Unauthorized Charges on Your Local Phone - Utility Bill?
How to Find Them, Eliminate Them & Get Your Money Back!
If your business still gets its phone service through the old "AT&T and Verizon, etc" local phone company (as opposed to one of the newer competitive phone providers) then you need to double check your phone bill each and every month for charges you did not authorize. You may not know it but the local phone company allows other companies to bill you through your local phone bill. And while the local phone company allows other businesses to bill you through your local phone bill, the local phone company does not verify that the charges being billed to you by the other company are valid. When these unauthorized charges fraudulently appear on your phone bill it's called "cramming". Unfortunately you as the business owner or manager are the only one that can spot the unauthorized charges and if you don't comb over your bill every month to spot these unauthorized charges - you'll pay for them.
Why does the local phone company allow other companies to pass charges onto your phone bill? "Third-party billing" is supposedly a great convenience in that you only have to pay one bill instead of separate bills for obvious authorized phone related charges like yellow-page advertising in the "real yellow pages", 411 information calls and long-distance calls from your chosen long distance carrier. Over the years though, some less-than-scrupulous companies have realized that most businesses rarely scrutinize their local-phone bills. To take advantage of this, these companies have come up with elaborate schemes to place
unauthorized charges on your phone bill that you'll end up paying for without even thinking. Unauthorized
charges you can end up paying for include charges for unwanted (and unused) email accounts, web sites,
directory information calls, directory advertising in obscure publications, voice mail accounts and other
services.
In theory, before these charges can be placed on your phone bill, the company that is originating the third-party billed charges is supposed to have a verification of the order like a voice recording. In reality though,
all the company needs to do to initiate the charge is submit your name and phone number to the billing
entity. The verifications are only required to be produced if a complaint is filed.
To prevent these charges from appearing on you business phone bill it's helpful to understand the four
parties that make unauthorized third party phone charges a costly reality. Party number one is any
employee who can answer your business phones. The unauthorized charge is rarely random and it usually
happens after one of your company employees gets a telemarketing call. Employees should be instructed to
document and report any overly aggressive telemarketing calls they receive. Party number two is the
telemarketing company that originates the unauthorized charges by trying to get your employee to accept
some service for which you'll be billed through your local phone bill. Party number three is the third-party
billing company that has billing agreements with your local phone company. The name of the third-party
billing is the one that is prominently displayed on your phone bill. After the third-party billing company's
name is the name of the company that is originating the unwanted charges. Party number four is your "former Ma Bell" local phone company that collects the unwanted charges (keeps a share for "Ma") and then passes the rest to the third-party billing company (who keeps a big share) and then passes the balance on to the company that initiated the unwanted charge.
Following are some of the top third-party billing names and unauthorized charge originators you'll find on
your phone bill. If you see these names on your phone bill you'll want to call the toll free number listed next to the charge to confirm it's a charge that's been properly authorized to be placed on your bill. Following are actual examples that we've recently found while auditing business phone bills.
We recommend customers should review any utility bills issued by deregulated utility companies. (In most instances today, consumers are paying higher charges to the deregulated gas and electric supply companies).
All Utility - Energy, gas, electric and water bills should be reviewed for proper reading and tariff.
If you suspect that you have been overcharged ask for detailed explanation and or file a complaint with your State Utility Commission.
Compiled by: Jay Draiman, Utility & Telecom Auditor
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
“The spirit of man cannot be conquered”
“The spirit of man cannot be conquered”No responsible leader shall state that he will destroy a country or a nation and its people.Hate breeds hate.In a shrinking Global economy, people of the world should and must learn to live in harmony.Every one is entitled to practice their religion and beliefs without interfering with others and/or enforcing their beliefs and customs.Everyone should be treated with respect and dignity.It is time for everyone to open their eyes and realize that conflict and hate will only advance world destruction and the abomination of humanity.I believe that Coexistence means peace and harmony. If we do not achieve peace and harmony soon, we will all perish. It is up to us to change the world and bring peace and harmony to all people."Jay Draiman, Northridge, CA. June 27, 2007PSScience must be learned; it cannot be conquered. An army that can occupy knowledge has yet to be built. And that is why armies of occupation are a thing of the past. Indeed, even for defensive purposes, a country cannot rely on its army alone. Territorial frontiers are no obstacle to ballistic missiles, and no weapon can shield from a nuclear device. Today, therefore the battle for survival must be based on political wisdom and moral vision no less than on military might.Countries used to divide the world into their friends and foes. No longer. The foes now are universal - poverty, famine, religious radicalization, desertification, drugs, proliferation of nuclear weapons, ecological devastation. They threaten all nations, just as science and information are the potential friends of all nations.Classical diplomacy and strategy were aimed at identifying enemies and confronting them. Now they have to identify dangers, global or local, and tackle them before they become disasters.As we part a world of enemies, we enter a world of dangers. And if future wars break out, they will probably be wars of protest, of the weak against the strong, and not wars of occupation, of the strong against the weak.
Yehuda Draiman
Yehuda Draiman
Sunday, September 7, 2008
MEANINGFUL LIFE
MEANINGFUL LIFE
Our bodies considered to be the most mystical of creations. The mysteries, the intricacies of the human body all reflect on higher and deeper cosmic secrets, because everything is created as a microcosm of the macrocosm.
And the same is true with scientists and technology. The understanding of the inner workings of the universe teach us about ourselves, and the ultimate frontier is when we can find balance between our understanding of the world, nature, the work we do, and our own souls. That is the ultimate integration, the marriage between who you are and what you do. As long as you do not connect the two, they are at battle between body and soul, between matter and spirit.
Basically to sum it up, whether we like it or not, our lives consist of two parts; our bodies and our souls; our work and our spirit; what you are and what you do. Initially, they are somewhat dichotomous, and it is our job to unite and integrate the two.
We need to take the time to focus and create a type of spiritual space which allows us to recognize that we are not just what we do. But at the same time, and I think this is the ultimate challenge, we have to enter and immerse ourselves in our workplace-our feet need to be in the galoshes-and learn to integrate and elevate the work that we do with the making of something spiritual.
This of course includes using the talents, the connections, and the money you've made to advance different causes. But I'm going a step beyond that. Even your work itself, the talents that you have developed, the experience that you've earned, can itself be reflective of something more Divine.
I know there may be skeptics out there who say, "We live in a rat race. Tomorrow the stock market opens up. People are more worried about where Nasdaq is going and I don't have time for this integration stuff."
But that's just the response of someone who can't see the forest through the trees, someone who is consumed with the here and now. And don't get me wrong, all of us have that challenge. I sometimes also feel that way. Sometimes you're involved in the moment, that's why we have weekends, that's why we have Sunday evenings like this and we have other moments where we can sit back and reflect and really prepare ourselves to whether that's what we want to have, is that what we want to gain with our lives, and really create that type of balanced look at things.
