Dear Editor,

If medals were to be given out to utility service providers here in Jamaica the medals would grow old and rusty for want of winners. Water, electricity, and communication services provided by the nation’s primary providers have been testing the faith of the holiest Christians.

How come hard-working, on-time paying customers have to foot the bill of the disingenuous corner-cutting ones? How come the Internet is inconsistent but the bills are consistent. How come the customers still receive water bills when the precious commodity went to elsewhere, instead of through their kitchen faucet? It is very frustrating paying big bucks month after month only to be inviting the same terrible service into our kitchen, living and bedrooms.

Calling the customer care section of these service providers is a test of patience; the wait time can run you anywhere from 10 minutes to one hour, this explains the reason the calls are most times toll-free.

The response that always angers the customer is to be told that they have to pay the bill being queried in order to continue receiving service. They then tell you that after they have done their investigations you may be rebated. Do not hold your breath, however, as the rebate is not until the Armageddon.

The question is always asked: Why do customers have to go into the office? The answer: Because the customer representative on the phone is giving you the runaround before a supervisor is called and your issues are addressed.

Office of Utilities Regulations (OUR) we need you to intestigate the hide-but-pay service that the utilities providers are giving. We need you to ask the providers: How come?

Hezekan Bolton

h_e_z_e@hotmail.com