Customer Service told me to "Call a Lawyer!"

Location: Ontario, Lindsay
Industry: Government
Annoyed By: Hydro One

I recently opened my own business and of course am responsible for paying the Hydro for my store.

My first hydro bill was $81.00 - exactly what I expected it to be. I did not change anything about the way I was running my store - I was still using the same exact equipment, for the same length of time, etc.

Well, in December, Hydro One came to the building where i rent and they installed the so-called "smart metre" in every unit. My next bill from hydro one, after the smart metre was installed, was $416.00!!!!! Again - I did not change
one thing about how I was running my store since the first bill came in so I was incredibly perplexed at the size of my bill. (Side note: all 21 other tenants in the building reported the same thing - they're bill had tripled!)

So - wondering what was going on, I contacted Hydro One's "Customer service" department....I explained the situation in great detail and even broke down, item for item, what i was using in my store and wanting to know WHY the bill was so high this time.

She only has one thing to say to me. The customer service lady advised this: "Call a lawyer."

That's it, that's all. I was told to contact a lawyer because i didn't think it was fair. If you google "smart metre" - you will see thousands and thousands of people telling the same story. And the worst part is - they are allowed to charge what they want, completely arbitrarily, and there is nothing you can do about it!

Completely lost my faith that corporations know how to be good to their customers after that call.