Not that it's easy at all. A lot of what drives our lives is the insecurity of life itself. The fact that we live in a material world, the fact that our psyches, our subconscious, for that matter our conscious minds know that materialism is impermanent, temporary, creates deep insecurity in our lives. And when we're insecure, we hold on to the eggs in the basket, the possessions, and the pursuit of money becomes a very strong driving force because it creates the illusion of security.
The more we are immersed in that illusion of security, the more difficult it gets to allow anything else in.
I find many people who are really kind people, who may be ethical in their personal lives, who become sharks at work to the point of being unethical and immoral. Their need to win has a lot to do with security and insecurity and what they think is important in life.
Try this exercise. Take out a piece of paper and try to draw a circle and tell me how perfect that circle is. No matter how talented you are, even if you're an artist, you're not going to draw a perfect circle.
Now, to get a perfect circle you need a compass. A compass has a needle and you stick it in the paper, hold it firmly, and then you draw a circle with a pencil around that center. What's the difference between that circle and the one you drew without a compass? The difference is that one has a center and one does not.
No circle can be complete if you do not have a center. Even with a center, you have to have it firmly established so it doesn't become jagged and incomplete. If your compass is continually shifting, you will not be able to create that perfect circle.
The center of our lives is not our work. Our work is the circle. The center is your spirit, your purpose, and your vision. The work that you do should extend from your center, not the other way around.
If you don't have a spiritual center and the center you create around your work shifts-you lose your job or you get older, or you get bored with your work-then your circle can never really be complete because it is being driven by the means rather than by the ends.
Our bodies considered to be the most mystical of creations. The mysteries, the intricacies of the human body all reflect on higher and deeper cosmic secrets, because everything is created as a microcosm of the macrocosm.
And the same is true with scientists and technology. The understanding of the inner workings of the universe teach us about ourselves, and the ultimate frontier is when we can find balance between our understanding of the world, nature, the work we do, and our own souls. That is the ultimate integration, the marriage between who you are and what you do. As long as you do not connect the two, they are at battle between body and soul, between matter and spirit.
Basically to sum it up, whether we like it or not, our lives consist of two parts; our bodies and our souls; our work and our spirit; what you are and what you do. Initially, they are somewhat dichotomous, and it is our job to unite and integrate the two.
We need to take the time to focus and create a type of spiritual space which allows us to recognize that we are not just what we do. But at the same time, and I think this is the ultimate challenge, we have to enter and immerse ourselves in our workplace-our feet need to be in the galoshes-and learn to integrate and elevate the work that we do with the making of something spiritual.
This of course includes using the talents, the connections, and the money you've made to advance different causes. But I'm going a step beyond that. Even your work itself, the talents that you have developed, the experience that you've earned, can itself be reflective of something more Divine.
I know there may be skeptics out there who say, "We live in a rat race. Tomorrow the stock market opens up. People are more worried about where Nasdaq is going and I don't have time for this integration stuff."
But that's just the response of someone who can't see the forest through the trees, someone who is consumed with the here and now. And don't get me wrong, all of us have that challenge. I sometimes also feel that way. Sometimes you're involved in the moment, that's why we have weekends, that's why we have Sunday evenings like this and we have other moments where we can sit back and reflect and really prepare ourselves to whether that's what we want to have, is that what we want to gain with our lives, and really create that type of balanced look at things.
Not that it's easy at all. A lot of what drives our lives is the insecurity of life itself. The fact that we live in a material world, the fact that our psyches, our subconscious, for that matter our conscious minds know that materialism is impermanent, temporary, creates deep insecurity in our lives. And when we're insecure, we hold on to the eggs in the basket, the possessions, and the pursuit of money becomes a very strong driving force because it creates the illusion of security.
The more we are immersed in that illusion of security, the more difficult it gets to allow anything else in.
I find many people who are really kind people, who may be ethical in their personal lives, who become sharks at work to the point of being unethical and immoral. Their need to win has a lot to do with security and insecurity and what they think is important in life.
Try this exercise. Take out a piece of paper and try to draw a circle and tell me how perfect that circle is. No matter how talented you are, even if you're an artist, you're not going to draw a perfect circle.
Now, to get a perfect circle you need a compass. A compass has a needle and you stick it in the paper, hold it firmly, and then you draw a circle with a pencil around that center. What's the difference between that circle and the one you drew without a compass? The difference is that one has a center and one does not.
No circle can be complete if you do not have a center. Even with a center, you have to have it firmly established so it doesn't become jagged and incomplete. If your compass is continually shifting, you will not be able to create that perfect circle.
The center of our lives is not our work. Our work is the circle. The center is your spirit, your purpose, and your vision. The work that you do should extend from your center, not the other way around.
If you don't have a spiritual center and the center you create around your work shifts-you lose your job or you get older, or you get bored with your work-then your circle can never really be complete because it is being driven by the means rather than by the ends.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
NO PALESTINIAN STATE R2
NO PALESTINIAN STATE R2Imagine that the various people who settled in the United States for the past 300 years decided one day that they one to parcel the United States into an independent State just for them, would the American public go for it. The Answer is absolutely NO.The situation in Israel today is no different. The Arabs there are not Palestinians, there is no such Arab nation as Palestine or Palestinian people.Europeans countries today are consisting of numerous people from other countries. Would the Europeans people cede part of their country to set up another State in their midst. The answer is absolutely NO.All the Arabs in Israel and surrounding areas are from the various Arab nations, such as Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon and other Arab nations.Prominent PLO Arab says there are no 'Palestinians' and no "Palestine"PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein admitted in a March 31, 1977 interview with a Dutch newspaper Trouw.
"The Palestinian people do not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct 'Palestinian people' to oppose Zionism. "
The Qur'an 17:104 - states the land belongs to the Jewish people
If the historic documents, comments written by eyewitnesses and declarations by the most authoritative Arab scholars are still not enough, let us quote the most important source for Muslim Arabs:
"And thereafter we [Allah] said to the Children of Israel: 'Dwell securely in the Promised Land. And when the last warning will come to pass, we will gather you together in a mingled crowd'.".
017.104 YUSUFALI: And We said thereafter to the Children of Israel, "Dwell securely in the land (of promise)": but when the second of the warnings came to pass, We gathered you together in a mingled crowd. PICKTHAL: And We said unto the Children of Israel after him: Dwell in the land; but when the promise of the Hereafter cometh to pass We shall bring you as a crowd gathered out of various nations. SHAKIR: And We said to the Israelites after him: Dwell in the land: and when the promise of the next life shall come to pass, we will bring you both together in judgment.
