around by BEC:
On many occasions, I have attempted to acquire information from BEC as it relates to how the fuel surcharges are determined, and how the fuel surcharges are calculated, YET to date still no answers from BEC, despite their many promises to give me the information.
Upon questioning BEC, I was told that when they would purchase a barrel of oil for any one period, that it would use that oil up to about four times. This means that the fuel surcharge would be the same rate for up to four months of the purchase of such barrel of oil. But this is not so, please look at your past BEC bills.
There are BEC employees who also cannot explain to its customers exactly how our fuel consumption rates/charges are determined. BEC has given conflicting information as to how such charges are determined.
Something is wrong, people something is wrong!
In the summer of 2011 (I believe it was), BEC announced that the fuel surcharges would be decreased. Yet, in November, 2011, BEC came out with an announcement that the fuel surcharge would be increased to an exorbitant, ridiculous 26 cents. Why then is it that in the past, fuel surcharges applied to us have been questionably varied?
And does BEC now mean that the fuel surcharge from present would now be fixed? And if so, for how long?
Wake up Bahamas, don’t be fooled!
We, the people have suffered for far too long.
We must demand more from our leaders, we must demand more from the Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and the Government of The Bahamas (The Opposition included), our law makers and the legislators of our Country.
We must demand that the Government of The Bahamas (upon reconvening Parliament) deal with, and cause there to be an immediate investigation of the illegal, corrupt practices taking place and being allowed to take place at BEC.
We must demand change from our leaders…now!! As businesses are closing down, people are losing jobs. Families and business owners are hurting on account of the oppressive actions and fraudulent overbillings by BEC.
And if our leaders refuse to act on behalf of the people, we the people must take out an immediate class action law suit against BEC and The Government of The Bahamas, who knowingly allowed BEC to do as they wish to the detriment of its people.
Frustration and stress is great in The Bahamas, too, because of BEC.
If you do not believe that BEC is defrauding and stealing from its consumers, you are still living in a prehistoric age, I beg you to come out of the dark ages. Fraud and theft by utilities companies, large corporations, banks, insurance companies, politicians etc. is now the norm of the day in The Bahamas (and elsewhere). The days when you trusted such bodies and/or pay whatever they say to pay are gone forever. Now, you have to ensure that the monies you pay out are the amounts you should have been paying from day one, and not one penny more.
OUR BEC ONLINE PETITION
Please sign this very important BEC Online Petition to;
1. Cancel the debt of all residential and commercial BEC consumers alleged to have owed BEC monies, while reconnecting their power.
Reason: The 6,000 plus persons that are presently without electricity may remain off for a very long time. Hence BEC may never receive monies from these consumers. BEC will just continue to go up on its fuel surcharge and supply of electricity, and will continue to defraud and steal from its other consumers (by way of fraudulent and erroneous over billings) in order to survive. Hence, BEC’s other consumers will become more and more frustrated and disgusted, because BEC never listens when its consumers says that they did not incur such high electricity consumption/billings.
Accordingly, over time BEC will lose monies and more of its customers. When the Prime Minister Hon. Hubert Ingraham ordered BEC to reconnect over 5,000 BEC customers, it made no common sense.
Mr. Ingraham ought to have known that if those BEC customers were disconnected because they were unable to pay such high electricity bills (most likely), if they are turned back on without cancelling their debt, such customers will not be able to pay the extra added amount incurred after BEC reconnected them.
2. Charge a reasonably affordable monthly flat fee for residential and commercial customers.
Reason: This would cure (if not all, most of) the billing disputes and fraudulent over billings and overcharging by BEC.
3. That there has to be an immediate investigation into the very questionable, illegal practices taking place at BEC, and that legislation, oversight and accountability is put in place to restrain BEC from acting oppressively towards its consumers, and to ensure that BEC stops defrauding and stealing from its consumers.
Reason: For transparency and accountability.
4. To implement legislation to provide for oversight, accountability and fair play between BEC and its consumers.
Reason: The implementation of mandatory guidelines, fair play and punishment to enforce discipline.
Once the abovementioned petition requests are properly analyzed you will find that it will better serve our country.
In the event our petition requests are successful, we will periodically contact and mobilize the petitioners. BEC may then have to face multiple individual and class action law suits from its consumers, and BEC will be forced to pay back monies which it stole and defrauded for its consumers for years to date, which most likely may run into hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Bahamian political parties, the Free National Movement (FNM), and the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) parties know that at this time, to have innocent struggling BEC consumers electricity remain off during an election period is nothing less than political suicide. Thank God for the other independent political alternatives.
If our cries are not heard and addressed, we will see that multiple individual and class action law suits are brought against BEC and the Bahamas Government (Attorney General) to recover monies from BEC on account of such massive fraudulent overbilling of its consumers.
This Petition will be sent to The Prime Minister and Government of The Bahamas (the Opposition included).
Further, we call on all persons to call and demand change from their individual members of Parliament.
WAKE UP BAHAMAS!
ACT NOW!
We, the people, must be informed, educated and mobilized to ensure that something is done as fast, efficiently and proficiently as possible. We, the consumers have been waiting for help and hope for far too long. Help and hope that leads to results, not just talk.
Now is that time to take action.
Please;
(1) Sign our BEC Online Petition, and let the action begin, AND tell at least three (5) friends and/or family members, so that they may also sign our petition and receive real help.
We, the undersigned, therefore, urgently call on Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and The government of The Bahamas (Opposition included), and where it should and must now be the first thing on the agenda of this Government (Opposition included), before ‘The House is prorogued, to be to help the people.
There has to be an immediate investigation into the very questionable, illegal practices taking place at BEC, and that legislation, oversight and accountability is put in place to restrain BEC from acting oppressively towards its consumers, and to ensure that BEC stops defrauding and stealing from its consumers.
Thank you for your time.
Mrs. Tanya Cash (A Very Concerned Citizen, Customer of BEC, House-wife and Mother)
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Reform BEC Now! petition to The Parliament and Government of The Bahamas was written by Tanya Vanessa Cash and is in the category Consumer Affairs at GoPetition.