Residents riled over Nicor gas estimate discrepancies

Unpredictable and apparently inflated Nicor gas bills have left a group of Barrington seniors eagerly awaiting the end of the heating season.

Joan Pawlowski, property manager at Barrington Horizon, a 50-unit independent senior living community, said the problem is happening when residents get bills for estimated usage rather than from meter readings.

In months where natural gas bills are based on estimates are sent, residents are seeing bills as much as 400 percent higher than usual, Pawlowski said.

One month, Pawlowski said, residents in the one-bedroom units will get a bill for $40. The next month, when the estimated bills arrive, she said they are being asked to pay upward of $200.

"Every other month they are getting astronomical bills," Pawlowski said. "How can they be estimating them that high?"

While the residents have gotten their accounts credited once actual readings are taken, Pawlowski said most of them can't afford to pay all that money out at one time.

"They are being very stressed out by this," she said. "Seniors should not have to deal with that."

Richard Caragol, public relations manager for Nicor, said the gas company estimates most customer meter readings every other month based on previous use and the weather.

"This allows us to keep our delivery rates down," he said of the estimating practice.

Residents and their advocates said they've tried calling Nicor but haven't gotten a straight answer.

Mary Abbot said since she moved into her one-bedroom unit last July, she's received estimated-usage bills for $131.15, $233.54 and $208.16.

"I am disgusted with them," Abbot said. "They think because you live in Barrington, you are loaded."

The Barrington Area Council on Aging has also tried getting involved to no avail.

"I called Nicor myself and they just fluffed it over," said Penny LeNeveu, a social service coordinator for the agency.

She said Nicor continued to try to get the residents to go on the company's "budget plan," which spreads the out cost of the natural gas service evenly throughout the year.

"A lot of residents don't want to do that because they don't want Nicor having their money over the summer," LeNeveu said.

The council also contacted the Citizens Utility Board to ask for help but were told Nicor was operating within the law.

"It might not be illegal, but it is very unethical," Pawlowski said.

After being contacted by the Daily Herald, Caragol said there does seem to a discrepancy between the estimated bills and the actual bills in Abbot's case.

"We did determine that there was a variance (between the two bills)," he said.

Caragol said a further look into not only Abbot's and the rest of the building residents' bill was needed before the problem can be determined.

He said Nicor has contacted Abbot to tell her they're investigating her case.

Caragol said the investigation into the problem was expected to last about a week.