02-04-2025
Newport couple left with $3,000 electric bill after meter mix-up
NEWPORT, Tenn. (WATE) — A couple in Newport says it's going take 25 years to pay off an unexpected electric bill sent a few months ago. The $3,000 charge shocked them.
Gary and Tracy Styles said they couldn't believe it when the bill arrived. The couple first moved into a small apartment in Newport in May 2021. Somehow, the electric meters for Unit A and Unit C had been switched before they moved in. Those living in Unit A were paying Unit C's bill, and vice versa, until the issue was discovered more than three months ago.
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The Styles lived in a one-bedroom apartment, Unit A, for three and a half years. In December, they received an unexpected $3,000 electric bill from Newport Utilities. The reason stunned them.
'Our apartment, apartment A and apartment C. The meters had been mixed up and had been mixed up,' said Gary. 'They had been switched.'
He continued, 'I have no clue [how they were switched]. That's what I asked them down there. I have nothing to do with the meters. I have been paying the light bill ever since the time we moved in.'
The couple immediately went to Newport Utilities' office for an explanation. They were told to pay the bill or their power would be disconnected. Tracy says it's heartbreaking because everyone in Newport has been struggling since Hurricane Helene hit the city in September.
The Styles attended the utility board's monthly meeting to contest the bill in late January. The Newport Plain Talk wrote a front-page article quoting the utility company's general manager.
'He said, 'Mr. Styles, it's not your fault. But you're the one who got caught with it.' He said, 'Well, I can tell you is it is not our fault and it's not your fault it boils down to the landlord,'' explained Gary.
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'We had no idea that we were paying someone else's bill and they were paying ours,' said Tracy. '[We were told] that we owed a bill out there, that we needed to come and make arrangements to get this bill paid.'
Gary was strongly urged to sign this promissory note before he left the meeting in January.
'I had to sign an agreement with before they let me leave, saying I would pay some kind of payment on that, or I wouldn't have no power at all,' said Gary, who reluctantly signed the agreement.
'They told me 'whatever you say, we'll put it down.' So I told them $10, and they agreed to it. To pay a month, $10 extra a month on my bill to pay that $3,000,' he explained.
Paying $10 a month, it will take the Styles 25 years to pay off the bill.
'I'll be 76 years old when it's paid off,' said Gary.
In response to our inquiry, the utility company shared the following statement with 6 News.
Newport Utilities values our customers and we empathize with the unfortunate circumstances the Styles' have encountered.
While we are not at liberty to publicly discuss details of our customers' accounts, we can verify that all regulatory policies were followed and the customers' needs were being met to the best of our abilities.
The problem lies with internal electrical wiring, therefore we highly suggest doing research on licensed electricians and contractors.
Newport Utilities
'I feel like I'm not responsible. I am not the one who messed up the meters. I was paying my light bill. And, I'm the loser, that's what I was told,' said Gary.
Despite the explanation from Newport Utilities, the couple said they are not going to stop fighting. They believe the owner of their former apartment building, bears some of the responsibility since the landlord had hired an electrician to wire the building.
The Styles, however, will continue to pay the $10 a month they said.
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