Living in a third world country has it's advantages (well, it is cheap ! ) and disadvantages ( well, like living in a third world country). When my management company fails to pay the water bill, or the gas bill, or their electric (which controls the pump for water) all I can do is scream and yell. When there is a problem with my own utilities, I also scream and yell, but think I have more control ( I don't).
A new tenant moved into our building. I caught up with his Realtor and told him that he was doing his client no favor, for all of us were leaving. He claimed to have no knowledge of the problems with this building and of course his client moved in anyway. The first thing he did was to install a "Dish Network". For some unexplained reason, it eliminated all my English speaking channels. I either had a black screen or a notice from Dish to select "one or two". Since I did not have the Dish equipment, I could do nothing. There was also an "800" number to call. I did, but even though I was speaking with an American, they had a hard time understanding for I was not a "Dish" customer. They claim they had never heard of such a thing (just because something has never happened before, doesn't mean it won't happen to me). Finally they came to the conclusion that I would have to have the new tenant call under his contract for a repair man.
Even though he is next door (one floor above) His building has a separate entrance. I had no way to reach him other than standing in front of his door to wait for him to emerge. In the meanwhile I decided to call my own cable net work. Surprisingly, they offer a choice of "Spanish" or English". First they said, "We are having a problem, but we are working on it" This is a standard line just to put you off. I said, "No YOU are not having a problem, I am having a problem" After going through three people trying my best to understand their version of English, they agreed to send someone out. When??? Well, maybe this afternoon, maybe tomorrow. You will call? I asked. Yes, Yes she said. Miraculously the following day I had all my channels.
Except during an electric storm (which happens most nights now) when the channels just disappear. As usual, I will never know why.
My electric bill arrives every two months. I have made a mental note of when it is due for they only give you ten days to pay it. As I explained earlier, they do not use the post office, but send an employee to every household and hand deliver the bill. In my case this means it is slipped under the front door downstairs (we have no mail box). But they do not even bother to put it into an envelope. It is just a small green piece of paper. I never got my bill. Who knows, someone could have stepped on it during a rain storm and it would look like a piece of trash. After it was more than a week late, I knew I had to do something,.
I went to the office where I pay the bills and used the code from my previous bill. Sure enough, my name came up and it said I owed $3,262 pesos ( about $260.00) This would be a lot of money for two months, but it covered the month that I was gone, so it was really only a one month bill. I knew something was wrong and besides I did not have that much cash on me. For those of you who have followed my blog, you will know that this is not my first fight with the electric company. From my previous experience, I decided to do some investigation myself; a call to complain would do no good. I noticed that my meter was spinning out of control, while the other meters were barely moving. I went back to my apartment and unplugged everything. Sure enough it was still spinning out of control. It made me think that there may be another reason no one will connect to the underground wires that the City spent millions installing. If the wires were underground it would be almost impossible to steal someone's electricity.
Because of my previous calls to the electric company, there was no way I would have made myself understood, so I had Jose call. Finally they agreed to send someone out, but they had no idea when.
They never showed up at all. I decided to have Jose call again on Monday and this time get the number of the complaint order and with that I would go to the main office. I was afraid it would be cut off for lack of payment. Again Jose offered to break it with a rock.
The first girl spoke not a word of English and she didn't know anyone who did. Some how I got across that I had a huge electric bill that I would only pay, if I could speak to someone in English. They found another girl in the back. Even when they speak some English, it is very hard to understand. Anyway I explained that something was wrong with my meter. OH NO! she exclaimed, it is not the meter, it is the wiring in your building. I would never admit it to her, but considering that I live in the "Little House of Horrors" this was a possibility. I insisted someone come out and look at it. Reluctantly she gave me a number to call to set up an appointment. I thought I had won a round. I was wrong. Jose called and they said, they do not make appointments and would send someone out within 5 days, but they would call first. They did not call, whether they ever showed up or not I will never know.
The situation seemed hopeless until one day when I was talking to one of the guys who hangs out at my morning coffee shop. He gave me the telephone number of an electrician who would fix my problem. I could not see how, but set up an appointment and to my amazement he showed up on time. I did find out something I did not know. There is an air conditioning control panel on the wall. I ignore it other than to make sure it is turned on when I need air (it goes off during every electric storm). I thought that as long as I did not have one of my three units on that the air was off. It is not. As long as that little light is on the control box, the compressor is still working on the roof. That might explain the high electric bill.
His solution was to "hot wire" my meter. Really!! He proceed to dismantle my meter. I told him that the manager would be arriving in 30 minutes and to hurry up. He finished just as her little red car pulled up. He explained to her that he was just checking it for me. He tells me that I will now never have a bill of more than 200 to 300 pesos (maybe $20.00) but that I should never call the electric company again. I must always pay my bill on time and to be sure to call him before I move so that he can remove his wiring. HEY! Don't look at me like that. This is Mexico, it is the way things are done here. You gotta love a country where for a few hundred pesos you can fix almost anything.
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Another interesting tale from your life in Mexico. One run around after the other it seems. I will send you an e-mail as I have a question that you may or may not be able to answer. Good luck on you electric problems.
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