- Qur'an 17:104 -
Any sincere Muslim must recognize the Land they call "Palestine" as the Jewish Homeland, according to the book considered by Muslims to be the most sacred word and Allah's ultimate revelation.Yehuda Draiman
"The Palestinian people do not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct 'Palestinian people' to oppose Zionism. "
The Qur'an 17:104 - states the land belongs to the Jewish people
If the historic documents, comments written by eyewitnesses and declarations by the most authoritative Arab scholars are still not enough, let us quote the most important source for Muslim Arabs:
"And thereafter we [Allah] said to the Children of Israel: 'Dwell securely in the Promised Land. And when the last warning will come to pass, we will gather you together in a mingled crowd'.".
017.104 YUSUFALI: And We said thereafter to the Children of Israel, "Dwell securely in the land (of promise)": but when the second of the warnings came to pass, We gathered you together in a mingled crowd. PICKTHAL: And We said unto the Children of Israel after him: Dwell in the land; but when the promise of the Hereafter cometh to pass We shall bring you as a crowd gathered out of various nations. SHAKIR: And We said to the Israelites after him: Dwell in the land: and when the promise of the next life shall come to pass, we will bring you both together in judgment.
- Qur'an 17:104 -
Any sincere Muslim must recognize the Land they call "Palestine" as the Jewish Homeland, according to the book considered by Muslims to be the most sacred word and Allah's ultimate revelation.Yehuda Draiman
The Land of Israel and its uncontested Capital Jerusalem
The Land of Israel and its uncontested Capital Jerusalem
The Qur'an 17:104 - states the land belongs to the Jewish people.
If the historic documents, comments written by eyewitnesses and declarations by the most authoritative Arab scholars are still not enough, let us quote the most important source for Muslim Arabs:
"And thereafter we [Allah] said to the Children of Israel: 'Dwell securely in the Promised Land. And when the last warning will come to pass, we will gather you together in a mingled crowd'.".
017.104 YUSUFALI: And We said thereafter to the Children of Israel, "Dwell securely in the land (of promise)": but when the second of the warnings came to pass, We gathered you together in a mingled crowd. PICKTHAL: And We said unto the Children of Israel after him: Dwell in the land; but when the promise of the Hereafter cometh to pass We shall bring you as a crowd gathered out of various nations. SHAKIR: And We said to the Israelites after him: Dwell in the land: and when the promise of the next life shall come to pass, we will bring you both together in judgment.
- Qur'an 17:104 -
Any sincere Muslim must recognize the Land they call "Palestine" as the Jewish Homeland, according to the book considered by Muslims to be the most sacred word and Allah's ultimate revelation.
“The birthplace of the Jewish people is the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael). There, a significant part of the nation's long history was enacted, of which the first thousand years are recorded in the Bible; there, its cultural, religious and national identity was formed; and there, its physical presence has been maintained through the centuries, even after the majority was forced into exile. During the many years of dispersion, the Jewish people never severed nor forgot its bond with the Land. With the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Jewish independence, lost two thousand years earlier, was renewed.”
If people of any nation were exiled to other country’s and than years later were able to reclaim their country, the world population as a whole would support such action and would not consider giving a piece of the country to the foreigners who are residing there, and under no circumstances would they consider parceling portions of the county to be set up as a separate State for the foreigners.
Why should anyone in the world consider doing this very same action with the land of Israel which is a Jewish land for thousands of years?
The Arabs living in the land of Israel have come from the surrounding Arab countries; they have no right whatsoever to any part of the land of Israel.
In the past hundred years many Jews were ejected from Arab countries surrounding the land of Israel, their property taken and their homes and lands taken over.
Let those Arabs who want to Claim the land of Israel as theirs go to those Arab countries and the homes and lands that the Jews were occupying.
Any part of the land of Israel is not occupied territory; it is legally a Jewish land and has been for thousands of years, no Arab has any right to claim any rights to the land of Israel. The surrounding Arab countries compose of over 100 million people and millions of square miles, why do they have to bother little Israel with its territory about the size of the State of New Jersey.
Maybe the world should consider giving European countries or parts to the Italians, since the Romans occupied it for many years.
JERUSALEM
If I forget thee, O Jerusalem,may my right hand forget its cunning.May my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy.(Psalms 137:5-6)
Jerusalem, the uncontested and undivided capital of Israel, is located in the heart of the country, nestled among the Judean Hills. The city's ancient stones, imbued with millennia of history, and its numerous historical sites, shrines and places of worship attest to its meaning for Jews.
Jerusalem the "eternal and undivided capital" of the Jewish people,
Jerusalem is -- and must remain -- the uncontested, undivided capital of Israel.
Jerusalem is the only city that can prove the validity of Israeli-Jewish existence. No one should question Jewish historic claim and affinity to Jerusalem which dates back the Canaanite period (3000-1200 BCE). The re-capture of the old city in 1967 was widely seen by the Israelis as nothing less than the renewal of God's covenant with the Jews. Jerusalem represents their past and present, a source of religious and cultural continuity without which Israel's very existence could unravel. The hope of returning to Jerusalem has sustained the Jews throughout their dispersion, and centuries of exile have been unable to extinguish it.
Abraham, Isaac and Jacobs resided in the land of Israel and Jerusalem from the year 1948 from Creation (circa 1800 BCE).
King David made Jerusalem the capital of his kingdom, as well as the religious center of the Jewish people, in 1003 BCE. Some forty years later, his son Solomon built the Temple (the religious and national center of the people of Israel) and transformed the city into the prosperous capital of an empire extending from the Euphrates to Egypt.
The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem in 586 BCE, destroyed the Temple, and exiled the people. Fifty years later, when Babylon was conquered by the Persians, King Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to their homeland and granted them autonomy. They built a Second Temple on the site of the First, and rebuilt the city and its walls.
Alexander the Great conquered Jerusalem in 332 BCE. After his death the city was ruled by the Ptolemies of Egypt and then by the Seleucids of Syria. The Hellenization of the city reached its peak under the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV; the desecration of the Temple and attempts to suppress Jewish religious identity resulted in a revolt.
Led by Judah Maccabee, the Jews defeated the Seleucids, rededicated the Temple (164 BCE), and re-established Jewish independence under the Hasmonean dynasty, which lasted for more than a hundred years, until Pompey imposed Roman rule on Jerusalem. King Herod the Idumean, who was installed as ruler of Judah by the Romans (37 - 4 BCE), established cultural institutions in Jerusalem, erected magnificent public buildings and refashioned the Temple into an edifice of splendor.
