 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
Editorials
|
Monday, June 30, 2008, 10:59 AM
Persistent consumer can prevail Sometimes the little guy can win. Sometimes the big guy actually does listen, admits a mistake was made and then works to correct it. So it went last week for Wilson resident Gayle Tyson, who thought she had been treated unfairly by Wilson Energy, and had the courage to stand up for herself and say so. Tyson had temporarily lost her power when Wilson Energy workers pulled the electric meter to her apartment, and four other apartments, after they found that the meters had been tampered with. To get her power turned back on, Tyson had to pay a $151 fee and it was noted on her record with Wilson Energy that her meter had been tampered with. She was told that to get this note removed, the police would have to catch whoever was responsible for tampering with the meter. Otherwise, she would just have to live with the note. "I feel as though this is unjust," Tyson said last week. "We are hard-working taxpaying citizens of Wilson County, and I do not feel as though this is justice for the citizens of this county. The laws that helped run this country -- a murderer, a rapist, an arsonist, a pedophile, a terrorist -- is innocent until proven guilty but yet under the circumstances that fall under WE, we are guilty and we have to prove our innocence." So set out to prove her innocence is exactly what Tyson she did. Starting with Wilson Energy, and working her way on up to the chain to Wilson City Council and Mayor Rose, Tyson explained her situation to anyone who would listen and make her case as to why she should have her money refunded and her name cleared. She did so in a very simple and straightforward manner and was able to produce records that showed that her electric usage had not changed enough to show that it had been tampered with to help reduce her bill. Apparently they couldn't. Last Wednesday she received a call from Wilson Energy telling her they would refund the $151 each that had been paid by her and three other people to have their power restored. Equally as important, WE would remove the tampering note from their records. Tyson said the customer service representative for Wilson Energy told me "that he was glad to inform me that we would receive a refund." Tyson said he went on to say that because of "they way you pursued this, your neighbors need to be grateful." Politics is often about hollering and noise and making sure one's voice is heard no matter what it is saying. Governing, however, is more often about listening, especially when one of your citizens comes forward and says something isn't right. It is a credit to Tyson that she stepped forward and to the city that it listened to her when she did.
|
Add Comment:  (All comments must be approved)
View Comments: (0 comments)
|
|
|
|
