Part 7. The end. Mostly because I'm tired.

Their response:

Dear Online Customer,

We understand your concern regarding our policy but this block is due to you having more than one returned check. It is also your responsibility as a customer to insure that payment being made is being deducted from an account with enough funds to back the withdrawal of payment. Also, keep in mind that National Grid does not have any affiliations with the credit bureaus nor do we report record of timely payment to the bureaus. An account that is past due 60 days will be forwarded to a collection agency. Once an account is forwarded to an agency, that agency may take further steps to post any delinquencies to your credit. You also have the choice of purchasing gas from any company servicing your area if you choose to as well, as National Grid is not the sole provider of Gas for New York City customers. If you may have any other questions regarding your account, please call customer service at (718)-643-4050.

My response:

Dear National Grid,

Not once has a check been returned for a lack of funds being in the account. The check in question had a stop-payment put on it because it took almost two months to go from the mailbox I dropped it in in Brooklyn at the end of February to your office in Newark, NJ. Worried that it ended up in the wrong hands, I canceled the check and sent another one which was deposited and process without issue prior to March 28th. This check covered the entire outstanding balance. All was fine and good until FINALLY the canceled check made it to your office and was deposited on April 4th. Because Capital One, the bank I was using, is also incompetent, they allowed the check to be processed and paid and then decided almost three weeks later that, in fact, the check was no good. Again, two things I have no control over (delay in the mail and Capital One being an awful bank). And a situation I was forced in to because you have prohibited me from paying my bill online.

Regarding my freedom to choose: this is true; I do have a choice in what company I buy my gas from. However, National Grid is the only company that can deliver this gas to me, and thus, I am bereft of options. I must always deal, in some capacity, with National Grid, the company that doesn't care. The only option I have is to abandon my lease (and lose my security deposit) and move to another part of New York where you don't have a strangehold on the market. Suffice to say, that's not an option right now.

Take care and have the loveliest of days,

Greg