Jewish revolt against Rome broke out in 66 CE, as Roman rule after Herod's death became increasingly oppressive. For a few years Jerusalem was free of foreign rule, until, in 70 CE, Roman legions under Titus conquered the city and destroyed the Temple. Jewish independence was briefly restored during the Bar Kochba revolt (132-135), but again the Romans prevailed. Jews were forbidden to enter the city, which was renamed Aelia Capitolina and rebuilt along the lines of a Roman city.
For the next century and a half, Jerusalem was a small provincial town. This changed radically when the Byzantine Emperor Constantine transformed Jerusalem into a Christian center. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher (335) was the first of numerous grandiose structures built in the City.
Muslim armies invaded the country in 634, and four years later Caliph Omar captured Jerusalem. Only during the reign of Abdul Malik, who built the Dome of the Rock (691), did Jerusalem briefly become the seat of a caliph. The century-long rule of the Umayvad Dynasty from Damascus was succeeded in 750 by the Abbasids from Baghdad, and with them Jerusalem began to decline.
The Crusaders conquered Jerusalem in 1099, massacred its Jewish and Muslim inhabitants, and established the city as the capital of the Crusader Kingdom. Under the Crusaders, synagogues were destroyed, old churches were rebuilt and many mosques were turned into Christian shrines. Crusader rule over Jerusalem ended in 1187, when the city fell to Saladin the Kurd.
The Mamluks, a military feudal aristocracy from Egypt, ruled Jerusalem from 1250. They constructed numerous graceful buildings, but treated the city solely as a Muslim theological center and ruined its economy through neglect and crippling taxes.
The Ottoman Turks, whose rule lasted for four centuries, conquered Jerusalem in 1517. Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilt the city walls (1537), constructed the Sultan's Pool, and placed public fountains throughout the city. After his death. The central authorities in Constantinople took little interest in Jerusalem. During the 17th and 18th centuries Jerusalem sunk to one of its lowest ebbs.
Jerusalem began to thrive once more in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Growing numbers of Jews returning to their land, waning Ottoman power and revitalized European interest in the Holy Land led to renewed development of Jerusalem.
The British army led by General Allenby conquered Jerusalem in 1917. From 1922 to 1948 Jerusalem was the administrative seat of the British authorities in the Land of Israel (Palestine), which had been entrusted to Great Britain by the League of Nations following the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire after World War I. The city developed rapidly, growing westward into what became known as the "New City."
Upon termination of the British Mandate on May 14, 1948, and in accordance with the UN resolution of November 29, 1947, Israel proclaimed its independence, with Jerusalem as its capital. Opposing its establishment, the Arab countries launched an all-out assault on the new re-established state, resulting in the 1948-49 War of Independence. The armistice lines drawn at the end of the war divided Jerusalem into two, with Jordan occupying the Old City and areas to the north and south, and Israel retaining the western and southern parts of the city.
Jerusalem was reunited in June 1967, as a result of a war in which the Jordanians attempted to seize the western section of the city. The Jewish Quarter of the Old City, destroyed under Jordanian rule, has been restored, and Israeli citizens are again able to visit their holy places, which had been denied them during the years 1948-1967.
Conclusion, the land of Israel and Jerusalem as its undivided capital for the Jewish people is a historical fact for thousands of years and shall remain that way for eternity.
Yehuda Draiman
The Qur'an 17:104 - states the land belongs to the Jewish people.
If the historic documents, comments written by eyewitnesses and declarations by the most authoritative Arab scholars are still not enough, let us quote the most important source for Muslim Arabs:
"And thereafter we [Allah] said to the Children of Israel: 'Dwell securely in the Promised Land. And when the last warning will come to pass, we will gather you together in a mingled crowd'.".
017.104 YUSUFALI: And We said thereafter to the Children of Israel, "Dwell securely in the land (of promise)": but when the second of the warnings came to pass, We gathered you together in a mingled crowd. PICKTHAL: And We said unto the Children of Israel after him: Dwell in the land; but when the promise of the Hereafter cometh to pass We shall bring you as a crowd gathered out of various nations. SHAKIR: And We said to the Israelites after him: Dwell in the land: and when the promise of the next life shall come to pass, we will bring you both together in judgment.
- Qur'an 17:104 -
Any sincere Muslim must recognize the Land they call "Palestine" as the Jewish Homeland, according to the book considered by Muslims to be the most sacred word and Allah's ultimate revelation.
“The birthplace of the Jewish people is the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael). There, a significant part of the nation's long history was enacted, of which the first thousand years are recorded in the Bible; there, its cultural, religious and national identity was formed; and there, its physical presence has been maintained through the centuries, even after the majority was forced into exile. During the many years of dispersion, the Jewish people never severed nor forgot its bond with the Land. With the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Jewish independence, lost two thousand years earlier, was renewed.”
If people of any nation were exiled to other country’s and than years later were able to reclaim their country, the world population as a whole would support such action and would not consider giving a piece of the country to the foreigners who are residing there, and under no circumstances would they consider parceling portions of the county to be set up as a separate State for the foreigners.
Why should anyone in the world consider doing this very same action with the land of Israel which is a Jewish land for thousands of years?
The Arabs living in the land of Israel have come from the surrounding Arab countries; they have no right whatsoever to any part of the land of Israel.
In the past hundred years many Jews were ejected from Arab countries surrounding the land of Israel, their property taken and their homes and lands taken over.
Let those Arabs who want to Claim the land of Israel as theirs go to those Arab countries and the homes and lands that the Jews were occupying.
Any part of the land of Israel is not occupied territory; it is legally a Jewish land and has been for thousands of years, no Arab has any right to claim any rights to the land of Israel. The surrounding Arab countries compose of over 100 million people and millions of square miles, why do they have to bother little Israel with its territory about the size of the State of New Jersey.
Maybe the world should consider giving European countries or parts to the Italians, since the Romans occupied it for many years.
JERUSALEM
If I forget thee, O Jerusalem,may my right hand forget its cunning.May my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy.(Psalms 137:5-6)
Jerusalem, the uncontested and undivided capital of Israel, is located in the heart of the country, nestled among the Judean Hills. The city's ancient stones, imbued with millennia of history, and its numerous historical sites, shrines and places of worship attest to its meaning for Jews.
Jerusalem the "eternal and undivided capital" of the Jewish people,
Jerusalem is -- and must remain -- the uncontested, undivided capital of Israel.
Jerusalem is the only city that can prove the validity of Israeli-Jewish existence. No one should question Jewish historic claim and affinity to Jerusalem which dates back the Canaanite period (3000-1200 BCE). The re-capture of the old city in 1967 was widely seen by the Israelis as nothing less than the renewal of God's covenant with the Jews. Jerusalem represents their past and present, a source of religious and cultural continuity without which Israel's very existence could unravel. The hope of returning to Jerusalem has sustained the Jews throughout their dispersion, and centuries of exile have been unable to extinguish it.
