Austin (Belterra) -- Outrageous utility start-up fees (Howe, Cooper: sales, foreclosure)

[new_austin_guy]

I recently moved to the Belterra subdivision in Austin, TX. I am pretty shocked by the fees the various utility companies are tacking on for activating services.

Texas Community Propane:
- $300 deposit
- $95 startup-fee
- 30 minute mandatory "orientation" with an unprofessional rep.

Severn Trent Services (water & trash)
- $130 deposit
- $80 application fee
- $40 turn-on fee
- $30 transfer fee
- we also have to pay $7/month for the privilege of recycling

Pedernales Electric Cooperative
- $75 start-up fee
- $50 co-op fee (refunded when no longer a customer)

Given their borderline-extortion start-up fees, I am not looking forward to the rates for actual service.

Is all of Austin stuck with these kind of utility activation costs? I'm from central Illinois, and these type of fees/deposits just don't exist.

Interestingly, Time-Warner cable (who has competition with satellite and phone companies) provided free installation and has compeititive pricing.

I don't have any choice but to pay these ridiculous fees, but I wanted to vent a bit here and at least warn people about them.

[llkltk]

Pedernales is also raising rates another 10%. They are a bunch of crooks.

[centralaustinite]

Nothing like that in the city of Austin!

[atxcio]

Austin Energy charges a deposit, which can be fairly high depending on how much energy the house uses. Ours was about $400, but it was returned after 1 year. No start up cost, but I think there is a transfer fee. So you might be saving a little up-front with Pedernales.

The propane cost, unfortunately, is one of the big negatives in Belterra. It is fairly widely known ripoff, though, I'd be mad at my realtor if they didn't warn me in advance.

For more great news, look up posts by IC_delight...

[new_austin_guy]

I knew about the high cost of propane for the Belterra subdivision (before buying here). It was a negative, but not enough to overcome the other positives of buying a home in Belterra.

What I didn't know about was the deposits and activation fees. It just feels like an unethical money-grab by these companies since they don't have any competition.

I did call about my water/trash bill today -- and apparently the transfer fee shouldn't have been on my bill, and they're not sure about the applicaton fee either. I'm not holding my breath -- I was told that I would be called next week about it (today is Monday).

[AustinTraveler]

The City of Austin initially charged me a $200 deposit to start up electricity, garbage and water. However, they told me that if I got a letter from our previous energy company (in Florida) stating we always paid on time, they would refund the deposit, and they did!

[love roses]

There's only one or two propane neighborhoods here in Hutto, and they also charge higher rates. It's because they supply their own propane and aren't tapped into City lines because it costs the developer a lot of $$ to do it. At least that's what one of the salespeople in that neighborhood told us. I'm sure it's the same out there.

[IC_deLight]

The propane is a ripoff because it is not economically regulated and there is a mandatory consumption from a single vendor. You are forced to buy exclusively from that vendor under threat of fine and foreclosure on your home. I do not know the specifics of the Belterra regime, but many of the subdivisions were set up with the intent of the developer getting a kickback forever from the propane sales due to perpetual restrictive covenants. Within the city, propane prices are often regulated - however this propane scam is just one of the many ways in which homebuyers are being bilked after moving into a new subdivisions in unincorporated areas. I think you may find that the fees listed above are not the only fees. The propane companies, for example, typically charge a monthly account fee in addition to any consumption fees for the privilege of being an involuntary customer. With respect to the Severn Trent fees, it sounds like Severn Trent is the operator for the water system? If that's the case, the rates that they can charge are regulated by TCEQ and set forth in their Tariff. You might check the Tariff to see if the charges imposed are correct.

By the way, if you recently moved to Belterra (you know while the temperatures have been 100 F) you might want to be very careful this fall when you find out just how much they can charge you for propane when you don't have a choice. In many subdivisions, $400-$800/month for propane is fairly common starting in October. Again, they don't have to worry about being competitive when you are forced to purchase from them. So don't get to used to being toasty until you find out what it's going to cost you.

[Franklyn]

Would it be OT to ask a stupid question? Why do I see so many comments re: propane? I realize Belterra is out of town a ways, but isn't natural gas available in most central Texas communities?

[iceshots]

I am relocating to Austin in August and Belterra is one of the potential locations. Are there any Belterra residents who can share their average propane bills during the cooler months? I am from Canada and I cannot see Austin temperatures driving an $800 a month heating bill. however, I am more than willing to believe that such bills are possible with an unregulated commodity and a captive customer base.

Thanks