baronessekat | It's like Pennsic only not.

February 14, 2007 my mother died. I became the executrix of the estate.

I started calling all the utility companies for the Doma and did what I could to get my name added to accounts to switch them over to me.

National Grid was the pain. The electric company would only add me as an authorized person to talk to about the account but other than paying, I actually couldn't do anything regarding the status. Regardless of explaining that the account holder was deceased, I couldn't just get my name added as an actual second full name on the account holder.

I would have to fully close the account then open a new one. And there could be anywhere from 2-10 days between the closing and starting of the new account. WTF?

So I was ok, I will at least wait until warm weather to do that before I move in so that I don't risk things like pipes bursting and what have you.

May 2007 rolls around and I figure it's warm enough have the house without power for a bit as I'm not planning on moving in until my lease was up after Pennsic. So I call to start the process and the nice girl there says that before they do anything, they need proof I actually have ownership of the house and/or live there. As in copy of the first page of the deed or lease showing address and my name. Well I don't have that as the deed at that point hadn't cleared the court system. Again, apparently my letter of executorship didn't count.

So I say that I have to wait until that happens, figuring by what the lawyer had told me it would be more like beginning of July. Still plenty of time before I moved in.

Deed doesn't clear until October 2007. Two months after I move in.

At that point, I just leave it in my mother's name and go forward with my life.

Flash forward to August of 2015... yes, 8 years later. I accidentally pay National Fuel twice instead of National Fuel once and National Grid once. National Grid does not like that and shuts service off for lack of payment. Get it paid, service restored. But apparently that caused someone to go looking and went "hey... the account holder is deceased. Dead people do not need service".

So I came home last night to find no power at the house. I was WTF? I've paid the bills. I call. Yep... I get told that their records show that Carole B. Telesco is deceased. I was like, yes, I told you that 8 years ago and you made it impossible to just transfer service into my name.

They kept insisting that they cannot provide service to a dead woman and I have to officially close the account and start a new one. I was fine.. not like I have a choice in the matter now. I get transferred to a very nice woman in a different department, explain the whole situation. She's sympathetic.

She officially closes the account for my mother and starts me a new one. But they still need the paperwork showing I have ownership/recidency. Gives me all the info needed and tells me that the verification department is closed for the day so it wouldn't be until the next morning that they can start on it, that I would then get a call sometime in the afternoon to finish the process and then it will take at least 24 hours. That's when I got frustrated. 2 freaking days? She says "at least, let me look at the schedules in the Buffalo area" I hear typing and a long pause. "Um... it's looking like they are already scheduling out to the 23rd". I admit I lost my cool. A week. I am living in the residence. Have been for 8 freaking years. I have to wait a week before I get power restored when all you have to do is send a truck over to flip a stinking switch in the power box on the side of my house.

She was very apologetic and did say that she flagged the account as high priority and noted that I was living there. She also said when I faxed over the copy of the proof of ownership to add to the cover page that I am living there and that may help and to stress it when they call in the afternoon to complete the new account opening.

I do not blame Stephanie. She was really nice. And she totally agreed with me about the asinine close then open new and having to do the whole "when the schedule allows for new service to start". I was like "so you do this to little old people who lost a spouse and they weren't the one who had the service in their name too, you make them have to go without power for upwards of 10 days without service in the house they have been living in as well?" She was like "it can happen".

So not pleased.

I've made arrangements so that if it will take that long that I have a place to stay that has power and the like.

And there are a lot of things around the house that I can do during the day that doesn't require power. And I have my pennsic stuff so I can make do while I'm at the house. And it could be worse, this weekend could be the weekend I was to have houseguests.

Does not change the high frustration factor.

UPDATE: they just called and said it was all in order. But they do not do same day hook up or weekends. They said it will be back between 8am and 10am Monday.