Abraham, Isaac and Jacobs resided in the land of Israel and Jerusalem from the year 1948 from Creation (circa 1800 BCE).
King David made Jerusalem the capital of his kingdom, as well as the religious center of the Jewish people, in 1003 BCE. Some forty years later, his son Solomon built the Temple (the religious and national center of the people of Israel) and transformed the city into the prosperous capital of an empire extending from the Euphrates to Egypt.
The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem in 586 BCE, destroyed the Temple, and exiled the people. Fifty years later, when Babylon was conquered by the Persians, King Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to their homeland and granted them autonomy. They built a Second Temple on the site of the First, and rebuilt the city and its walls.
Alexander the Great conquered Jerusalem in 332 BCE. After his death the city was ruled by the Ptolemies of Egypt and then by the Seleucids of Syria. The Hellenization of the city reached its peak under the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV; the desecration of the Temple and attempts to suppress Jewish religious identity resulted in a revolt.
Led by Judah Maccabee, the Jews defeated the Seleucids, rededicated the Temple (164 BCE), and re-established Jewish independence under the Hasmonean dynasty, which lasted for more than a hundred years, until Pompey imposed Roman rule on Jerusalem. King Herod the Idumean, who was installed as ruler of Judah by the Romans (37 - 4 BCE), established cultural institutions in Jerusalem, erected magnificent public buildings and refashioned the Temple into an edifice of splendor.
Jewish revolt against Rome broke out in 66 CE, as Roman rule after Herod's death became increasingly oppressive. For a few years Jerusalem was free of foreign rule, until, in 70 CE, Roman legions under Titus conquered the city and destroyed the Temple. Jewish independence was briefly restored during the Bar Kochba revolt (132-135), but again the Romans prevailed. Jews were forbidden to enter the city, which was renamed Aelia Capitolina and rebuilt along the lines of a Roman city.
For the next century and a half, Jerusalem was a small provincial town. This changed radically when the Byzantine Emperor Constantine transformed Jerusalem into a Christian center. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher (335) was the first of numerous grandiose structures built in the City.
Muslim armies invaded the country in 634, and four years later Caliph Omar captured Jerusalem. Only during the reign of Abdul Malik, who built the Dome of the Rock (691), did Jerusalem briefly become the seat of a caliph. The century-long rule of the Umayvad Dynasty from Damascus was succeeded in 750 by the Abbasids from Baghdad, and with them Jerusalem began to decline.
The Crusaders conquered Jerusalem in 1099, massacred its Jewish and Muslim inhabitants, and established the city as the capital of the Crusader Kingdom. Under the Crusaders, synagogues were destroyed, old churches were rebuilt and many mosques were turned into Christian shrines. Crusader rule over Jerusalem ended in 1187, when the city fell to Saladin the Kurd.
The Mamluks, a military feudal aristocracy from Egypt, ruled Jerusalem from 1250. They constructed numerous graceful buildings, but treated the city solely as a Muslim theological center and ruined its economy through neglect and crippling taxes.
The Ottoman Turks, whose rule lasted for four centuries, conquered Jerusalem in 1517. Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilt the city walls (1537), constructed the Sultan's Pool, and placed public fountains throughout the city. After his death. The central authorities in Constantinople took little interest in Jerusalem. During the 17th and 18th centuries Jerusalem sunk to one of its lowest ebbs.
Jerusalem began to thrive once more in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Growing numbers of Jews returning to their land, waning Ottoman power and revitalized European interest in the Holy Land led to renewed development of Jerusalem.
The British army led by General Allenby conquered Jerusalem in 1917. From 1922 to 1948 Jerusalem was the administrative seat of the British authorities in the Land of Israel (Palestine), which had been entrusted to Great Britain by the League of Nations following the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire after World War I. The city developed rapidly, growing westward into what became known as the "New City."
Upon termination of the British Mandate on May 14, 1948, and in accordance with the UN resolution of November 29, 1947, Israel proclaimed its independence, with Jerusalem as its capital. Opposing its establishment, the Arab countries launched an all-out assault on the new re-established state, resulting in the 1948-49 War of Independence. The armistice lines drawn at the end of the war divided Jerusalem into two, with Jordan occupying the Old City and areas to the north and south, and Israel retaining the western and southern parts of the city.
Jerusalem was reunited in June 1967, as a result of a war in which the Jordanians attempted to seize the western section of the city. The Jewish Quarter of the Old City, destroyed under Jordanian rule, has been restored, and Israeli citizens are again able to visit their holy places, which had been denied them during the years 1948-1967.
Conclusion, the land of Israel and Jerusalem as its undivided capital for the Jewish people is a historical fact for thousands of years and shall remain that way for eternity.
Yehuda Draiman
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Effective ways to dispute utility bills cable/dish bills R1
Effective ways to dispute utility bills cable/dish bills R1
Do not get intimidated by the Utility companies
Start with the source - your local service provider.
Find an advocate. CUB, BBB, Etc.
Try City, State, National and Federal organizations.
Remember deregulated service providers are also required to follow local regulations.
Resolving billing issues
If you stay calm and collected you can effectively dispute utility bills, solve the problems and maybe recruit some free help along the way.
It is very common to find errors and various unknown or unauthorized charges on your telecom bill (Telephone, Cellular, Data-Internet Etc.). Review your bills monthly. (Telecom companies bill a month in advance).
Review your phone bill every month to be sure you are billed only for what you requested and at the rates you were quoted. Call your phone company if you have any questions.
Water and sewer bills should also be reviewed in detail, you may be able to reduce you sewer charge (especially if you are watering lawn, pool and pond) or if you have no meter, reduce the monthly charge based on size and consumption.
Many third party deregulated Gas and Electric suppliers who contend that they save you money, actually cost you more. Review the charges versus your local regulated utility company. Insist that they guarantee a lower price and savings over the local regulated gas or electric company. Verify the accuracy of the billing including quantity delivered (therms, KWH).
That king-sized electric bill or gas bill may be appropriate for a family of five, but no way is it right for just you and your spouse. (avoid estimated billing)
Or, maybe your cable/dish company is dunning you for a pay-per-view movie you never ordered.
Errors and overcharges occur from time to time on utility bills and cable/dish bills, and they're usually not in your favor. Sometimes, a quick call to the company can resolve the mishap simply. Other times, disputing a utility bill is not so easy.
Don't let a ridiculous charge send you into a fuming rage, venting your frustrations to the customer representative or screaming for a lawyer. Keep your cool and voice your complaint in detail.
Start with the source. (Your local service provider)Prepare before you contact the company. Have your current bill, past bills and any canceled checks in front of you. Make sure you have your account numbers and passwords if there are any. Have a notepad and pen handy because you'll want to make notes throughout the conversation and also get information about the customer service representative.
Figure out by how much you want to get the bill reduced, but be realistic about what you would accept for a settlement. Then, contact the company when it's least busy. Friday mornings are good times to call. Avoid Mondays and the days after holidays, since those times are the busiest.
Create the mood. Firm and aggressive presentations work as long as they are not combative. Tell the customer representative you have a problem with the bill that both of you need to review.
When you talk with the customer representative do the following:
Write down the date and time you talked with the person.
Ask for the person's name, identification number and extension before you begin to discuss the bill.
Ask if there's a case number, and jot it down.
Go through the bill line by line to determine the cause of the problem.
Ask what the expected turnaround will be for the resolution.
Write down any price quotes and/or charge adjustments. Ask the customer representative to do the same in the company's computer database.
Call at a different time if you have problems with the representative. Speak to the manager if disagreements persist.
Follow up the call with a letter to the company. The information collected during the phone call should be included in the note. Make sure you sign it.
If all else fail, ask for a supervisor or executive appeals division.
If you are not satisfied. File a complaint with the Utility Commission in your State.
In order to win disputes with utility companies you must keep thorough documentation to prove your points.
Find an advocate. Recruit support if your calls to the utility company are not sufficient.
You can locate your state's public utilities commission, which oversees utility companies, or get help through the National Association of State Utility Advocates, or NASUCA. This organization represents the interest of utility consumers before state and federal regulators in court. Also your state Citizens Utility Board.
"At the commission you can have an informal investigation and if you are not satisfied you can file a formal complaint," says Jay Draiman, a Utility bill auditor.
He explains that the commission informally investigates the dispute by contacting the company on your behalf. If the commission's answer is one that you don't like, you can file a formal complaint against the utility company. If the formal complaint doesn't make you happy, you can appeal the decision. At this point, he warns, courts of law, most likely a municipal court, are involved and a lawyer might be needed.
Some public service commissions address cable disputes. If not, Consumers for Cable Choice, a consumer advocacy group, says other alternatives exist.
"Most consumers don't know this, but they can call their local franchising cable board. That's the agency that has the ability and authority to adjudicate public complaints," says the auditor.
Not all municipalities or towns have a cable board. So, try calling the clerk of the county or clerk of the city in your area to find out who is responsible for cable complaints.
A visit to the attorney general's office may or may not help. The procedure for handling complaints varies with each office. Some offices, depending on the type of utility, might refer you to other state regulators, and others may attempt to mediate the dispute between you and the company themselves.
Try national and federal organizations. Consumers can file a complaint with the Citizens Utility Board (which has attorneys on staff), Better Business Bureau, or BBB, a private nonprofit organization that monitors and reports marketplace activities to the public. The bureau sends the consumer's complaints to the company.
"If we have not heard from the company in 30 days, we close the case and suggest small claims court," says spokeswoman for BBB.
According to the BBB, it cannot force a reply from the company and it cannot administer sanctions. It can make a note of the company's unwillingness to respond in the company's reliability report that's provided to the public.
The U.S. government can tackle some of your problems.
Telecommunications issues can be handled by contacting the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC.
Consumers can file an informal complaint with the FCC and, if determined appropriate, the commission will send the complaint to the company or companies named. The FCC allows telephone companies only 45 days from receiving the complaint to respond to you and to provide a copy to the commission. The FCC reviews the response but doesn't issue a ruling or decision.
If the company's response doesn't satisfy you, you can make a formal complaint. This will involve hiring a lawyer and paying a complaint fee. File this type of dispute within six months of receiving the response to the informal complaint.
Consumers can also contact the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, but the FTC's help depends on the circumstances. According to spokesman, the FTC only gets involved if a charge the consumer did not authorize is placed on the bill.
Contact you phone company about a dispute
If you have a problem with your phone service or bill, contact your phone company as soon as possible to try to get the problem resolved.
• Call the phone company’s toll-free customer service number or reach its customer service center through the internet, if available.
• If you cannot get the problem settled to your satisfaction, with the customer service representative, ask to speak to a manager. A higher level employee may have more authority to settle your problem.
• Before you contact the company, be prepared. Gather up your bill, receipts or anything else you may want to refer to and don’t forget to write down when you contacted the company, who you talked to, and what that person agreed to do.
• Remember that sometimes it takes several minutes to reach a live person at the phone company, so make your call when you are not in a rush.
If you contacted your phone company and it did not help you with your problem, you may file a complaint with the CPUC Consumer Affairs Branch.
The CPUC can help you with complaints about telephone service or the bill, including any charges that you did not authorize or if your phone service was switched to another phone company without your approval. You may contact the CPUC by phone, through the Internet or by mail:
• By phone: 800-649-7570
• Online:
http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/static/ forms/complaints/index.htm
• By Mail:
CPUC Consumer Affairs Branch
505 Van Ness Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94102
If your phone company and the CPUC were unable to help you, you may contact the FCC if you are questioning calls made from or to another state or from or to another nation. You may reach the FCC:
• By e-mail: fccinfo@fcc.gov
• Online:
complaint form: www.fcc.gov/ cgb/complaints.html.
• By mail:
Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554
• By fax:
1-866-418-0232
• By phone:
voice 1-888-CALL-FCC
(1-888-225-5322)
TTY 1-888-TELL-FCC
(1-888-835-5322)
Understanding Your Utility Bill
With the introduction of competitive providers in the telecommunications, gas and electric industry, consumers may find it increasingly difficult to make sense of the various rates, fees and charges that appear on their bills. How can you make sure your utility bill is accurate?
Carefully review your bill each month.
Question and investigate any charges that you don’t understand.
Read all flyers and additional materials included with your bill.
Many of our utilities provide information on understanding your utility bill right on their websites. Links to those sites are shown below. In addition, the Federal Communications Commission’s website provides valuable information to consumers on reading and understanding a telephone bill.
Compiled by:
Yehuda Draiman, Energy ConsultantNorthridge, CA 91324
Email: renewableenergy2@msn.com
Do not get intimidated by the Utility companies
Start with the source - your local service provider.
Find an advocate. CUB, BBB, Etc.
Try City, State, National and Federal organizations.
Remember deregulated service providers are also required to follow local regulations.
Resolving billing issues
If you stay calm and collected you can effectively dispute utility bills, solve the problems and maybe recruit some free help along the way.
It is very common to find errors and various unknown or unauthorized charges on your telecom bill (Telephone, Cellular, Data-Internet Etc.). Review your bills monthly. (Telecom companies bill a month in advance).
Review your phone bill every month to be sure you are billed only for what you requested and at the rates you were quoted. Call your phone company if you have any questions.
Water and sewer bills should also be reviewed in detail, you may be able to reduce you sewer charge (especially if you are watering lawn, pool and pond) or if you have no meter, reduce the monthly charge based on size and consumption.
Many third party deregulated Gas and Electric suppliers who contend that they save you money, actually cost you more. Review the charges versus your local regulated utility company. Insist that they guarantee a lower price and savings over the local regulated gas or electric company. Verify the accuracy of the billing including quantity delivered (therms, KWH).
That king-sized electric bill or gas bill may be appropriate for a family of five, but no way is it right for just you and your spouse. (avoid estimated billing)
Or, maybe your cable/dish company is dunning you for a pay-per-view movie you never ordered.
Errors and overcharges occur from time to time on utility bills and cable/dish bills, and they're usually not in your favor. Sometimes, a quick call to the company can resolve the mishap simply. Other times, disputing a utility bill is not so easy.
Don't let a ridiculous charge send you into a fuming rage, venting your frustrations to the customer representative or screaming for a lawyer. Keep your cool and voice your complaint in detail.
Start with the source. (Your local service provider)Prepare before you contact the company. Have your current bill, past bills and any canceled checks in front of you. Make sure you have your account numbers and passwords if there are any. Have a notepad and pen handy because you'll want to make notes throughout the conversation and also get information about the customer service representative.
Figure out by how much you want to get the bill reduced, but be realistic about what you would accept for a settlement. Then, contact the company when it's least busy. Friday mornings are good times to call. Avoid Mondays and the days after holidays, since those times are the busiest.
Create the mood. Firm and aggressive presentations work as long as they are not combative. Tell the customer representative you have a problem with the bill that both of you need to review.
When you talk with the customer representative do the following:
Write down the date and time you talked with the person.
Ask for the person's name, identification number and extension before you begin to discuss the bill.
Ask if there's a case number, and jot it down.
Go through the bill line by line to determine the cause of the problem.
Ask what the expected turnaround will be for the resolution.
Write down any price quotes and/or charge adjustments. Ask the customer representative to do the same in the company's computer database.
Call at a different time if you have problems with the representative. Speak to the manager if disagreements persist.
Follow up the call with a letter to the company. The information collected during the phone call should be included in the note. Make sure you sign it.
If all else fail, ask for a supervisor or executive appeals division.
If you are not satisfied. File a complaint with the Utility Commission in your State.
In order to win disputes with utility companies you must keep thorough documentation to prove your points.
Find an advocate. Recruit support if your calls to the utility company are not sufficient.
You can locate your state's public utilities commission, which oversees utility companies, or get help through the National Association of State Utility Advocates, or NASUCA. This organization represents the interest of utility consumers before state and federal regulators in court. Also your state Citizens Utility Board.
"At the commission you can have an informal investigation and if you are not satisfied you can file a formal complaint," says Jay Draiman, a Utility bill auditor.
He explains that the commission informally investigates the dispute by contacting the company on your behalf. If the commission's answer is one that you don't like, you can file a formal complaint against the utility company. If the formal complaint doesn't make you happy, you can appeal the decision. At this point, he warns, courts of law, most likely a municipal court, are involved and a lawyer might be needed.
Some public service commissions address cable disputes. If not, Consumers for Cable Choice, a consumer advocacy group, says other alternatives exist.
"Most consumers don't know this, but they can call their local franchising cable board. That's the agency that has the ability and authority to adjudicate public complaints," says the auditor.
Not all municipalities or towns have a cable board. So, try calling the clerk of the county or clerk of the city in your area to find out who is responsible for cable complaints.
A visit to the attorney general's office may or may not help. The procedure for handling complaints varies with each office. Some offices, depending on the type of utility, might refer you to other state regulators, and others may attempt to mediate the dispute between you and the company themselves.
Try national and federal organizations. Consumers can file a complaint with the Citizens Utility Board (which has attorneys on staff), Better Business Bureau, or BBB, a private nonprofit organization that monitors and reports marketplace activities to the public. The bureau sends the consumer's complaints to the company.
"If we have not heard from the company in 30 days, we close the case and suggest small claims court," says spokeswoman for BBB.
According to the BBB, it cannot force a reply from the company and it cannot administer sanctions. It can make a note of the company's unwillingness to respond in the company's reliability report that's provided to the public.
The U.S. government can tackle some of your problems.
Telecommunications issues can be handled by contacting the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC.
Consumers can file an informal complaint with the FCC and, if determined appropriate, the commission will send the complaint to the company or companies named. The FCC allows telephone companies only 45 days from receiving the complaint to respond to you and to provide a copy to the commission. The FCC reviews the response but doesn't issue a ruling or decision.
If the company's response doesn't satisfy you, you can make a formal complaint. This will involve hiring a lawyer and paying a complaint fee. File this type of dispute within six months of receiving the response to the informal complaint.
Consumers can also contact the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, but the FTC's help depends on the circumstances. According to spokesman, the FTC only gets involved if a charge the consumer did not authorize is placed on the bill.
Contact you phone company about a dispute
If you have a problem with your phone service or bill, contact your phone company as soon as possible to try to get the problem resolved.
• Call the phone company’s toll-free customer service number or reach its customer service center through the internet, if available.
• If you cannot get the problem settled to your satisfaction, with the customer service representative, ask to speak to a manager. A higher level employee may have more authority to settle your problem.
• Before you contact the company, be prepared. Gather up your bill, receipts or anything else you may want to refer to and don’t forget to write down when you contacted the company, who you talked to, and what that person agreed to do.
• Remember that sometimes it takes several minutes to reach a live person at the phone company, so make your call when you are not in a rush.
If you contacted your phone company and it did not help you with your problem, you may file a complaint with the CPUC Consumer Affairs Branch.
The CPUC can help you with complaints about telephone service or the bill, including any charges that you did not authorize or if your phone service was switched to another phone company without your approval. You may contact the CPUC by phone, through the Internet or by mail:
• By phone: 800-649-7570
• Online:
http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/static/ forms/complaints/index.htm
• By Mail:
CPUC Consumer Affairs Branch
505 Van Ness Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94102
If your phone company and the CPUC were unable to help you, you may contact the FCC if you are questioning calls made from or to another state or from or to another nation. You may reach the FCC:
• By e-mail: fccinfo@fcc.gov
• Online:
complaint form: www.fcc.gov/ cgb/complaints.html.
• By mail:
Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554
• By fax:
1-866-418-0232
• By phone:
voice 1-888-CALL-FCC
(1-888-225-5322)
TTY 1-888-TELL-FCC
(1-888-835-5322)
Understanding Your Utility Bill
With the introduction of competitive providers in the telecommunications, gas and electric industry, consumers may find it increasingly difficult to make sense of the various rates, fees and charges that appear on their bills. How can you make sure your utility bill is accurate?
Carefully review your bill each month.
Question and investigate any charges that you don’t understand.
Read all flyers and additional materials included with your bill.
Many of our utilities provide information on understanding your utility bill right on their websites. Links to those sites are shown below. In addition, the Federal Communications Commission’s website provides valuable information to consumers on reading and understanding a telephone bill.
Compiled by:
Yehuda Draiman, Energy ConsultantNorthridge, CA 91324
Email: renewableenergy2@msn.com
PAY AS YOU SAVE Energy conservation financing program
PAY AS YOU SAVE Energy conservation financing program
The program will allow participants to purchase and install energy efficient products
And equipment (or “measures”), with no up-front cost. These measures can include modifications to lighting, heating, cooling, other energy efficient electric, gas and non-electric equipment and systems. Major measures promoted: lighting, weatherization, water saving devices and clock thermostats in both electric and non-electrically heated homes and businesses. We should also accept a variety of measures (provided they pass the Program qualification. This can apply to any conservation method, renewable energy systems, electric, gas and water.
Primary goals should be lighting retrofits, motor retrofit, HVAC efficiency, insulation and attic fans, windows, energy efficient appliances, water conservation equipment and techniques, utilization of gray water, landscaping for energy conservation.
HOW DO WE PROPOSE TO FINANCE THE COSTS: There is no up-front cost to the participants? Instead, the utility pays all initial costs associated with the purchase and installation of approved measures. (We must keep the costs competitive and reasonable)
Then, an Energy Finance Charge (EFC) is calculated and added to the ember’s/customers monthly utility bill until all costs are repaid.
A fund will be set up and the payments will reimburse the fund monthly.
Calculating the Term: Financing charge amounts itemized on the monthly utility bill should be based on two thirds of the estimated savings that will come from the measures installed.
This way, the monthly charge should be designed to be less than the savings realized on each bill once the new measures are installed and implemented.
If customers wish to pay off their Financing charges balances quicker (which in some cases they do), up to one hundred percent (100%) of the savings can be used to form the basis of their monthly Finance charge amount.
Payments Linked to Meter (not customer): The payments are always linked to the service location, not to the customer. So if an Energy Financing Charge (EFC) participant moves or sells, the new owner continues making the payments for the duration of the payment term, unless the previous owner/tenant chooses to pay off the obligation before selling or moving.
Also, the payments include a small percentage risk mitigation adder (5%) to protect the utility from bad debt risks associated with some portion of participants’ failure to pay.
To protect the utilities and their broader membership/customer base against other potential risks, three key requirements are included in the EFC program for those that choose to participate:
• Maintenance: All measures must be maintained in place and in good working order during the entire repayment period – the utility will help arrange for repairs, but any associated costs will be added to the EFC on the utility bill, or will extend the payment term to ensure recovery of these additional charges.
• Disconnection: All payments must be made on time – EFC charges are treated like other charges on the utility bill that are subject to service disconnection for non-payment.
• Disclosure: If the home or business is sold or rented, disclosure of the remaining monthly EFC payment amounts must be made to the potential purchaser or tenant (since they will be taking over the remaining payment obligation), unless the current owner chooses to pay the balance off before the sale or rental.
This proposed program – managed efficiently, will advance and expedite our reduction in the use of energy and resources in an expedited manner and reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources.
It will also promote an economic boom in the geographical areas where such program is implemented.
Compiled by: Yehuda Draiman, Energy analyst – 1/1/2008
The program will allow participants to purchase and install energy efficient products
And equipment (or “measures”), with no up-front cost. These measures can include modifications to lighting, heating, cooling, other energy efficient electric, gas and non-electric equipment and systems. Major measures promoted: lighting, weatherization, water saving devices and clock thermostats in both electric and non-electrically heated homes and businesses. We should also accept a variety of measures (provided they pass the Program qualification. This can apply to any conservation method, renewable energy systems, electric, gas and water.
Primary goals should be lighting retrofits, motor retrofit, HVAC efficiency, insulation and attic fans, windows, energy efficient appliances, water conservation equipment and techniques, utilization of gray water, landscaping for energy conservation.
HOW DO WE PROPOSE TO FINANCE THE COSTS: There is no up-front cost to the participants? Instead, the utility pays all initial costs associated with the purchase and installation of approved measures. (We must keep the costs competitive and reasonable)
Then, an Energy Finance Charge (EFC) is calculated and added to the ember’s/customers monthly utility bill until all costs are repaid.
A fund will be set up and the payments will reimburse the fund monthly.
Calculating the Term: Financing charge amounts itemized on the monthly utility bill should be based on two thirds of the estimated savings that will come from the measures installed.
This way, the monthly charge should be designed to be less than the savings realized on each bill once the new measures are installed and implemented.
If customers wish to pay off their Financing charges balances quicker (which in some cases they do), up to one hundred percent (100%) of the savings can be used to form the basis of their monthly Finance charge amount.
Payments Linked to Meter (not customer): The payments are always linked to the service location, not to the customer. So if an Energy Financing Charge (EFC) participant moves or sells, the new owner continues making the payments for the duration of the payment term, unless the previous owner/tenant chooses to pay off the obligation before selling or moving.
Also, the payments include a small percentage risk mitigation adder (5%) to protect the utility from bad debt risks associated with some portion of participants’ failure to pay.
To protect the utilities and their broader membership/customer base against other potential risks, three key requirements are included in the EFC program for those that choose to participate:
• Maintenance: All measures must be maintained in place and in good working order during the entire repayment period – the utility will help arrange for repairs, but any associated costs will be added to the EFC on the utility bill, or will extend the payment term to ensure recovery of these additional charges.
• Disconnection: All payments must be made on time – EFC charges are treated like other charges on the utility bill that are subject to service disconnection for non-payment.
• Disclosure: If the home or business is sold or rented, disclosure of the remaining monthly EFC payment amounts must be made to the potential purchaser or tenant (since they will be taking over the remaining payment obligation), unless the current owner chooses to pay the balance off before the sale or rental.
This proposed program – managed efficiently, will advance and expedite our reduction in the use of energy and resources in an expedited manner and reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources.
It will also promote an economic boom in the geographical areas where such program is implemented.
Compiled by: Yehuda Draiman, Energy analyst – 1/1/2008
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